Eichmann Trial -- Sessions 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 -- Testimony of A. Less

Identifier
irn1001037
Language of Description
English
Alt. Identifiers
  • 1999.A.0087
  • RG-60.2100.023
Level of Description
Item
Languages
  • English
  • German
  • Hebrew
Source
EHRI Partner

Creator(s)

Biographical History

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.

Scope and Content

Sessions 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10. Attorney General Gideon Hausner questions Avner Less on his interrogation of Adolf Eichmann. In between three blips, the prosecution presents the audio reel tapes of Eichmann's interrogation. The recordings are in German; therefore, the excerpts are translated into Hebrew and English after each excerpt is played. Following the blip at 00:18:00, Eichmann's statement is translated into Hebrew/English. Eichmann discusses his inability to view injuries: "I am often told that I could never have been a doctor." During the recording, Eichmann makes excuses for his faulty memory, and claims time has stripped his mind of particulars. There is a skip at 00:23:03; the translation of Eichmann's interrogation continues. Eichmann describes a room with Jews who were forced to strip naked and get into a truck. The truck "...drove up a long ditch, the doors were opened, and the [now dead] bodies were thrown out..." After a blip at 00:30:16, Hausner presents more excerpts from the interrogation where Eichmann reveals his interactions with the concentration camps. Eichmann describes trips to Minsk and Bialystok, and recounts watching a woman being shot by Nazi police. The Acussed expresses abhorrence for the action, and states: "This is terrible what is going on there." The contents of the audio reel tapes continue to be presented. Eichmann discusses a department in the SS that is solely responsible for producing fake documents for the officers who want to change their identities. Eichmann claims he did not want to change his name, and instead prayed for death as the Allies attacked Berlin. There is a blip at 00:51:10 which moves the story to Session 10. The recording of Eichmann's interrogation plays briefly, followed by the translation. After another blip, Eichmann notes during his interrogation that he is not entirely innocent; although he was not directly responsible for the events of the Holocaust, he was an accomplice: "I am ready to hang myself in public, as a warning example for the last anti-Semites of the countries of this world." Hausner continues to present Eichmann's interrogation to the court. In between blips, excerpts from the interrogation are translated; Eichmann and Less discuss 'special treatment.' Less questions Eichmann on the meaning and intent of the term 'special treatment,' and Eichmann replies: "Special treatment means killing."

Note(s)

  • See official transcripts, published in "The Trial of Adolf Eichmann", Vol. I-V, State of Israel, Ministry of Justice, Jerusalem, 1994, pp. 100, 109-110, 112-114, 117, 128-130, and 141-142. Also available online at the Nizkor Project. See Hannah Arendt, "Eichmann in Jerusalem," Chapter 6, "The Final Solution: Killing" quoting extensively from the tapes. See also Jochen von Lang and Claus Sibyll, "Eichmann Interrogated, Transcripts from the Archives of the Israeli Police." Approximately 10% of Eichmann's pre-trial testimony was published in this book, which also features an introduction by Mr. Less. *Some areas of master poor quality; penetrated; "s" distortion. There are approximately 10 blips throughout the course of Film ID 2022. 00:05.13 to 00:05.16 00:06.27 to 00:06.33 00:18.00 to 00:18.04 00:23.03 00:30.16 to 00:30.19 00:39.38 to 00:39.41 00:43.53 to 00:43.56 00:51.10 to 00:51.13 00:56.07 to 00:56.24 00:58.11 to 00:58.14 The terminology of the translations from German to Hebrew and English differ slightly between the film and official transcripts.

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Genre

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