Eichmann Trial -- Sessions 18 and 19 -- Testimonies of D. Meretz, W. Zimet and M. Burger

Sessions 18 and 19. Assistant State Attorney submits Prosecution Document 505, a cable from Joseph Kennedy, American Ambassador in London. The cable describes a meeting with Ribbentrop about possible Jewish emigration to foreign nations. Bar-Or submits a report on Eichmann's trip to Palestine and Egypt. Blip at 00:09:21 and Bar-Or continues to submit relevant documentation. Blip at 00:11:30. Court is not in session; Defense Attorney Dr. Robert Servatius and the Judges enter the room. Presiding Judge Moshe Landau reprimands Bar-Or for using so much time to submit fifty documents. Bar-Or asserts the importance of the documents. Following a blip at 00:17:24, Bar-Or questions witness Dr. Paul Meretz about Fuch's disappearance, and the Jewish immigration center in Prague. After another blip at 00:19:40, witness Walli Malka Zimet answers questions about the Jewish Emmigration Office in Czechoslovakia. She explains that Adolf Eichmann and Gunther directed the office, and describes the hierarchy and duties in the emigration office. Blip at 00:25:51. Witness Max Burger details the selection process in Moravska Ostrava: "They proceeded in alphabetical order and completely disregarded peoples' objections regarding illness or frailty." After selection, the Jews were taken to a railway station and put onto sealed passenger cars with no food or water. Burger and the other Jews in his transport were released at Nizko and instructed to meet with Eichmann: "...Eichmann told us the Jews were forbidden to recross the San [River] in the opposite direction." Burger describes the Nizko Ghetto; the ghetto was overrun with disease, lacking in food and water, and had no housing. Bar-Or continues to question Burger about the conditions at Nizko. The picture becomes severely distorted after a blip at 00:42:03. THERE IS TECHNICALLY NO PICTURE ON THE REST OF THIS TAPE, THOUGH THE SOUND REMAINS STRONG AND UNDERSTANDABLE. Judge Yitzchak Raveh asks Burger to identify the Accused, and after a positive identification, the witness is dismissed. Attorney General Gideon Hausner discusses the prospect of sending an Israeli Judge abroad to hear testimony of Defense witnesses: "The Governemnt does not see that it is necessary to ask foreign states for permission... [for] an Israel Judge to enter their territory and hear evidence..." Hausner discusses affidavits and Nuremberg policy toward affidavits. Defense Attorney Dr. Robert Servatius offers his opinion, and the Judges state they will give their decision tomorrow morning.