Inhalt (detailliert) |
=== Einstellungsprotokoll (- min/sek):
- 00'32 ARCHIV-VORSPANN
- 00'38'' Filmklappe "TRIAL OF ADOLF EICHMANN / DATE: MAY 30.1961 / SESSION: A.M.I. / Produced by / MILTON FRUCHTMAN / Directed by / LEO HURWITZ / CAPITAL CITIES BROADCASTING CORPORATION"
=== Sitzung 063.02- 02.06.1961:
- 00'48'' Schwarzfilm
=== [Teil von Verhandlung der Sitzung nicht auf Band]
- 00'50'' Gideon Hausner (Generalstaatsanwalt) blδttert stehend in Dokumenten, Robert Servatius schreibend
- 00'56'' Hausner von hinten liest in Dokumenten
- 01'03'' Hausner, Robert Servatius (Eichmanns Verteidiger)
- 01'36'' Hausner
- 01'42'' Dokument, hebrδischer Text (nah)
- 01'52'' Hausner
- 01'56'' Hausner, Servatius
- 03'18'' Eichmann (mit Anzug) mit Kopfhφrer, Hδnde gefaltet auf Tisch
- 03'25'' Hausner, Servatius, Hausner dreht sich u. ist von hinten im Bild
- 03'41'' Moshe Landau (Vorsitzender Richter), Yitzhak Raveh (Richter), Benjamin Halevi (Richter)
- 03'50'' Gerichtssaal (total), Richter blδttern in Dokumenten
- 04'15'' Hausner
- 04'23'' Landau u. Raveh blδttern in Dokumenten, Halevi schreibt
- 04'29'' Hausner seitlich
- 04'38'' Landau u. Raveh unterhalten sich, Raveh setzt Brille auf
- 04'47'' Hausner u. Servatius, Hausner gibt Dokument an Gerichtsmitarbeiter
- 04'58'' Gerichtsmitarbeiter gibt Landau Dokument
- 05'03'' Hausner
- 06'08'' Publikum, zum Teil mit Kopfhφrern
- 06'23'' Gerichtssaal (total)
- 06'35'' Zwei Mδnner im Publikum (nah) mit Kopfhφrern
- 06'40'' Eichmann schreibend
- 06'47'' Gerichtssaal (total), Gerichtsmitarbeiter gibt Landau Dokument
- 06'58'' Hausner
- 07'14'' Publikum, zum Teil mit Kopfhφrern
- 07'22'' Eichmann zurόckgelehnt, Hδnde auf Tisch gefaltet
- 07'27'' Gerichtssaal (total)
- 07'49'' Hausner
- 07'52'' Gerichtssaal, Gerichtsmitarbeiter gibt Landau Dokument
- 08'14'' Hausner liest Dokument vor
- 08'49'' Ein Zuschauer mit Kopfhφrer u. Brille (nah)
- 08'58'' Hausner
- 09'22'' Gerichtssaal (total)
- 09'30'' Ein Zuschauer mit Kopfhφrer u. Brille (nah), Schwenk durch Publikum
- 09'40'' Gerichtssaal (total)
- 09'45'' Publikum
- 09'51'' Hausner (nah) blδttert in Dokumenten
- 10'20'' Gerichtsmitarbeiter bringt Landau Dokument
- 10'25'' Hausner
- 10'53'' Kalenderblatt (nah)
- 11'09'' Hausner
- 11'36'' Eichmann zurόckgelehnt, Hδnde auf Tisch gefaltet
- 11'38'' Gerichtssaal (total), Richter schauen in Dokumente
- 11'52'' Hausner
- 12'11'' Gerichtssaal (total)
- 12'23'' Ben Elkana (άbersetzer) kommt die Treppe hoch u. geht zu Landau, erklδrt etwas zu Dokument
- 12'45'' Landau u. Halevi betrachten zusammen mit Ben Elkana das Dokument
- 12'52'' Finger zeigt auf Dokument (nah)
- 13'00'' Landau u. Halevi betrachten zusammen mit άbersetzer das Dokument
- 13'08'' Wachmann bringt Zettel von Eichmann zu Servatius, dieser nimmt ihn entgegen u. liest ihn
- 13'16'' Richter u. Ben Elkana, Ben Elkana geht
- 14'19'' Servatius u. Hausner stehend
- 14'25'' Servatius u. Hausner stehend von hinten, Gerichtssaal (total)
- 15'05'' Servatius
- 15'15'' Servatius von hinten, Gerichtssaal
- 15'20'' Servatius hδlt Dokument u. setzt sich
- 16'25'' Dokument (nah)
- 16'45'' Servatius
- 16'54'' Gerichtssaal (total), Schwenk zu Richtern
- 17'23'' Hausner, Schwenk zu Eichmann
- 17'46'' Gerichtssaal (total)
- 17'50'' Hausner
- 18'22'' Gerichtssaal (total)
- 18'27'' Servatius stehend, Hausner steht auf, Schwenk zu Hausner
- 19'17'' Gerichtssaal, Gerichtsmitarbeiter bringt Dokument zu Richtern
- 19'32'' Servatius
- 19'42'' Gerichtssaal (total), Gerichtsmitarbeiter steht bei Richtern
- 19'46'' Publikum, vor allem Mδnner mit Kopfhφrern
- 19'53'' Gerichtssaal (total), Gerichtsmitarbeiter steht bei Richtern
- 20'15'' Servatius, schaut auf Dokumente, die auf Tisch vor ihm liegen
- 20'59'' Hausner (nah) seitlich
- 21'25'' Landau
- 21'29'' Hausner (nah) seitlich
- 21'37'' Landau
- 21'46'' Hausner (nah) seitlich
- 22'05'' Alle drei Richter schauen in Dokumente, Landau stόtzt Kopf in Hand
- 22'26'' Dokument (Kalenderblatt) in arabischer Schrift (nah)
- 22'36'' Alle drei Richter schauen in Dokumente
- 22'42'' Hausner (nah) seitlich
- 22'54'' Alle drei Richter schauen in Dokumente, Gerichtsmitarbeiter bringt ein Dokument
- 23'06'' Hausner, Servatius im Bild
- 23'18'' Dokument (Kalenderblatt) in arabischer Schrift (nah)
- 23'29'' Hausner blδttert in seinen Dokumenten u. betrachtet Fotos, Servatius im Bild
- 24'06'' Foto Heinrich Himmler (Reichsfόhrer SS, Innenminister) u. Haji Amin Al Husayni (Mufti von Jerusalem) (nah)
