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Eichmann Trial -- Session 70 -- Witness R. Kagan and E. Goldstein

Film | Digitized | Accession Number: 1999.A.0087 | RG Number: RG-60.2100.224 | Film ID: 2224

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    Eichmann Trial -- Session 70 -- Witness R. Kagan and E. Goldstein

    Overview

    Description
    Session 70. The tape begins towards the end of questioning. The judge asks Raya Kagan one last question, concerning human relations between inmates. She answers that in Auschwitz, they survived thanks to friendship and some solidarity.

    00:02:52 They call a new witness, Esther Goldstein. She is sworn in, and she answers that she was transported from Hungary to Auschwitz along with her family. Goldstein is asked to identify her and those she knew in a series of photographs, most of them from before they were taken to Auschwitz, or shortly after they arrived. 00:08:38 After describing a number of photographs and identifying many people that she knew, a group of photos are handed to the Judges, who begin to enter them as exhibits. 00:11:33 Goldstein is shown various photos, she describes each of them. The photos do not seem to have anything in common except that they were of Auschwitz. Slowly the court admits all of these into evidence. 00:24:30 Goldstein is asked how many of the people she identified are still alive. She answers that her brother, her sisters, and only one other man survived. 00:25:03 The court walks through her experience of disembarking the trains and entering the camp, followed by discussing the roll calls and the selections of Dr. Mengele. She describes the horrors of living in the camp, including sleeping twelve in a bed and that many eating from the same dish with no utensils. Discussion of the screening of films in the afternoon. The general public cannot attend, except members of the press and Yad Vashem staff.

    00:31:52 Court adjourns for a recess.

    00:34:22 Tape resumes with the Judges entering once again, only to have it cut off by a slate reading "Eichmann Trial 4.2.2. NTSC-PAL". Afterwards, the same footage begins again.

    00:36:10 Eichmann is asked to rise. The Attorney General states that the evidence for the Prosecution is completed, and the Defense may begin. Eichmann is asked whether or not he would like to testify in his own defense, and whether or not he would like to do so under oath. Eichmann answers that he would like to testify under oath. He swears not on any Bible but only by almighty God.

    00:42:57 Eichmann is put under oath. Dr. Servatius begins with an opening statement, saying that there are two worlds, one of the unapologetic heights of the rulers and the oppressed lows of the ruled. This was because of the state, its dictator, and nothing else. He says that Eichmann will stand and testify, under oath, with a cross examination, to account for his role in what happened. He says that the executions were ordered by the various Ministries, and that Eichmann could not and would not have acted without those orders. The government was truly responsible for all of these things, and that Eichmann was not part of the ruling elite, but only following orders. He says that it is not the job or the intent of the defense to prove or disprove the guilt of any other peoples or nations; that is the job of the scholars. Servatius says that Eichmann will testify on the methods by which he was brought here, then he will testify to the motives by which he joined the Nazi Party, and then he will prove his innocence based on the Prosecution's documents. The numerous things that happened before Eichmann's arrival will be discussed after that.

    01:01:29 Dr. Servatius asks to begin questioning Eichmann as a witness. The details of procedure are gone over. Eichmann is asked and answers that he made the statement that he was brought here of his own free will, but he was forced to make that statement by his captors. He is then asked about his motives of joining the anti-Semitic Nazi Party. Eichmann answers that they were against the Versailles Treaty, and the government that was carrying out the Treaty when they began to rise to power. The Nazis only passed anti-Semitic policies after it was already in power, and Eichmann was in no position to anticipate these policies. Eichmann is asked if he was the planner of a document entered as evidence, and he was. The tape ends suddenly after that.
    Film Title
    Eichmann Trial
    Duration
    01:15:35
    Date
    Event:  1961 August 09
    Production:  1961 August 09
    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
    00:00:22:00 to 01:15:57:00
    Film Format
    • Master
    • Master 2224 Video: Digital Betacam - NTSC - large
      Master 2224 Video: Digital Betacam - NTSC - large
      Master 2224 Video: Digital Betacam - NTSC - large
      Master 2224 Video: Digital Betacam - NTSC - large
    • Preservation
    • Preservation 2224 Video: Betacam SP - NTSC - large
      Preservation 2224 Video: Betacam SP - NTSC - large
      Preservation 2224 Video: Betacam SP - NTSC - large
      Preservation 2224 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: 2501
    Source Archive Number: VTEI 118
    Record last modified:
    2024-02-21 07:44:50
    This page:
    https:​/​/collections.ushmm.org​/search​/catalog​/irn1001905

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