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Eichmann Trial -- Sessions 34 and 35-- Witnesses Dr. Melkman and David Melchior

Film | Digitized | Accession Number: 1999.A.0087 | RG Number: RG-60.2100.046 | Film ID: 2045

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    Eichmann Trial -- Sessions 34 and 35-- Witnesses Dr. Melkman and David Melchior

    Overview

    Description
    Session 34. Tape begins with Dr. Joseph Melkman (Michman) being sworn in as a witness for the Prosecution. He was born in Holland and immigrated to Israel. He was the director of Yad Vashem.

    00:03:17 Tape jumps. Dr. Melkman is testifying, being asked about a man who helped organize the Judenrat in Holland because the Jews did not know how to deal with the Germans. Edelstein's status is discussed. He describes that at first, many Jews wore the yellow stars with pride; that they were not ashamed to be Jewish, and many Christians supported them in protesting the act.

    00:08:21 Tape jumps. Dr. Melkman is asked about when he was detained, saying that he held out until 1943 because he was a teacher in a Jewish intermediary school. They were moved into a certain area, and then that area was raided by the Germans. They were able to hide their son with a willing Gentile family.

    00:11:00 Tape jumps. The Prosecution asks about their hiding son, that the list the Germans had listed their family as having three people. They came upon a young mother whose husband had already been killed in a camp. She gave them her son, who was nearly the same age, and she was sent to Sobibor. The son survived the war.

    00:14:19 Tape jumps. The organization of the deportations is discussed. The Jews were told by their leaders a day before it happened, and they were forced to supply a list of names, slightly larger than the requested number to make up for those who died en route. He says that nothing stayed in his memory quite like those nights, where lists of death sentences were read out every week at 3am, and that even today that they hold a certain feeling towards Tuesday. They did not know that it was certain death, but they thought that it would not be good. He describes his family's story, with quite a few surviving the Holocaust. He describes what it was like to be in hiding, and tells of one boy who was not allowed to walk or speak normally for fear of being found. When he was finally found, he kept talking in hushed tones. He was told that he could speak normally, and he began running about the courtyard shouting at the top of his lungs. At the time, they thought perhaps that was better than living in hiding. The boy was sent to Auschwitz after three days.

    00:27:00 Tape jumps. Melkman describes the different camps, and his job of carting coal. He describes an instance where two women grabbed some food left at the bottom of a barrel, only to be beaten by a woman officer. He then talks about cannibalism that he witnessed, and that there were 13 instances of it at the camp.

    00:30:03 Tape jumps. The Prosecution says that it intends to corroborate the testimony of Melkman, and to show Eichmann's direct connection to all of this. They submit a document concerning a letter about the concentration of Jewish property. A letter concerning the treatment of half-Jews is submitted. It recommends identical treatment for half-Jews as full Jews, though the Wehrmacht has some objections, considering that soldiers might be affected by this. Eichmann is cited directly as wanting this, and other evidence that they will submit later says that Eichmann was more strict about this than Hitler himself.

    00:35:14 Session 35. The Prosecution wishes to focus on Denmark, and calls the witness Werner David Melchior. He is sworn in. He is asked about the treatment of Jews in Denmark, and he says that they were treated equally in all aspects of life.

    00:41:16 Tape jumps. Melchior is asked about when the deportations began. He describes news that arrived from the German high command, and they fled as best they could from this coming terror. He describes the people rounded up and taken to Theresienstadt, as well as many Danish police being sent to Buchenwald.

    00:50:20 Melchior describes his escape, he was delivering warnings to his neighbors and friends. They went by rail to a clergyman's house, packing only essentials and planning to stay together. They then took a boat to Sweden, where they were not sure if they would be accepted. Court adjourns a few minutes early to maintain narrative.
    Film Title
    Eichmann Trial
    Duration
    01:00:48
    Date
    Event:  1961 May 10
    Production:  1961 May 10
    Locale
    Jerusalem, Israel
    Credit
    Accessed at United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, courtesy of The Steven Spielberg Jewish Film Archives of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
    Contributor
    Director: Leo Hurwitz
    Producer: Milton Fruchtman
    Camera Operator: Rolf M. Kneller
    Camera Operator: F. Csaznik
    Camera Operator: J. Jonilowicz
    Camera Operator: J. Kalach
    Camera Operator: Emil Knebel
    Producer: Capital Cities Broadcasting Corporation
    Biography
    Emil Knebel was a cinematographer known for Andante (2010), Adam (1973), and Wild Is My Love (1963). He was one of the cameramen who recorded daily coverage of the Eichmann trial in Jerusalem (produced by Capital Cities Broadcasting Corp and later held academic positions in Israel and New York teaching filmmaking at universities. Refer to CV in file.

    Physical Details

    Language
    English German Hebrew
    Genre/Form
    Unedited.
    B&W / Color
    Black & White
    Image Quality
    Poor
    Time Code
    00:01:06:00 to 01:01:54:00
    Film Format
    • Master
    • Master 2045 Video: Digital Betacam - NTSC - large
      Master 2045 Video: Digital Betacam - NTSC - large
      Master 2045 Video: Digital Betacam - NTSC - large
      Master 2045 Video: Digital Betacam - NTSC - large
    • Preservation
    • Preservation 2045 Video: Betacam SP - NTSC - large
      Preservation 2045 Video: Betacam SP - NTSC - large
      Preservation 2045 Video: Betacam SP - NTSC - large
      Preservation 2045 Video: Betacam SP - NTSC - large

    Rights & Restrictions

    Conditions on Access
    You do not require further permission from the Museum to access this archival media.
    Copyright
    Public Domain
    Conditions on Use
    To the best of the Museum's knowledge, this material is in the public domain. You do not require further permission from the Museum to reproduce or use this material.

    Keywords & Subjects

    Administrative Notes

    Film Provenance
    Capital Cities Broadcasting Corporation recorded the proceedings of the Adolf Eichmann trial in 1961. The original recording was made on two-inch format videotape. One set of videotapes contained selected portions of the trial for distribution to television stations. The "selected portions" version remained in Israel and was later turned over to the Israel State Archives. Capital Cities Broadcasting retained the set of videotapes containing the complete trial proceedings at offices in New York City until 1965, when they gave the videotapes to the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith. The Anti-Defamation League, in turn, gave the complete set to the Steven Spielberg Jewish Film Archive at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 1972. With a grant from the Revson Foundation, Hebrew University transferred the two-inch videotapes to U-Matic format. During the transfer process, Hebrew University created three duplicate sets. One set was given to the Steven Spielberg Jewish Film Archive, one to the Israel State Archives, and one set to the Jewish Museum in New York City. In 1995, the Israel State Archives transferred the trial footage to digital videoformat with a grant from the Israeli Prime Minister's Office. Three subsequent digital videotape copies resulted from this transfer of footage. The Israel State Archives retained one digital copy and a second set was deposited at the Steven Spielberg Jewish Film Archive at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. The Steven Spielberg Film and Video Archive at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum received the third set of digital videotapes in May 1999.
    Note
    *Large dropouts on master; intermittent noise bars; not from playback; no response frequency last ten minutes on master.

    See official transcripts, published in "The Trial of Adolf Eichmann", Vol. I-V, State of Israel, Ministry of Justice, Jerusalem, 1994. Also available online at the Nizkor Project.
    Copied From
    2" Quad
    Film Source
    Steven Spielberg Jewish Film Archive
    File Number
    Legacy Database File: 2141
    Source Archive Number: VTEI 293
    Record last modified:
    2024-02-21 07:43:39
    This page:
    https:​/​/collections.ushmm.org​/search​/catalog​/irn1001562

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