- 24'15'' Alle drei Richter, Landau notiert etwas u. nimmt Foto entgegen
- 24'28'' Hausner όberreicht Gerichtsmitarbeiter ein Foto
- 24'35'' Richter betrachten Fotos
- 24'49'' Foto Himmler u. Haji Amin (nah)
- 25'04'' Raveh u. Halevi betrachten Foto, Landau notiert etwas
- 25'14'' Schwarzfilm
=== [Dazwischen fortgesetzte Verhandlung der Sitzung auf Band EICHMANN TRIAL // SESSION 063.01 - 02-JUN-1961 [ET] (VT EI210) [ET], 01'11''-12'07']
- 25'17'' Israel Gutman (Zeuge) betritt Zeugenstand
- 25'31'' Landau
- 25'34'' Gutman (nah)
- 25'55'' Landau
- 26'01'' Gutman im Zeugenstand
- 26'34'' Hausner
- 26'45'' Gerichtssaal mit Zeugenstand (total). Schwenk zu Gutman
- 27'17'' Gutman (nah)
- 27'57'' Hausner
- 28'06'' Gutman (nah)
- 28'28'' Hausner
- 28'34'' Gutman im Zeugenstand
- 28'38'' Gutman (nah)
- 29'10'' Hausner (nah)
- 29'14'' Gutman (nah)
- 29'42'' Hausner (nah)
- 29'45'' Gutman (nah)
- 29'53'' Hausner (nah)
- 29'58'' Gutman (nah)
- 30'22'' Gutman im Zeugenstand
- 30'30'' Gutman (nah)
- 31'15'' Gutman im Zeugenstand
- 31'19'' Gutman (nah)
- 32'06'' Hausner blickt zum Zeugenstand
- 32'12'' Gutman im Zeugenstand
- 32'29'' Gutman (nah)
- 32'41'' Hausner (nah)
- 32'45'' Gutman (nah)
- 33'26'' Eichmann mit Kopfhφrer
- 33'30'' Gutman (nah)
- 34'23'' Hausner, Servatius im Bild
- 34'44'' Gutman (nah)
- 35'23'' Hausner (nah)
- 35'27'' Gerichtssaal mit Zeugenstand (total), Schwenk zu Gutman
- 36'01'' Gutman (nah)
- 36'45'' Hausner (nah)
- 36'47'' Gutman (nah)
- 37'55'' Raveh, Landau u. Halevi
- 38'00'' Gutman (nah)
- 38'24'' Landau u. Raveh
- 38'30'' Gutman (nah)
- 38'37'' Gerichtssaal mit Zeugenstand (total)
- 38'44'' Gutman (nah)
- 38'54'' Hausner
- 39'01'' Gutman (Hausner unscharf im Bild)
- 40'00'' Hausner
- 40'04'' Gutman
- 40'11'' Gutman (nah)
- 40'26'' Hausner
- 40'37'' Gutman (nah)
- 41'03'' Eichmann zurόckgelehnt mit gefalteten Hδnden
- 41'06'' Gutman (nah)
- 41'39'' Eichmann
- 41'44'' Gutman (nah)
- 42'23'' Eichmann
- 42'26'' Gutman (nah)
- 42'47'' Gerichtssaal mit Zeugenstand (total)
- 42'50'' Gutman (nah)
- 43'19'' Landau
- 43'23'' Gutman (nah)
- 44'42'' Gutman im Zeugenstand
- 44'48'' Gutman (nah)
- 44'55'' Hausner
- 44'58'' Gutman (nah)
- 45'32'' Hausner (nah)
- 45'36'' Gutman (nah)
- 45'59'' Hausner (nah)
- 46'06'' Gutman im Zeugenstand, er setzt sich
- 46'12'' Landau
- 46'16'' Gutman, Gerichtsmitarbeiter richtet Mikrofon, Hausner unscharf
- 46'57'' Hausner (nah)
- 47'10'' Gutman
- 47'21'' Gutman (nah)
- 47'34'' Hausner
- 47'45'' Gutman (nah)
- 48'01'' Hausner
- 48'09'' Gutman (nah)
- 48'38'' Hausner
- 48'41'' Gutman (nah)
- 49'05'' Hausner
- 49'11'' Gutman im Zeugenstand
- 49'17'' Gutman (nah)
- 49'32'' Hausner
- 49'45'' Gutman (nah)
- 50'07'' Hausner
- 50'11'' Gutman im Zeugenstand
- 50'27'' Landau
- 50'31'' Gutman (nah)
- 50'43'' Hausner
- 50'49'' Halevi
- 50'56'' Gutman (nah), Hausner unscharf
- 51'37'' Hausner
- 51'42'' Gutman (nah)
- 52'13'' Hausner (nah)
- 52'23'' Landau
- 52'34'' Hausner (nah)
- 52'44'' Gutman (nah), Hausner unscharf
- 54'09'' Hausner
- 54'11'' Gutman im Zeugenstand
- 54'33'' Gutman (nah), Hausner unscharf
- 54'52'' Hausner
- 54'56'' Gutman im Zeugenstand
- 55'14'' Gutman (nah)
- 56'07'' Hausner (nah)
- 56'11'' Gutman im Zeugenstand
- 56'24'' Eichmann
- 56'29'' Gutman im Zeugenstand
- 56'44'' Gutman (nah)
- 57'07'' Hausner
- 57'15'' Gutman im Zeugenstand
- 57'27'' Gutman (nah)
- 57'40'' Hausner
- 57'44'' Gutman (nah)
- 57'51'' Hausner
- 58'38'' Gutman im Zeugenstand
- 58'54'' Gutman (nah), Hausner unscharf
- 59'04'' Hausner (nah)
- 59'14'' Gutman (nah)
- 59'28'' Eichmann
- 59'35'' Gutman im Zeugenstand
- 59'48'' Gutman (nah)
- 59'53'' Hausner (nah), setzt sich
- 59'59'' Gutman (nah)
- 60'06'' Gerichtssaal (total)
- 60'14'' Ende
=== [Teil von Sitzung nicht auf Band]
=== [Fortgesetzte u. beendete Verhandlung der Sitzung auf Band EICHMANN TRIAL // SESSION 063.01- 02-JUN-1961 [ET] (VT EI210) [ET], 46'59'' - 50'21'']
===
=== Tonprotokoll, Engl. άbersetzung (- min/sek):
=== Sitzung 063.02- 02.06.1961:
=== [Teil von Verhandlung der Sitzung nicht auf Band]
