Eichmann Trial -- Sessions 52 and 53 -- Testimonies of Pinhas Freudiger, Martin Foeldi, Ze'ev Sapir

Session 52. Footage begins in the middle of the session with testimony from Pinhas Freudiger identifying Eichmann and relating the circumstances under which he first met Eichmann in Budapest. He notes that he had wanted to speak to Krumey and Eichmann's deputy Dieter Wisliceny about stopping the deportations. Eichmann takes notes. There is some confusion about the translation of a German phrase (00:05:15). Various shots of Eichmann, the judge's bench and both the prosecution and defense lawyers. A portion of the proceedings is missing and footage resumes with Freudiger testifying about his second meeting with Eichmann about the proposed ghettoization of the Hungarian Jews. Medium shots of Eichmann taking notes. A portion of the proceedings is missing and resumes with Freudiger giving an account of the beginning of mass deportations from the provincial towns. Cut to later in Freudiger's testimony. Freudiger describes how Eichmann and Wisliceny celebrated the Hungarian Government's agreement to the deportations and discuss how to implement the deportations. Footage resumes without missing any of the proceedings. State Attorney Gavriel Bach asks Freudiger when he realized that the deportees were being sent to Auschwitz (00:17:25) and when he realized what that meant for the prisoners (00:21:32). Freudiger, his voice choking, speaks about the report about Auschwitz written by two Slovaks who had escaped the camp (00:23:09). The proceedings continue with Freudiger describing a postcard he received from friends who had been deported. Someone from the audience screams in Hungarian (00:26:08) and is removed from the court. Judge Landau asks for quiet in the courtroom. Another person in the courtroom starts to scream in Yiddish (00:27:22) and is escorted out. Landau stops the session and the judges leave for a recess. Various shots of the courtroom and the lawyer's tables. Hausner and Bach confer with the rest of the prosecution. Defense attorney Dr. Robert Servatius stands by his desk. Views of the audience standing and talking. Session 53: The remainder of Freudiger's testimony and the rest of the session is missing. Footage begins again with witness Dr. Martin Foeldi in session 53 describing his arrival in Auschwitz with his family. The remainder of Foeldi's testimony is missing. The footage picks up later in the session with witness Ze'ev Sapir. Sapir describes the march to the camp at Gleiwitz and the murder of most of his contingent by the SS. He then gives an account of how he escaped and shows the court the tattooed number he received in Auschwitz.