Eichmann Trial -- Session 97 -- Cross-examination of the Accused

The camera fades in onto Hausner, Bar-Or, and Assistant to the State attorney Ya'akov Robinson seated at the prosecution desk during a recess for Session 97. All three appear to be examining documents. The camera cuts and zooms onto a shot of Eichmann's empty booth (00:01:51). There is another cut and the camera pulls back onto a long shot of the courtroom. Servatius can be seen sitting at the defense table on the left. Adolf Eichmann enters the booth (00:02:52) escorted by three guards. Another shot of the attorney's desks shows Servatius seated to the left and Hausner and Bach seated on the right. Assistant State Attorney Bar-Or enters and sits between Hausner and Bach (00:04:31). There are various shots of the accused and the courtroom. All rise (00:09:06) as judges Halevi, Landau, and Raveh enter the courtroom. Hausner resumes the cross examination of the accused (00:09:34) concerning at meeting held in Paris on 1 July 1942 with Theodor Dannecker to lay down the implementation of the Final Solution of the Jewish Question in France. The Attorney General asks Eichmann to indicate whether it was discussed how Dannecker would introduce anti-Jewish measures into France such as the withdrawal of citizenship, confiscation of property, and deportation of the Jews. Hausner further asks whether the measures taken by Dannecker and Helmut Knochen were the result of these meetings (00:10:17). To both questions Eichmann answers in the affirmative. A document is presented to the accused and Hausner asks about a letter sent by Eichmann to the Foreign Ministry asking that one thousand stateless Jews and French nationals be sent to Auschwitz (00:12:01) and without waiting for an answer from the Ministry, ordered Dannecker to contact the French authorities and proceed with the deportations (00:13:19). To all of these questions Eichmann testifies that the documents are correct. Several documents are then presented by Hausner, one noting that Eichmann had contacted the Foreign Ministry to inform them that only able-bodied people were to be deported (00:14:31), and the other ordering ten percent of non-able-bodied people to also be deported (00:16:41) rising the total number of deportees to one hundred thousand and that he must have known that these people were being sent for immediate extermination (00:17:19). Eichmann acknowledges the authenticity of the document. Hausner proceeds to show that Eichmann had asked the Foreign Ministry for permission to arrest Hungarian Jews residing in Germany (00:17:52) noting that his request had been denied (00:19:20) but he proceeded with the arrests anyway (00:20:20). Eichmann states that some local police did not abide by the instructions given by the Foreign Ministry. Hausner returns to the subject of the 1 July 1942 meeting with Dannecker asking the accused whether they discussed measures being taken towards deporting Jews from Vichy France (00:25:25). The accused states that it is possible but he does not remember. The Attorney General points to a document telling him that he did not wait for authorization from the Foreign Ministry and proceeded to deport Jews from Vichy (00:26:04). The footage in this section (00:29:41 to 00:42:52) is all duplicate footage found on Tape 2154 (from 00:22:35 to 00:35:45). The footage on Tape 2156 is more complete. Hausner presents a document to the accused regarding a letter he sent to the Foreign Ministry about the deportation of able-bodied Jews from Romania. Eichmann is asked whether he drafted the letter or just dictated the document. Hausner proceeds to submit another document showing that a separate letter was sent to Himmler on the same matter but noting that non-able bodied Jews were to be deported as well (00:33:58 and on Tape 2154 at 00:26:51). Eichmann is accused of, but denies, lying to the Foreign Ministry about which Jews were to be deported from Romania. The remaining footage on this tape is not duplicate footage. The session continues with Hausner questioning the accused about withholding information from the Foreign Ministry regarding negotiations between Gustav Richter and Mihai Antonescu concerning deporting Jews from Romania (00:42:52). Eichmann is further questioned about whether he received reports from Richter regarding his actions and meetings with Antenescu (00:46:48). This discussion continues for a long time until Hausner asks the accused why the Foreign Ministry had to issue an apology to him for taking measures related to Jewish affairs without his participation (00:58:16). Eichmann testifies that this was a normal bureaucratic measure (01:01:20). 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.