- 0102 Hausner: Haji Amin writes to the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry on the subject of the four thousand Jewish children concerning whom Sir Oliver Stanley announced in the British Parliament that the British Government was prepared to give immigration permits for Palestine. And he goes on to say in the second paragraph: "To allow the departure of the Jews from the country in which they now live, in this way, will not solve the Jewish Question and will not save the country which they are leaving from harm; but, on the contrary, their departure in this form will enable them to join freely the members of their race in enemy countries, and they will be given the possibility of going on to Palestine and other countries in the Middle East." The third paragraph says: "Furthermore, the residence of these Jews, since the outbreak of the War to this day, in your country and in various other countries, has enabled them to learn much about your war effort, and they would, as soon as they will be able to do so, use this information for the benefit of the Allies. Apart from that, the emigration of the Jews to the Arab countries, and particularly to Palestine, runs counter to the most vital interests of the Arab people which, in every respect, is on the side of the Axis countries and their allies."And this is what Haji Amin wants: "Therefore, I permit myself to draw your attention to the fact that it is very proper and more useful to prevent the Jews from leaving your country and to send them to a place where they will be under strict supervision, such as Poland, for example. Thus, one will be protected from the danger they represent, and you will render a great service to the Arab people, who will appreciate your action, and thus the friendly relations with your people will become yet closer." The dispatch of Jews from Bulgaria to Poland for extermination this will strengthen the friendship of the Arab people, for whom Haji Amin appoints himself to be spokesman, for the Bulgarian people
- 0411 Halevi: He does not write "extermination"
- 0413 Hausner: But that is absolutely clear, Your Honour
- 0418 Landau: He writes "to Poland, under strict supervision"
- 0422 Halevi: It would depend on the date; if it was 6 May 1943, he would have known already
- 0428 Hausner: Whoever knew the secrets of the Germans on 6 May 1943, knew the significance of the deportation of Jews to Poland. Our next document, No. 1312, is a copy of a letter found in the same archives apparently a copy for the Romanian Foreign Minister. I have already said that Haji Amin was working on all fronts. He does not rely upon the approach to Ribbentrop. He also wants to turn to all the countries from which the Jews have to depart. Therefore, he turns to Bulgaria. And now we have a copy of this approach to the Romanian Foreign Ministry again on the same subject. The Jews want to leave for Palestine. The Jewish Agency has secured certificates for eighteen hundred Jewish children, accompanied by two hundred adults, to emigrate and proceed to Romania. The letter ends by saying: "For this reason, I ask Your Excellency to permit me to draw your august attention to the necessity for preventing the departure of the Jews from your country for Palestine. If there are reasons which warrant the removal of the Jews, it is essential and infinitely more desirable that they should leave your country for some other place where they can be kept under active supervision, such as Poland, for example, and in this way you may be protected from the danger they represent and avoid the harm they might cause. "This is in the same form as the approach to Bulgaria
- 0645 Hausner: Our document No. 1398 is a memorandum from the Foreign Ministry, in which the Counsellor in the Italian embassy in Berlin advises of the Mufti's approaches to the Italian Foreign Minister, to prevent the immigration to Palestine of 4,500 Bulgarian Jews. The Mufti requests that steps be taken to prevent the immigration and informs the Italians that he is also writing, in this connection, to the governments of both Germany and Bulgaria. The Court should kindly note that the Mufti was staying in Rome at that time, and some of the letters which I have submitted to you bearing his signature were written in Rome
- 0738 Landau: This document will be marked T/1265
