Eichmann Trial -- Session 114 -- Closing statement of the Defense

Identifier
irn1001913
Language of Description
English
Alt. Identifiers
  • 1999.A.0087
  • RG-60.2100.232
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 114. Eichmann's empty booth. Eventually he enters and sits down. 00:10:13 Judges enter. The Judges open Session 114. Attorney General Hausner says that he has prepared a list of precedents mentioned in his closing statement. Dr. Servatius then submits the written copy of his closing statement. Dr. Servatius says that the accusations of Hausner, if true, would be worthy of a monument to Jew-haters, saying that Eichmann was some superman able to commit all of these atrocities. Instead, he says, it was the top brass that decided that Eichmann would be the scapegoat for their actions. 00:20:25 Dr. Servatius says that Eichmann must defend himself against the 15 counts against him, based upon the rulings of Nuremberg. 00:25:18 Tape jumps to Servatius's case rejecting Counts 13 through 15. 00:27:01 Tape jumps. Slate. Begins again with the counts concerning the treatment of foreigners, saying that the laws require a link between the nation affected and the perpetrator. Because the State of Israel did not exist at that time, and Eichmann was not in Israeli territory, that link does not exist in this case. 00:36:08 The resettlement of the Slovenians is brought up, citing that Eichmann did not have the personal resources to cause any of these things, and that it was Heydrich and the Reich itself that made it happen. 00:37:44 Slate, and the trial resumes with a descripton of the transport of Roma, and the accusations that crimes against humanity occurred during the deportation. Servatius says that the Prosecution did not produce any evidence showing such. 00:42:10 The Lidice Children were taken by orders from the SD in Prague, and thus Eichmann is innocent of any accusations related to them, says Servatius. The special treatment mentioned with these children is brought up once again, especially the misunderstanding created in that order. 00:48:26 Dr. Servatius, in addressing Count 8, says that to commit war crimes, a state of war must exist between the parties involved. Much of the case occurred in nations that were not at war, including Germany and Austria; the trial would have to occur in the states that were at war. The introduction of a third party is violation of international law, and Israel has no right to address these actions retroactively. Dr. Servatius speaks in German, tape stops abruptly.

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.

Subjects

Places

Genre

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