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Eichmann Trial -- Selections from sessions 93 and 94 -- Cross-examination of the Accused

Film | Digitized | Accession Number: 1999.A.0087 | RG Number: RG-60.2100.140 | Film ID: 2140

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    Eichmann Trial -- Selections from sessions 93 and 94 -- Cross-examination of the Accused

    Overview

    Description
    The footage begins in the middle of Session 93. Judges Landau, Halevi, and Raveh are seated at the bench. Assistant State Attorneys Bach and Bar-Or are seated at the prosecution table. Robert Servatius is seated at the defense table. Cross-examination of Adolf Eichmann by Attorney General Gideon Hausner continues. Eichmann is asked if the testimonies from Rudolf Hoess, Karl Heinz Hoffmann, Dieter Wisliceny, Rudolf Mildner, and Alfred Six submitted in his defense were truthful or whether these men gave false testimony.

    A small portion of the session is missing and footage resumes with Hausner questioning the accused about instructions for deportations given after the Wannsee Conference and whether or not these instructions were part of the Final Solution. Eichmann states that they were and Hausner proceeds to tell the accused that the Final Solution depended upon two factors 1) the number of places available in the East for absorption of the Jews into camps and 2) the number of trains available to carry out the deportations. This is duplicate footage also found on Tape 2138 (at 01:00:07) and 2139 (at 00:00:35). The footage on Tape 2140 is less complete.

    A large section of the session is missing and footage resumes with Eichmann being questioned about his application to the Foreign Ministry for the prevention of emigration of Romanian Jews. Hausner presents the case of Karl Heinz Klinger (00:14:21). When Klinger escaped to Budapest, Eichmann contacted the Foreign Ministry and asked for the man to be extradited. The footage from 00:10:06 to 00:18:24 is duplicate footage also found on Tape 2139 (at 00:30:02). The footage on Tape 2139 is more complete.

    Another large section is missing and the footage continues with Hausner asking Eichmann a series of questions about how often he visited Auschwitz, if he spoke with the camp commandant Hoess, and whether Hoess visited him in Budapest. Hausner also asks what they discussed in their meetings, particularly whether the two discussed the absorption of deportees (00:19:24). Hausner continues to question Eichmann about the deportations and presents documents which imply that deported Jews were being exterminated. Hausner yells his questions to Eichmann as he becomes more and more agitated by Eichmann's evasive answers.

    A large section of the session is missing and resumes with Eichmann recounting when he learned about the murders being carried out by the Einsatzgruppen units. Hausner questions the accused about whether the Final Solution applied to all Jews or only the Jews in Germany (00:27:06). The Attorney General accuses Eichmann of deceiving the Jews by telling them that they were being resettled when he knew that they were to be exterminated (00:28:10). This is duplicate footage also found on Tape 2144 (at 00:37:06 to 00:42:15). The footage on Tape 2144 is more complete.

    The footage resumes in the middle of Session 94. Eichmann is questioned about the early evacuation and liquidation of all ghettos with the exception of the Budapest ghetto. This is duplicate footage also found on Tape 2142 (at 00:40:23). The footage on Tape 2142 is more complete than on this Tape 2140.

    Some of the session is missing and footage continues with further cross-examination of the accused. This entire section is duplicate footage also found on Tape 2142 beginning at 00:58:02. Hausner, continuing with the subject of deportations, asks Eichmann if his section was aware of the number of people being deported and that people were dying en route. Judge Halevi asks if there was any way Eichmann could have prevented the people from dying in the transports. Eichmann testifies that there was nothing he could have done but Hausner notes that he was in charge of determining the number of people in each car. Hausner reads a quote from the Sassen document describing the accused's indifference to the deaths. The Sassen document consisted of a set of tapes and their transcripts from interview sessions between Dutch journalist Willem Sassen and Adolf Eichmann over a four-month period in 1957. Sassen, a former SS man, had been attached to an Einsatzgruppe unit during the war. Following the war he was sentenced to death in his own country. Sassen fled to South America where he met and interviewed Eichmann. The tapes and transcripts were referred to throughout the trial.

    A portion of the session is missing. The remaining footage consists of Hausner reading segments from the Sassen document which indicate the accused's satisfaction with his work in the Reich Main Security Office (RSHA). Eichmann denies that he made the statements and testifies that he was under the influence of alcohol. The Attorney General dismisses Eichmann's answer by stating that the document does not give that impression.
    Film Title
    Eichmann Trial
    Duration
    01:02:11
    Date
    Event:  1961 July 12
    Production:  1961 July 12
    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
    00:00:44:00 to 01:02:55:00
    Film Format
    • Master
    • Master 2140 Video: Digital Betacam - NTSC - large
      Master 2140 Video: Digital Betacam - NTSC - large
      Master 2140 Video: Digital Betacam - NTSC - large
      Master 2140 Video: Digital Betacam - NTSC - large
    • Preservation
    • Preservation 2140 Video: Betacam SP - NTSC - large
      Preservation 2140 Video: Betacam SP - NTSC - large
      Preservation 2140 Video: Betacam SP - NTSC - large
      Preservation 2140 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: 2408
    Source Archive Number: VTEI 335
    Record last modified:
    2024-02-21 07:44:11
    This page:
    https:​/​/collections.ushmm.org​/search​/catalog​/irn1001815

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