- 0743 Hausner: Birds of a feather flock together. Our document No. 1302 is a joint letter of Haji Amin Al Husayni and Rashid Ali Kilani from Rome to the German Foreign Minister, Joachim von Ribbentrop. On 28 April 1942, the two Arab leaders declare the following: "Your Excellency, the Reichsminister. In our discussions with you, we expressed the confidence of the Arab people in the Axis Powers and in their exalted aims, and have explained the national objectives of the Arab countries in the Near East, who are being suppressed at the present time by the British. We have declared the willingness of the Arab people to take part in the war against the common enemy until final victory. Our present request is that the German Government declares its readiness to grant to the Arab countries, suffering at the present time from British oppression, every possible succour in their war of liberation, to recognize the sovereignty and the independence of the Arab countries of the Near East, suppressed at the present time by the British, and to agree to their unification, if it should be desired by those concerned, and to the liquidation of the Jewish National Home in Palestine. We have agreed that the text and the contents of this letter will be kept absolutely secret until otherwise decided by mutual agreement. Please accept, Your Excellency the Foreign Minister, the assurance of my greatest esteem." Signed: Amin Al Husayni, Rashid Ali Kilani
- 1010 Hausner: The diary of the Mufti of Jerusalem, Haji Amin, was also amongst the documents that fell into the hands of the Allies. Mr. Arazi authenticated it. It is our No. 1306. This is a memorandum in the Mufti's diary, on a page bearing the date of 9 November 1944. Six words are noted there, but we have only succeeded in deciphering three of them. They are written in Arabic. These three say: "the best of the friends of the Arabs"
- 1058 Landau: Let us see where it appears
- 1105 Hausner: At the top of the right-hand column on 9 November, 22 Zilkade, Thursday, "the best of the friends of the Arabs," and underneath it, in Latin characters, "Eichmann"
- 1133 Landau: I want to see the Arabic words here
- 1135 Hausner: They are here, at the top of the right- hand column
- 1145 Landau: I only see the words "el Arab" the Arabs
- 1154 Hausner: This has been deciphered by Superintendent S. Ben Elkana, the translator who gave you the official document
- 1200 Landau: I believe that, if someone would come here and show it to us, all three of us would be capable of reading it
- 1223 Hausner: This is Mr. Ben Elkana, he will show to the court, what he had translated from the Arabic here
- 1320 Landau: I understand that someone else deciphered it, and you translated it
- 1350 Halevi: The Arabic words "The best of the friends of the Arabs" are not altogether clear
- 1415 Landau: The only thing clear is "el Arab", the Arabs
- 1420 Hausner: "Eichmann" is written in Latin characters
- 1430 Landau: With all due respect to the expert who undoubtedly is an expert he was born in Austria. Perhaps you can find one who is a native of Jerusalem or Iraq?
- 1448 Halevi: Does the Prosecution maintain that this is Eichmann's signature?
- 1452 Hausner: No. We contend that this is the Mufti's note we are going to submit further extracts from the diary
- 1500 Halevi: But who wrote the word "Eichmann" in Latin characters?
- 1505 Hausner: I don't know; this is how we found it. I don't know who wrote it
- 1604 Servatius: Your Honour, the Landau. I have misgivings regarding the word "Eichmann", as to whether it was or was not written by the Mufti himself. And I suspect that someone else added the word at a later stage. I say this after comparing it with other notes in Latin characters appearing in a different handwriting. I would, in particular, point to the letters "ch" in the name "Eichmann" and compare them with the notes in Latin characters on 10 November, where the name "Buchberg" appears, and the letters "ch" are written differently. Hence, a handwriting expert should have been brought here first, in order to attest whether this is the same handwriting
- 1657 Landau: We shall accept it, for what it is worth
- 1704 Halevi: Perhaps only that on that date Eichmann's name is mentioned in the diary.
- 1715 Landau: This will be exhibit T/1267
- 1722 Hausner: If the Accused wants to dissociate himself from these friendly relations, he may possibly succeed in doing so
- 1737 Landau: But if you want to make a further effort to decipher it, maybe the police expert, Mr. Hagag, who was born in Egypt, could do so
- 1743 Hausner: The diary was shown to him. We thought about that. He was not able to come to a clear conclusion who wrote the word "Eichmann" whether it was the Mufti or someone else. In this matter, he did not have a firm opinion, but we can ask him to have another look at it
- 1820 Halevi: Certainly the Accused did not write it?
