Eichmann Trial -- Session 29 -- Noske document; Aviel testifies

Session 29. The Court assesses the relevancy of Gustav Noske's testimony in Trial 9 in Nuremberg [T/307]. Defense Attorney Dr. Robert Servatius expresses his desire to examine Noske, should Noske be alive. The Court continues to discuss the significance of Noske testimony, and the issue is put aside for further consideration. Attorney General Gideon Hausner calls witness Avraham Aviel, a Radun ghetto survivor to the stand. Aviel describes the conditions in the Radun ghetto in Poland. He discusses his experiences with Jewish deaths: "...this was the first time I had seen so much blood that had been shed. Since there was frost and the ground was frozen, we buried them [the dead Jews] in the snow." Aviel recounts his family's attempt to save his little brother by dressing him as a Polish child, and sending him out of the ghetto. Though Aviel's brother outwardly resembled a non-Jew, the Nazis discovered him and returned him to the ghetto. Aviel continues to describe SS actions against the Jews in the Radun Ghetto: "They made them [the Jews] undress, and as they mounted the embankment, rounds of shots were heard, and they fell into the pit...- Children, women, family after family." Aviel managed to escape from the group marked for liquidation, and join the group of Jewish men being used for labor. After a blip at 00:33:17, Aviel notes the 1942 partisan revolts against the Gestapo. He mentions a non-Jew named Ancelowitz, who housed Aviel and other Jews despite German inquisitions and threats. Aviel describes the partisan movement; resistance fighters lived in the dense forest, had a food reserve, and many weapons. After his father's death, Aviel migrated throughout Eastern and Western Europe before reaching Palestine. Following Aviel's testimony, Presiding Judge Moshe Landau adjourns for a short recess, and the courtroom empties. After a blip at 00:39:42, the camera focuses on a conversation between Servatius and Assistant State Attorney Bar-Or.