Nachlass Avner W. Less papers

Copyright Holder: Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich. Archiv für Zeitgeschichte - Archivleitung Avner Less (Dec.18,1916 - Jan.7,1987), an Israeli police captain and interrogator of Adolf Eichmann, born in Berlin, Germany. In 1933 emigrates in to France, and later to Palestine. Starting from1948, Less holds several Israeli government civil service positions, including the head of the import-export section in the commerce and industry ministry, and deputy director of the legal department of the price control office for the Haifa district. In 1951 Less becomes the police inspector in the white-collar crime section. From 1954-1968 Less serves in the Israel foreign service as attaché and consul in New York and Paris as well as the permanent representative of Israel at the UN’s Commission on Narcotic Drugs and as Israel’s liaison officer to Interpol. From 1961 to 1961 the police captain Avner Less interrogates Adolf Eichmann in preparation for his trial in Jerusalem. In 1968 Less moves to Switzerland where he works until 1971 at the "Banque de Crédit International Genève." From 1972 to 1975 Less is responsible for the internal security and personnel matters at the “Bank Robinson AG” in Basel. From 1976 to 1979 Less works at the "Gesellschaft für Bankrevisionen" in Basel. In 1979, Less becomes the nternal auditor of the "Neutra Treuhand AG" in Zürich. Dies in Zürich, Switzerland. Contains correspondence, memos, diaries, newspaper clippings, lectures, articles, photographs, transcripts of the Israeli Police, case studies, registers of records , and audio interviews from the Adolf Eichmann trial. This collection documents the interrogation of Adolf Eichmann by Avner W. Less and the subsequent trial in Israel. Also includes photocopies from the Bundesarchiv Koblenz of the transcripts of the Eichmann interview conducted by Wilhelm Sassen in 1956. Includes correspondence by Avner Less with publishing houses and newspapers, as well as individuals such as Robert Kempner, Julius Klein, Jochen von Lang, and Samuel Scheps; and other records pertaining to the Eichmann trial, including the preliminary investigation, Eichmann’s interrogation (such as an excerpt of the diary of Vera Less, 23 May to 5 July 1960, about her husband’s role in the interrogation); the main trial; and appeal hearings. Also included are digitized audio files of Eichmann’s interrogation; audio files of interviews with Avner Less about the Eichmann interrogation and trial, such as on the radio program “Gespräch in 3 of 16 October 1982; digitized video files, such as “The Devil Is A Gentleman” by the CBS news magazine “60 Minutes” (1983); working files of the “Büro 06;” manuscripts, lectures, and articles by Avner Less; files pertaining to Ephraim Elrom, David Irving, Herbert Kappler, Rezso Kastner, Robert Kempner, Josef Mengele, Robert Servatius, Kurt Waldheim, Albert Weinberg, Elie Wiesel, et. al.; Avner Less’s participation as a witness in the Nazi war crimes trials of Hermann Krumey and Otto Hunsche, Frankfurt am Main, 1968; a publication, Schuldig - Das Urteil gegen Adolf Eichmann (1987); photographs of Avner Less; and a newspaper clipping depicting him and Adolf Eichmann.