- 1821 Hausner: There is no such allegation
- 1835 Servatius: One cannot see clearly what the year is. This page of the diary seems to be 1944
- 1907 Hausner: A further extract from the Mufti's diary, dated 25 March 1944 ("30 Rabi el Awal"). There are two entries. It says: "The expert dealing with Jewish affairs I want to be in contact with him." The translation is that of Superintendent Hagag. It says, "contact with him" or "a meeting with him." After that come the words, "the bombing of Tel Aviv and the Dead Sea." Next comes a word which could not be deciphered, and after that it says, "Haifa and enterprises there"
- 2136Landau: Actually, I have managed to decipher this word which is "harbia" the reference is to war enterprises
- 2200 Hausner: After that: "It is within our power to conduct operations throughout Palestine"
- 2215 Landau: I think that, with an additional effort, the rest can also be deciphered. This will be exhibit T/1268
- 2233 Hausner: Document No. 1304 is a photocopy of the Mufti's diary of 29 September 1943. No. 5: "Subject: The Jews of Italy, France and Hungary, and who is the expert dealing with the affairs of the Jews?" No. 6, of the same date: "Kaltenbrunner and the meeting with him on the subject of the Jews"
- 2352 Hausner: Reichsfόhrer Heinrich Himmler gave a photograph of the two of them together to to His Eminence, the Grand Mufti, as a souvenir
- 2411 Landau: This will be exhibit T/1270
- 2441 Hausner: And here is another picture of the two, of Himmler and Haji Amin, seated together in the company of others
=== [Dazwischen fortgesetzte Verhandlung der Sitzung auf Band EICHMANN TRIAL // SESSION 063.01 - 02-JUN-1961 [ET] = EICHMANN TRIAL // VT EI210 [ET], 01'11''-12'07']
- 2530 Gutman: I wish to make an affirmation
- 2535 Landau: Why do you want to make an affirmation? It is my duty to ask you this question
- 2545 Gutman: I can only do things that I believe in with perfect faith
- 2600 Gutman: Will be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth
- 2615 Landau: What is your full name?
- 2618 Gutman: Israel Gutman
- 2634 Hausner: You are a member of Kibbutz Lahavot Habashan in Upper Galilee?
- 2640 Gutman: Yes, since my arrival in Israel
- 2654 Hausner: You were active in the uprising of the Warsaw Ghetto, and, with the suppression of the uprising, you were taken out of the bunker where you were wounded?
- 2708 Gutman: Yes. I was a member of the fighting organization in the Warsaw Ghetto, and I came out after the uprising was crushed on 5 May 1943
- 2722 Hausner: What led you to leave the bunker?
- 2725 Gutman: I was wounded. And I was lying in one of the bunkers that had been prepared there was a doctor there as well. They discovered the bunker and introduced poison, chlorine, into it. I was not aware of when and how I got outside. I, and all the people who came out of this bunker, were affected by the poison
- 2759 Hausner: And then you were transferred to the assembly square, which was known in Warsaw as the Umschlagplatz?
- 2806 Gutman: I was transferred through the streets of Warsaw for the last time, I saw the town in its ruins. I saw corpses in the streets, I saw the destroyed houses. And they took me to the Umschlagplatz. Nor was this for the first time
- 2829 Hausner: And railway freight cars were standing there?
- 2831 Gutman: Railway freight cars waited there, ready. We were put inside right away, and the train started off
- 2841 Hausner: How many people were there in that transport?
- 2844 Gutman: I cannot state numbers. I can only say that it was actually impossible to stand up in the freight car
- 2856 Hausner: Why was it impossible to stand?
- 2900 Gutman: Since the congestion was so great. It was one block of human beings. And when members of families lost contact with one another in this dense crowd, they were unable to find one another again
- 2917 Hausner: Where did the train come to?
- 2920 Gutman: We thought that the train was going to Treblinka, but it went to Majdanek. We were later told by veteran prisoners at Majdanek that all the victims could not be absorbed in Treblinka, and, therefore, some of the transports were sent to Majdanek
- 2951 Hausner: Describe to us what happened when you reached the railway station at Majdanek
- 2959 Gutmann: When we got there, they were already awaiting us
- 3006 Hausner: Who were "they"?
- 3008 Gutman: They, the SS brutes. They lined us up in rows of fives. By shouting and hitting us with whips, they began to spur us on, to make us run towards the camp. We walked from the railway station in Lublin to the gates of the camp
- 3035 Hausner: How long did the walk last?
- 3039 Gutman: I am unable to state how long it was. We arrived there, and they made us lie down they told us that we could lie down on a lawn. At first, we did not know where we were. We lay there for several hours. Afterwards, it was towards evening, it began getting dark, and they took us to the bathhouse. I was not aware then although I did not believe that it was a bathhouse I did not know where I was I knew what they were doing. But the man who shaved my hair at the bathhouse told me that people remained alive here but he could not tell me how long I would remain alive. And when I came out of there, I noticed that many of those who had come with me were no longer there. I was not at all aware that a selection was taking place there. After that, I went through very many such selections, when I knew and saw that this was in the classic Nazi style
- 3206 Hausner: Where were you housed in Majdanek?
