Eichmann Trial -- Sessions 14, 15, 16 and 21 -- Testimony of B. Cohn

Sessions 14, 15, 16 and 21. Witness Benno Cohn describes the effects of Nazism on Jewish cultural life: "...we were no longer allowed to play music of German composers such as Beethoven, Bach, Brahms, Haydn or Mozart." Assistant State Attorney Bar-Or questions Cohn about book burning. Cohn replies: "The books of the most famous Jewish authors were hurled into the bonfire to the sound of shrieks and applause by the students who were present." Bar-Or and Cohn discuss the Nuremberg Laws; Cohn explains the Reichsbuergergesetz [German Citizenship Law], and reads mandates from the Reichsgesetzblatt that defined the differences between Jews and Aryans. The witness mentions a prayer written by Rabbi Dr. Leo Baeck, which the Nazis intercepted. Cohn recites the prayer: "Our hearts are full with mourning, with pain. Our soul is full to the brim. We shall give expressions to all this by our silence..." The Judges assess the session. 00:29:24 Witness Moritz Fleischmann is on the stand. He discusses a meeting with Eichmann. Presiding Judge Moshe Landau asks if the prosecution is finished with the witness; Bar-Or has one more question. After a blip at 00:30:36, witness Noach Zabludowicz describes his experiences with the Nazis. He was arrested after an altercation with two Nazi soldiers; Zabludowicz was taken to the Gestap and badly beaten. Later, the Gestapo asked him to reveal names of Jewish spies; he refused, and was severely beaten. Hausner questions Zabludowicz about hangings in Ciechanow. Zabludowicz describes the hangings, as well as deliberate murders by Nazis such as the killing of an infant child. Hausner also asks the witness to illustrate the conditions on the train to Auschwitz. Servatius does not question Zabludowicz, but all three Judges question the witness on his previous testimony. The tape ends as Judge Raveh asks Zabludowicz about the Jewish population in Ciechanow.