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Eichmann Trial -- Session 90 -- Cross-examination of the Accused about the origins of his antisemitism and his trip to Palestine

Film | Digitized | Accession Number: 1999.A.0087 | RG Number: RG-60.2100.129 | Film ID: 2129

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    Eichmann Trial -- Session 90 -- Cross-examination of the Accused about the origins of his antisemitism and his trip to Palestine

    Overview

    Description
    The camera fades in on Attorney General Gideon Hausner seated at the prosecution table looking over documents. Assistant State Attorney Ya'akov Bar-Or enters (00:01:43) and then Assistant State Attorney Gabriel Bach both men are then seated at the prosecution table. Robert Servatius enters with his aid. Adolf Eichmann, escorted by two guards, enters the booth with documents sits down (00:02:56). There are various shots of the audience and the lawyers' desks. All rise as the judges enter and are seated(00:04:51). Judge Moshe Landau opens the ninetieth session (00:05:24). Landau asks Servatius about his request to examine witnesses Zvi Tohar and Jack Shimoni.

    A small portion of the session is missing and the footage resumes with Hausner cross-examining Eichmann. The Attorney General asks the accused whether, after 1937, the only front on which he was active was the fight against the Jews (00:07:20). Hausner then questions Eichmann about the origins of his hostility towards the Jews, citing the alleged declaration of war that Chaim Weizmann made against Germany in 1939 (00:08:52). Chaim Weizmann was the president of the World Zionist Organization from 1935 to 1946. The footage in this section is all duplicate footage also found on Tape 2126 (beginning at 00:03:56) but is less complete than Tape 2129.

    Hausner asks Eichmann about his perception of the Jews as an enemy that should be annihilated/exterminated (00:11:42). Eichmann is presented with documents in which he uses this terminology. While Eichmann examines the documents, Hausner reads excerpts in German. The accused is then questioned about the planned physical annihilation of the Jews (00:16:37). Hausner questions the accused's attitude towards the Jews and his perception of the Jews as opponents (00:18:11). Hausner again mentions the alleged declaration of war by Chaim Weizmann and declares that Weizmann never made such a statement.

    Eichmann is asked about the fact that Dieter Wisliceny recommended him because he was a convinced National Socialist. Hausner discusses Eichmann's assertion that his superior refused to allow him to study Hebrew with a rabbi (00:24:41) and questions Eichmann's stated intent to "put soil under the feet of the Jews" (00:27:43). He quotes from a report filed after Eichmann's trip to Palestine in 1939 (00:30:01). Eichmann maintains that the report was not his, that he merely made corrections to the report, and that the goal of the trip was to understand the people and the culture and to make contacts. Hausner presses the accused to acknowledge that he made contact with Hajj Amin al-Husseini (00:31:45) and admit responsibility for the report. Husseini, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, was a Palestinian nationalist who rejected Zionist claims in the middle east and had close ties to the Nazi party. Eichmann refuses to take responsibility for the report and Hausner states that he admitted to authoring the report when he was under interrogation. Hausner reads excerpts from the report in German (00:34:16).

    Hausner raises more questions about Eichmann's trip to Palestine (00:42:31). Eichmann is asked about the operations in Hungary and his anger towards the German Embassy for not intervening quickly enough to prevent the emigration of the Jews to Palestine (00:44:30). This last section is duplicate footage also found on Tape 2126 (at 00:07:34) but is more complete on Tape 2126.

    A portion of the proceedings is missing and footage resumes with Hausner questioning Eichmann about the authenticity of certain documents. This is duplicate footage also found on Tape 2126 (at 00:25:48) and Tape 2127 (at 00:00:35). The footage is more complete on Tape 2126 and 2127.
    Film Title
    Eichmann Trial
    Duration
    00:47:53
    Date
    Event:  1961 July 10
    Production:  1961 July 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
    Good
    Time Code
    00:01:17:00 to 00:49:10:00
    Film Format
    • Master
    • Master 2129 Video: Digital Betacam - NTSC - large
      Master 2129 Video: Digital Betacam - NTSC - large
      Master 2129 Video: Digital Betacam - NTSC - large
      Master 2129 Video: Digital Betacam - NTSC - large
    • Preservation
    • Preservation 2129 Video: Betacam SP - NTSC - large
      Preservation 2129 Video: Betacam SP - NTSC - large
      Preservation 2129 Video: Betacam SP - NTSC - large
      Preservation 2129 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: 2397
    Source Archive Number: VTEI 167
    Record last modified:
    2024-02-21 07:45:17
    This page:
    https:​/​/collections.ushmm.org​/search​/catalog​/irn1001804

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