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Eichmann Trial -- Session 94 -- Cross-examination of the Accused

Film | Digitized | Accession Number: 1999.A.0087 | RG Number: RG-60.2100.141 | Film ID: 2141

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    Eichmann Trial -- Session 94 -- Cross-examination of the Accused

    Overview

    Description
    The footage begins in the middle of Session 94 during cross-examination of Adolf Eichmann by Attorney General Gideon Hausner. Hausner questions the accused about how he reacted when he saw the corpses of Germans killed by Allied bombing beginning in 1943. Eichmann recounts the first time he saw dead bodies of Jews (00:01:37). The accused, when questioned about his claim that he asked to be relieved of his duties, states that he had asked Heinrich Mueller for his release (00:04:56). Mueller was head of Section IV (Gestapo) of the Reich Main Security Office (RSHA) and deputy commander of the Security Police and the SD subordinate to Heydrich, and after Heydrich's assassination, to Ernst Kaltenbrunner. Hausner reads a long passage in German from the Sassen document. The Sassen document consisted of transcripts from a series of interviews between Adolf Eichmann and Dutch journalist Willem Sasssen conducted over a four-month period in 1957. Sassen, a former member of the SS, 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.

    The footage resumes after a break without missing any of the session. Hausner continues to read from the Sassen document. This section duplicates footage found on Tape 2140 (at 00:45:54). A small section of the English translation of the Sassen document is missing and the footage resumes with Hausner asking Eichmann to comment on the passage (00:17:31). After Eichmann reads the document he denies having made the statements attributed to him (00:19:16). This section is duplicate footage also found on Tape 2140 (at 00:55:36). Hausner reads another excerpt from the Sassen document (00:27:05). Part of this segment is hard to see due to visual interference but the audio is intact.

    There is some visual interference at the beginning of this section although the audio is fine. A small piece of footage is repeated. Hausner asks Eichmann whether he had previously stated that all matters concerning Jews were passed on to department IVB4 (00:32:38) and whether there was a separate file and registry archive in IVB4. Hausner suggests that regardless of whether a document was signed by Heydrich, Mueller, or Kaltenbrunner it was placed in a separate archive if it made a reference to IVB4 (00:35:54). Judge Landau asks Hausner to restate the question for clarity (00:38:51). Hausner asks Eichmann about the number of files housed in the archive and whether his department was a channel for passing information on to Mueller (00:44:39). Eichmann is cross-examined about Mueller's authority and whether or not Helmut Knochen was aware of the difference between Eichmann's and Mueller's areas of responsibility (00:47:23). Knochen was an SS and SD officer in Paris whose duties included concentrating and deporting French Jews to concentration and extermination camps. As part of section VIE (investigation) department of the RSHA he had contact with Eichmann. Eichmann examines a document as he explains the department's filing system. There is a problem with the visual beginning at 00:55:36 to 00:55:58 but the audio is intact.

    A small portion of the footage is repeated and continues with the discussion of Mueller's and Eichmann's positions of authority and the presentation of documents by the Attorney General. The footage continues without missing any of the session. Cross-examination regarding Mueller's and Eichmann's areas of authority continues.
    Film Title
    Eichmann Trial
    Duration
    00:59:31
    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
    Fair
    Time Code
    00:00:24:00 to 00:59:55:00
    Film Format
    • Master
    • Master 2141 Video: Digital Betacam - NTSC - large
      Master 2141 Video: Digital Betacam - NTSC - large
      Master 2141 Video: Digital Betacam - NTSC - large
      Master 2141 Video: Digital Betacam - NTSC - large
    • Preservation
    • Preservation 2141 Video: Betacam SP - NTSC - large
      Preservation 2141 Video: Betacam SP - NTSC - large
      Preservation 2141 Video: Betacam SP - NTSC - large
      Preservation 2141 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.

    *Bursts of fine white noise in original master.
    Copied From
    2" Quad
    Film Source
    Steven Spielberg Jewish Film Archive
    File Number
    Legacy Database File: 2409
    Source Archive Number: VTEI 121
    Record last modified:
    2024-02-21 07:44:12
    This page:
    https:​/​/collections.ushmm.org​/search​/catalog​/irn1001816

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