- 3212 Gutman: At that time, in May 1943, Majdanek was divided into five fields they called them "fields." These fields were separated. Each field constituted a camp in itself. Each one had its administrative authorities, and the regime also differed from field to field. I found myself in field No. 4
- 3300 Landau: How was the field called in German?
- 3310 Gutman: Feld. That was field No. 4. I was told and afterwards I knew that this was the worst field in Majdanek. It had been opened in our honour. Until we arrived there, it was empty. It was constructed in such a way that in the centre there was a large parade ground, a square for roll-calls. On either side, there stood very long huts, stables for horses, and this was where we were housed
- 3329 Hausner: Was there anything written on the huts?
- 3333 Gutman: Yes. It was written that their capacity was fifty-two horses. They placed us inside as far as I remember, I cannot be one hundred per cent accurate we were about eight hundred people in this hut. It was hut No. 18. There were twenty-two such huts. Only in one hut were there veteran prisoners; they had been brought there to train us, to introduce us to that way of life in the camp, a way of life which we knew as the realm of the SS, the way of life that the SS prepares for human beings
- 3424 Hausner: Mr. Gutman, I know this must be difficult for you, but it would make it simpler for all of us if you would kindly merely answer my questions
- 3440 Hausner: Now, how many floors were there in a hut such as this?
- 3445 Gutman: These bunks that we slept in were of three tiers. I should imagine that the width of such a bunk was about 80 cm., perhaps 60
- 3500 Hausner: For one person?
- 3501 Gutman: It was for one person, formally, I might say
- 3508 Hausner: And in practice?
- 3511 Gutman: At the time of our arrival, many transports were brought in. They made two people lie down in one bunk of this kind
- 3521 Hausner: What was the work like at Majdanek?
- 3527 Gutman: Our work schedule was as follows: They made us get up at 4.30 for a morning roll-call. After that, if the roll-call was in order, if they were satisfied that all were present if people had died, or if there were sick or injured persons, they had to be dragged from the block and laid down next to those standing the important thing was that the total should be correct, it was important that everyone should be there. If they found that the number was correct, we were dismissed, and work would begin
- 3615 Hausner: What sort of work was it?
- 3617 Gutman. At that time, there was no work for us at Majdanek, and hence they sought to have us occupied. Perhaps it was something which they regarded as work we used to carry stones from one place to another. We were divided into sections. One group would carry the stones, a second group would crush these stones into gravel, while a third would pave a road with this gravel. Conditions were better for those who were paving the road, since the work had to be done at the double. The stones had to be placed inside the folds of our clothes, and they used to check whether we had taken enough stones. The work had to be done at the double. This was our work. I did not perform this work for long. They gave us wooden clogs for our feet plain pieces of wood which had a strap of cloth one and a half centimetres, maybe one centimetre wide, and that was a valued possession. I was not aware of that. And, on one of the early nights, one of these clogs was stolen from me, and at these roll- calls, at 4.30 in the morning it was extremely cold at the time I had to stand barefoot, with one foot bare. Some days later, I ran a high temperature. When I got up in the morning, I fainted, and I was dragged by my companions to a sick roll-call, it was called a sick roll-call and I was taken to the Revier at Majdanek
- 3835 Hausner: What was the meaning of Revier?
- 3838 Gutman: That was what was supposed to be a hospital. It is impossible to use this term, but in the language of the camp we used this expression Revier
- 3855 Hausner: How long were you there?
- 3858 Gutman I contracted pneumonia, with complications caused by gas poisoning. I was not the only one to be sick with an illness like that
- 3909 Hausner: Are you referring to the chlorine poisoning in the Warsaw bunkers?
- 3911 Gutman: Yes, I am talking of the chlorine poisoning we contracted already in Warsaw. I was not the only one suffering from this illness, but a very great number of those who came on the transport together with me contracted this illness. And, in general, I could say that all my acquaintances died. I was fortunate. Some doctor who examined me found grenade splinters in my face, he noticed the wound I had under my eyes and decided to give me medicines, something which nobody received at any rate not the Jews in Majdanek. I would like to say that I was told there that I was a lucky man because, only a short time before I came to Majdanek, they were not admitting Jews to the hospital at all. A Jew who fell ill was shot. And this liberal practice, whereby Jews were admitted to the hospital this was a new regulation
- 4024 Hausner: Mr.Gutman, while you were in hospital, did you see people being marched off to the gas chambers in Majdanek?
- 4034 Gutman: Yes, this happened once. I heard some noise, and whoever could stand on his legs jumped out of bed and ran to the windows. All this only lasted a few seconds, for we were chased back at once and not allowed to watch. I saw this march of naked people. Amongst them I noticed a boy I don't know how old the boy was, perhaps ten years old. I saw that this boy was holding in his hands, on his arms, a child who was younger still. And I saw two SS brutes one was pointing at the scene to the other and laughing. I would like to say that there were moments like this when I tried to gaze into their eyes, to look stealthily, since to glance directly was too dangerous. I wanted to see whether they showed any trace of scruples, of mental anguish, whether there was any spark of humanity in their eyes. And I constantly encountered the very same experience. Whenever we grieved they were rejoicing. Whenever they were able to maltreat us, they laughed, they were drunk with blood
- 4244 Hausner: Mr. Gutman, when you left the hospital, you were in a totally debilitated physical condition, is that correct?
