Eichmann Trial -- Session 105 -- Servatius re-examines Eichmann

Identifier
irn1001866
Language of Description
English
Alt. Identifiers
  • 1999.A.0087
  • RG-60.2100.186
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

Session 105. There is some overlap from Tape 2185, where Eichmann is being read a passage to which he is attributed, Eichmann said that he never had any special positions, but always followed orders, and Eichmann quotes a man named Miller saying, "Had we had 50 Eichmanns, we would have automatically won the war," insisting that this was not about Eichmann's effectiveness, but rather his ability to follow orders. Eichmann says that while he cannot attest to the accuracy of every word, he says that he did say something to that effect. 00:01:33 Dr. Servatius asks what the ranks were of the people Eichmann dealt with in Hungary. He describes various people of relatively high rank. He is then asked about his low rank and his actual power, and he answers that it was the highest rank he could reach in his position, and he did not have much power. He goes on to explain this. He also notes that Hess had shifted blame from his Ministries to the office Eichmann was in charge of and discusses his hypotheses as to why. 00:13:37 The Roethke Affair, presented by the Prosecution, is discussed, where Eichmann says that if he had informed his superiors about the problem of a lack of rolling stock from France, they would have worked very hard to fix this problem. 00:20:28 The tape is interrupted for a slate reading "Eichmann Trial 4.2.2. NTSC-PAL" for a few seconds. Afterwards, the footage resumes with the beginning of the previous statement. Eichmann says that he had no power to control anything involving the deportations. He is asked if he had helped plan the redistribution of the goods of departed Jews, he answers that he did not, it was not his jurisdiction, but there was a lot of discussion about this, and one military group suggested it. He also mentions the Wannsee Conference as part of this. 00:39:37 Dr. Servatius moves on to the "Gas Affair." Apparently Eichmann reprimanded a man for being too nosy. Questions are asked related to the extermination of the Jews. Eichmann describes the circumstances of an arrest warrant issued against him by the Nazis. He was wrongfully accused of involvement in a diamond theft. He was acquitted and apologized to. 00:51:13 Eichmann talks about his role with the Madagascar Plan, it's advantages, and why it failed. He says that emigration was preferred by the Jewish leaders because of the oppression they faced following the annexation of Austria. Eichmann reviews a statement said to be a quote of his saying that he could not stop the exterminations at Auschwitz; Eichmann says that there are some errors in the quotation, but it is mostly correct.

Note(s)

  • See official transcripts, published in "The Trial of Adolf Eichmann", Vol. I-V, State of Israel, Ministry of Justice, Jerusalem, 1994. Also available online at the Nizkor Project.

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Genre

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