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Eichmann Trial -- Sessions 41 and 42 -- Testimony of H. Grueber and C. Salzberger

Film | Digitized | Accession Number: 1999.A.0087 | RG Number: RG-60.2100.052 | Film ID: 2051

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    Eichmann Trial -- Sessions 41 and 42 -- Testimony of H. Grueber and C. Salzberger

    Overview

    Description
    Sessions 41 and 42. Two male translators sitting in a booth. Near the beginning of Dr. Heinrich Grüber's testimony, Assistant State Attorney Bar-Or asks if Grüber knows the accused, when he first saw him, and about the discussion he had with Eichmann in their first meeting, which concerned Jewish immigration. Grüber describes Eichmann as a block of ice or marble and says that he never received from him a favorable reply to his entreaties on behalf of the Jewish community (00:08:14). Grüber states that he had tried to find an explanation for Eichmann's virulent anti-Semitism.

    Bar-Or questions Grüber about the treatment he received in Sachsenhausen but Grüber insists his experience was a "trifle compared to the sufferings of my Jewish friends." The next part of his testimony is missing; the footage resumes with the latter part of Grüber's statement that there were often no witnesses, no documents to tell of the worst experiences suffered in a place that was like Dante's inferno. He tells of his transfer to Dachau. A large part of Grüber's testimony is missing and it resumes with defense attorney Robert Servatius questioning Grüber about his negotiations with Eichmann. After another interruption in the footage, Servatius pressures Grüber to answer his questions concerning his meetings with Eichmann.

    00:31:04 The early part of Session 42, where Grüber testifies about the difference between the reaction of ordinary people and scholars to the persecution of Jews. This duplicates footage found on Tape 2052 at 01:00:02.

    Skips part of the proceedings and continues with testimony pertaining to Grüber's contact with higher Catholic clergymen in Germany, including Pope Pius XII. Skips only a few moments in the proceedings and continues with Grüber's testimony about the willingness/unwillingness of Switzerland to let Jews emigrate to the country.

    Grüber's testimony ends. Judge Landau thanks Dr. Grüber and he exits the witness stand and is seated in the audience. A translation of Grüber's statements about his personal feelings, his testimony, and his hope for a relationship between Germany and Israel is read to the court

    Charlotte Salzberger takes the witness stand and is sworn in. Mr. Bar-Or asks the witness about her arrival in Holland, how long she stayed there, and whether she and her family had to register as Jews. Salzberger shows the court her Jewish registration document and a picture of the star she had to wear. Salzberger testifies that in February-March 1945 she and her sister were released from Ravensbrück and taken by train to Theresienstadt, were they were held for four weeks, isolated from the rest of the camp's population (this part of her testimony is not on the tape). She and her sister were taken to the Dienststelle office in Theresienstadt where they were interviewed by SS men, including Eichmann. She states that she knew it was Eichmann because of the way he spoke, that he was notorious for using many Jewish expressions. Eichmann wanted to know how much Salzberger and her sister had found out about the extermination program while at Ravensbrück, since Ravensbrück had begun to receive large numbers of transports from Auschwitz and other camps in the second half of 1944. As she is talking Eichmann writes a note, which is delivered to Servatius. The witness says that Eichmann told her they would be allowed intoTheresienstadt but if they told anyone about their experiences in Rabensbrück they would "go through the chimney." She says that despite their promises not to tell of the extermination of the Jews they reported their experiences to the other inmates, who did not believe them. Bar-Or asks her whether she heard about the organization of a second transport to Switzerland in April 1945 organized by the SS (00:58:30). Salzberger states that the transport never left the ghetto because the Red Cross intervened and took over Theresienstadt from the SS. Throughout this segment there are various shots of Eichmann in the booth.
    Film Title
    Eichmann Trial
    Duration
    01:03:55
    Date
    Event:  1961 May 16
    Production:  1961 May 16
    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 Hebrew German
    Genre/Form
    Unedited.
    B&W / Color
    Black & White
    Image Quality
    Mixed
    Time Code
    00:00:30:00 to 01:04:25:00
    Film Format
    • Master
    • Master 2051 Video: Digital Betacam - NTSC - large
      Master 2051 Video: Digital Betacam - NTSC - large
      Master 2051 Video: Digital Betacam - NTSC - large
      Master 2051 Video: Digital Betacam - NTSC - large
    • Preservation
    • Preservation 2051 Video: Betacam SP - NTSC - large
      Preservation 2051 Video: Betacam SP - NTSC - large
      Preservation 2051 Video: Betacam SP - NTSC - large
      Preservation 2051 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
    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: 2153
    Source Archive Number: VTEI 298
    Record last modified:
    2024-02-21 08:05:22
    This page:
    https:​/​/collections.ushmm.org​/search​/catalog​/irn1001573

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