- 4253 Gutman: Yes, they told me so I was told this by a Slovakian Jew. The first Jews to reach Majdanek were those from Slovakia and Czechoslovakia. When I was there, they told me that ten thousand of them had arrived there; and, of these, there remained perhaps one hundred, perhaps two hundred. I don't know
- 4320 Landau: Mr. Gutman, please pay attention to the Hausner's questions
- 4323 Hausner: What happened to the others?
- 4325 Gutman: They either died or became weakened and were taken to the gas chambers or shot. The Stubendienst there, that is to say, the man responsible for the ward in the hospital, told me that I had to leave as soon as my temperature went down
- 4348 Hausner: Mr. Gutman, did you come across Dr. Yitzhak Schiper there?
- 4354 Gutman: Yes
- 4358 Hausner: In what circumstances did you find him?
- 4404 Gutman: I saw Yitzhak Schiper after I returned from hospital
- 4410 Hausner: Just give us a brief description, Mr. Gutman, because I want to ask you some further questions
- 4412 Gutman. I saw him sitting near the kitchen peeling rotten potatoes or turnips. I went up to him and reminded him that I had studied under him at one of the ghetto seminars, the underground seminar of my movement. And he said only this that he was well, and that they had allowed him to sit there and to do this work that he was doing, since he felt that if, one day, he were obliged to stand on his feet, that would be his last day
- 4454 Hausner: Mr. Gutman, where in Majdanek could people perform their bodily functions?
- 4458 Gutman: Yes, this was one of those matters that caused constant fear. This fear would begin and continue, in fact, also at night. Majdanek had one place, a latrine, one toilet, and it was also the only place in Majdanek which had water. We had to get up at the sound of a gong, the sound of a bell, and to run as fast as we could, in order to manage to get there before the others, prisoners too, who were old-timers and more experienced, could get there
- 4540 Hausner: Why did you have to run?
- 4543 Gutman: Since, if you came late, they began to maltreat the Jews.The non-Jewish prisoners who had been put there, and also Jews amongst them who were Kapos in the camp
- 4559 Hausner: Perhaps you would like to sit down, Mr. Gutman. The Court will allow you to do so
- 4607 Landau: Yes, certainly, I told you that. The important thing is your evidence, not the fact that you are standing
- 4615 Gutman: Thank you
- 4620 Hausner: Did they maltreat you there with whips? Did they beat you with whips?
- 4625 Gutman: I did not experience that afterwards in any camp, in all the camps where I was after Majdanek. They had these whips. They were made of an iron rod with plaited leather on it. Both the SS men and the Kapos had them. They used them all the time, whenever there was an opportunity, and even when there was no opportunity
- 4658 Hausner: From what kind of persons were those prisoners in Majdanek who were in charge of other prisoners the Kapos drawn?
- 4710 Gutman: Most of them were German criminals, apparently habitual criminals. And on the strength of their maltreating the prisoners, they were allowed to enjoy an easy life; they were given certain privileges in the camp
- 4731 Hausner: Mr. Gutman, I understand that, later on, an announcement was made that anyone who wanted to leave the place could move to another camp?
- 4744 Gutman: No, it was not an announcement. It was a rumour that circulated amongst the prisoners, to the effect that some sort of committee had arrived, and it was selecting fit people, prisoners who were fit for work, and those were to be transferred elsewhere where they would be employed in work
- 4802 Hausner: And you felt that you could not hold out any longer in Majdanek?
- 4809 Gutman: That is how I felt, and this was the feeling common to all those who had come on the same transport
- 4814 Hausner: So you volunteered to go to another place?
- 4815 Gutman: I did not volunteer. They did not ask us any questions. They lined us up for a roll-call, naked, and from our ranks they selected people. We knew that this time it was a selection, since they actually chose from amongst us those who still had some strength, who still had some flesh on them
- 4840 Hausner: You failed to pass this test three times?
- 4842 Gutman: Three times I tried to pass the test, but they rejected me
- 4848 Hausner: On the fourth attempt, you managed by stealth?
- 4854 Gutman: On the fourth occasion, I managed by night, together with one of my friends, to steal away, to escape from the block where I was and to smuggle myself into another block where this transport was being assembled
- 4905 Hausner: This transport went to Birkenau?
- 4908Gutman: This transport arrived at Auschwitz A, I was never in the Stammlager at Birkenau
- 4914 Hausner: So you were not at Birkenau?
- 4915 Gutman: I was in Auschwitz A
- 4922 Hausner: I shall not question you about Auschwitz, about the life in Auschwitz, since others will testify about that. But I want to ask you questions on which I cannot get any details from others. Firstly, in Auschwitz, there were also Kapos of a different category Jews. Were there also some of those who treated the prisoners well?
- 4945 Gutmann: There were people who fulfilled what was described as functions at Auschwitz, Jews and non-Jews, who showed a human approach. Not only did they show this human attitude, but they also had connections with the international underground of the camp
- 5001 Hausner: There was an underground at Auschwitz?
