Eichmann Trial -- Session 104 -- Cross-examination of the Accused

The footage begins near the middle of Session 104, with Eichmann reading portions of statements from the Wilhelm Sassen document about congratulations Eichmann received for the foot march [death march] which occurred in November of 1944. Some 70,000 men, women, and children were forced to march from Budapest to Vienna. Some of this footage is duplicated on Tape 2181 (at 00:40:35). Eichmann is then asked to describe his role in the implementation of the foot march, which he insists was technical (00:12:55). The camera switches between Eichmann and the civilians sitting in the courtroom. The footage is cut at points in the translation of Eichmann's statement. There is a slate from 00:16:10 to 00:16:48. At 00:16:52, the time code jumps to 12:49:53. After the translation, Attorney General Gideon Hausner questions Eichmann about who was the originator of the proposal for the foot march. Eichmann is then asked whether he remembered watching the march and the presence of children and elderly persons. Judge Landau asks for a recess and people stand, the judges exit, and Eichmann is escorted out. People talk and file out of the courtroom. A slate indicates the trial date and session time. Eichmann's defense lawyer, Dr. Robert Servatius, enters and sets things on his desk. Eichmann, escorted by guards, enters the booth. All rise as the judges enter (13:01:39). Hausner asks Eichmann if he knew whose house he occupied in Budapest, whether Jews worked on the property, if he had an amphibious vehicle, and whether he was aware of an incident in which a Jewish boy was beaten to death for stealing fruit (13:05:23). This section is duplicated on Tape 2182 (00:07:00- 00:11:07). Eichmann is asked to identify a picture of his assistant, Novak. He is questioned about the establishment of a Gestapo unit in the near East with the aid of the Mufti [Grand Mufti Hajj Amin al Husseini], a Palestinian nationalist who rejected Zionist political ambitions in Palestine and had close ties with the Nazi party. The appointment of Wisliceny as an advisor to Husseini is also discussed (13:12:47). Eichmann is asked about the his relationship with Kaltenbrunner and with Kraus and whether he recommended that Kaltenbrunner promote Kraus. The rest of the segment concerns the "camouflage" of Jewish affairs in Slovakia (13:25:59). Hausner accuses Eichmann of foiling attempts made by the Slovakian government to visit their deported Jews and of taking the Red Cross representatives in June 1944 to Theresienstadt, a camp which was "beautified" prior to a Red Cross visit, in an elaborate attempt to hide the truth about the deportations and terrible conditions of the camps (13:28:48). Hausner turns to the previous day's testimony, which covered a meeting Eichmann held in March 1944. At the meeting he assured the Jews that nothing would happen to them upon deportation. Hausner accuses him of lying, stating that he knew they were being sent to Auschwitz (13:31:12). This last segment is duplicated on Tape 2184 (00:00:44). The footage ends as Hausner asks Eichmann to read from the Sassen document. 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.