Eichmann Trial -- Session 106 -- Examination by Judge Halevi

Session 106. Starts midsentence with Judge Halevi telling Eichmann that they do not take the words of witnesses as absolute fact. He tells Eichmann, who said earlier that he wanted to write a fair and frank book about what happened as a warning to the youth of Germany, that he can instead accomplish here what he wanted to do with his book, proving to the world, and more importantly to his sons, that he was innocent. 00:06:29 Judge reads the "Proclamation of War by the Jewish People Against the German People" that Eichmann had referenced previously. The Judge acknowledges that even if the proclamation did not exist, Eichmann could have believed it existed, and he quotes a passage that could be misconstrued as that. However, the Judge says, it does not mean that you could treat that nation any differently than any other nation at war, meaning that the Germans singled out the Jews in each nation they invaded. 00:22:10 Eichmann says that like Hiroshima, Nagasaki, and the bombings of civilians in cities, these are all crimes against humanities. However, he says, the crimes at the time were legalized by the state. He swore an oath to the Fuehrer, and through the SS, loyalty to Himmler, which was important. He reads a lengthy quote from Himmler, which was not translated into Hebrew because there were already Hebrew translations for the Judges. 00:31:09 Eichmann says that his outlook has changed since the war. He has slowly moved away from being loyal to his oath. He explains the meaning of the word "Blutkitt," which is debated by the court and evolves into a discussion about Eichmann's treatment of his subordinates. 00:46:24 Heydrich is discussed, along with the strategy and implementation of the extermination of the Jews, with some credit for it given to Pohl. Eichmann says that the details were figured out as it happened, not with any single meeting. 00:55:34 They discuss the beginning of the Judenrat, its purpose to the Nazis, and their role in reducing necessary manpower. The impact of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising on future actions, including its effect on the Hungarian deportations, are then questioned. Eichmann is cut off midsentence.