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Eichmann Trial -- Session 85 -- Written testimonies from Germany presented to the court re: following orders, cruelty, numbers killed, and Himmler

Film | Digitized | Accession Number: 1999.A.0087 | RG Number: RG-60.2100.112 | Film ID: 2112

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    Eichmann Trial -- Session 85 -- Written testimonies from Germany presented to the court re: following orders, cruelty, numbers killed, and Himmler

    Overview

    Description
    Session 85. This tape includes the presentation of the records of testimonies of the following witnesses, but their names are not mentioned on the tape: Wilhelm Hoettl, Walter Huppenkothen, Eberhard von Thadden, Hans Jüttner, Theodore Horst Grell, and Kurt Becher. All of these individuals were witnesses for the Prosecution.

    Dr. Servatius reads a conversation of a meeting with Eichmann, where he seemed strained, offered him alcohol, and sat down to talk to him saying that he believed that the German war effort was doomed, and that the Allies believed him to be one of the chief war criminals. He said that the number of Jews killed was a top secret of the Reich, but Eichmann said that it was close to 6 million, 4 million of which killed in camps, the rest in shootings of special operations groups and other things. Eichmann said that Himmler's estimations were higher. He also gave no apology and showed no remorse concerning the Jews. He notes that Eichmann drank heavily.

    00:17:16 Tape jumps. An affidavit is being read into the record concerning Eichmann's offices, his range of effectiveness, and his business trips.

    00:23:39 Tape jumps. An affidavit is being read into the record, claiming that the affident was unable to discern if Eichmann worked on his own or if he was following orders. Everything was signed by Eichmann or one of his subordinates.

    00:27:47 Tape jumps. An affidavit is being read into the record, with another affident saying that it was unclear to them whether or not decisions made by his department were Eichmann's decisions or if they were made by his superiors. He describes Eichmann as cruel. He claims that the Foreign Office was working on a cruel plan, but he could not say whether or not they were created by Eichmann. This involved the deportation of all the Jews of Budapest to an island on the Danube without proper preparations.

    00:33:15 Tape jumps. An affidavit is being read into the record, concerning a conversation where Eichmann said that the enemies regard him as the foremost war criminal, with the lives of six million enemies of the Reich on his hands. He said that he considered having more enemies a measure of more respect, highlighting his ambition to give rise to his personal significance. He had just received the Iron Cross 2nd Grade, and was not drunk at the time.

    00:35:28 Tape jumps. It is announced that this is the Kurt Becher testimony. Dr. Servatius is reading the last sentence of it, saying that the witness was informed of the questions he was to be asked before they were asked. He says that this is a strange procedure to assess a witness. The President of Court wants to know where Dr. Servatius got this information, and how long before questioning that Becher knew the questions. He says that the Representative of the Prosecution said as much, and he had the questions days in advance. Attorney General Hausner says that was not true, it was a decision by a judge in Bremen. Debate ensues on how this happened, why this happened, and how it will be addressed.

    00:49:44 Tape jumps. The Judges are conferring on a document as the rest of the courtroom waits quietly. The Judges decide that Becher's knowledge of the questions ahead of time invalidates it, but they accept it regardless, warning themselves of this fact when relevant.

    00:51:40 The trade proposal -- Jews for trucks -- is discussed, saying that Himmler gave no opinion other than to "Get out of the Jews whatever you can." The affidavit says that Eichmann was a convinced National Socialist and an anti-Semite. The affident said that Himmler screamed at Eichmann, saying that he must deal with Jews considerately instead of exterminating them, saying that he must follow the orders of Himmler.
    Film Title
    Eichmann Trial
    Duration
    01:02:54
    Date
    Event:  1961 July 04
    Production:  1961 July 04
    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
    Mixed
    Time Code
    00:00:38:00 to 01:03:32:00
    Film Format
    • Master
    • Master 2112 Video: Digital Betacam - NTSC - large
      Master 2112 Video: Digital Betacam - NTSC - large
      Master 2112 Video: Digital Betacam - NTSC - large
      Master 2112 Video: Digital Betacam - NTSC - large
    • Preservation
    • Preservation 2112 Video: Betacam SP - NTSC - large
      Preservation 2112 Video: Betacam SP - NTSC - large
      Preservation 2112 Video: Betacam SP - NTSC - large
      Preservation 2112 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: 2379
    Source Archive Number: VTEI 328
    Record last modified:
    2024-02-21 07:46:16
    This page:
    https:​/​/collections.ushmm.org​/search​/catalog​/irn1001787

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