Barbie Trial -- Day 10 -- A victim testifies

15:47 Mrs. Ennat Vitte, a civil party, continues to testify regarding her experience in Ravensbrück 15:48 President Cerdini asks the witness to describe the circumstances under which she lost her eyesight in Ravensbrück, and whether her inability to walk is a consequence of her time there; the witness has difficulty answering the questions posed 15:52 Prosecutor Vuillard asks the witness to confirm a particular threat leveled at her by Barbie 15:54 President Cerdini calls forward the next witness, Mrs. Simone Lagrange née Kadosche, a civil party in the suit against Barbie 15:55 Mrs. Langrange testifies; she was arrested at age 13 on June 6, 1944 (D-Day); she was taken with her parents to the Gestapo headquarters in Lyon, where she met Barbie, who was holding a cat in his arms; Barbie hit her repeatedly and pulled her hair, asking for the address of her younger siblings; she and her parents were then taken to the Montluc prison 16:01 The witness spent several nights in Montluc with her mother, where Barbie often retrieved her to question and torture her, as well as her mother; she was sent to Drancy with her mother on June 23, 1944, and recalls Drancy as a time 'almost of happiness,' because she was with her mother 16:06 Mrs. Lagrange describes the transport from Drancy to Auschwitz, which lasted 5 days; she explains that by the end of the journey, they had become 'different people,' because of all of the deaths they had witnessed 16:09 The witness describes her arrival in Auschwitz and the undressing, shaving, and tattooing of the new inmates; she describes learning of the existence of the crematoria 16:14 The witness describes the evacuation from Auschwitz in January 1945; 25,000 prisoners left Auschwitz on January 18, and in February, the 2,000 survivors arrived at Ravensbrück; there, she saw her father executed 16:17 President Cerdini questions the witness; she describes learning Barbie's name from a TV broadcast in 1972; she was then interviewed for a TV broadcast on Barbie, and came face to face with him 16:25 Prosecutor Libman asks the witness to give the precise transport number and date of her transport to Auschwitz; he asks whether she knew that children from Izieu had been in the same transport, and she replies that she did not know at the time, but that she realized this after the war; he then asks the witness whether, when she confronted Barbie, he denied his role in her deportation; she replies that he denied nothing; Libman reads aloud from a deposition given by Barbie in 1983 16:33 President Cerdini asks defense lawyer Vergès whether he has questions for the witness; the witness quickly interrupts and explains that she refuses to answer his questions; Vergès responds briefly to prosecutor Libman, and is booed by the prosecutors 16:36 Prosecutor Klarsfeld comments that Mrs. Lagrange was not arrested solely for being involved in the Resistance, but for being both involved and for being Jewish 16:37 President Cerdini suspends the hearing