- 5004 Gutman: At the time I arrived there, a very extensive underground was in existence.
- 5008 Hausner: And did you belong to it?
- 5010 Gutman: I belonged to the Jewish division within the underground
- 5013 Hausner: By the way, did you know Noach Zabludowicz, who has testified here?
- 5018 Gutman: He was also one of those who was in constant touch with the underground
- 5028 Landau: Was he outside?
- 5031 Gutman: No, he was not outside, but he did work which also involved going outside to camps in the neighbourhood, because of the work they were doing
- 5039 Landau: Was that the witness who was a driver?
- 5041 Hausner: The one who was considered to be one of the Volksdeutsche. Some time later he was arrested
- 5050 Halevi: And I asked him some question in error...That was a mistake on my part a misunderstanding, and I am sorry about it
- 5057 Gutman: There were other comrades from Ciechanow, Mordecai Hilleli and others, who were the nucleus of this underground division and who, in the early stages, engaged in mutual help, in giving a slice of bread to the needy, in rescuing a man who was already amongst the condemned in certain cases, such possibilities existed in providing medicines to a man who was prevented from going to the hospital, since it was clear to him that if he went there, he would not come out, in securing a little lighter work for a person who, we knew, was on the brink of becoming a musselman. But, apart from this, there was an actual military plan which had been prepared by army men, officers, members of a political underground, Poles, Germans as well, Frenchmen. We also had a member in that inner military command which was dealing with the preparation of the plan.
- 5216 Hausner: Since the Court's time is limited, I would ask you to give a very brief description
- 5223 Landau: As you have come from a distance, we are trying to finish your evidence today
- 5232 Hausner: We only have a few minutes, and I want you to try and describe this as shortly as you can. There was a revolt of the Sonderkommando in Auschwitz which was partly successful were you at that time a member of the underground that carried out the revolt?
- 5246 Gutman: I only had an indirect link with the revolt, and I shall describe it in a few words. On one of those days, I and a companion of mine, Yehuda Laufer, who today resides in Haifa, received an order to ensure that we brought explosives from our place of work, which was a huge, very large factory for detonators. This assignment was very difficult, because moving around in this factory was forbidden, and in the place where explosive materials were handled, only Jewish girls were employed, and they were under very strict supervision. Through one of our female comrades whom we were able to talk to, Hadassah Zlotnitska, we tried to persuade the girls to hand over explosives to us, but we were unsuccessful. And then one of our members was sent to Birkenau, and he took upon himself the task of persuading a comrade of ours who was responsible for our cell in Birkenau, Roza Robota, to see to it that the girls should agree to abstract explosives and hand them over to us. They agreed, and from that time, almost every day, with the aid of food bins having a false bottom, we used to bring small quantities of explosives into Auschwitz A. It also happened once that, when I was standing next to this comrade of mine, they began conducting a sudden search, and he said that this time he had not managed to conceal the material in the food bin, and it was hidden on his person inside a cigarette box, and it was clear to me that if they discovered it, not only would we pay for it with our lives, but that all these people there were more than one thousand and possibly the entire underground in Auschwitz, were in danger. They noticed that I was shivering all over my body, and they searched me thoroughly. And, after having found nothing, they skipped my companion who was standing at my side, apparently because they got somewhat tired. I apparently displayed some anxiety, and he did not. After some time, it became clear to us that our comrade, Roza Robota, was also sending explosives to Birkenau, and this material had been delivered to the Sonderkommando. That was at the time of the large deportations from Hungary, when every day we were inhaling the smell of death, when we got up in the mornings and saw the flames going up from the chimneys. And when these large transports were ended, they began liquidating the Sonderkommando. They were the witnesses, they were the men who had participated in it. The men who had forced them to do that despicable work they were going to be their murderers. And the Sonderkommando told us that they were going to revolt, and they wanted us to advance the date of the uprising. We went to the general underground and told them that we had messages from our comrades in Birkenau who were insisting that we should revolt, for otherwise they had no chance to live; but they had their own considerations and interests, to which they were bound, also outside, also with partisans outside, and they told us that we should direct them not to do anything, for they might endanger everything. But they revolted I don't remember the date but after it was investigated, it was found to be on 6 November 1944. They blew up the crematorium No. 2, they killed some of the men and their Kapo, they fled and scattered in the neighbourhood. And, as far as I know, not one of them survived. An immediate state of alert was declared, forces were mobilized from the area, they spread out and went in search of them and killed them, evidently to the last man
- 5753 Hausner: I understand that a special commission of enquiry came to investigate how the revolt and the explosion had occurred, and, in consequence of the work of this commission of enquiry, Roza Robota was arrested and severely tortured. I will spare you the details and will only put questions to you which you will kindly confirm. You were afraid lest, under the pressure of the tortures, she might betray the underground? And then she sent a request through someone, through a messenger, a block elder, that Noach Zabludowicz should come to her, and he went to her? And she told him that you had nothing to fear, that she had not revealed anything?
- 5845 Gutman: Through him she sent a piece of paper which reached us, on which she had written that we had nothing to fear, that we should carry on with the job, that she knew why she was going to die, and that no other person was in danger
- 5903 Hausner: And then she was executed by hanging?
- 5907 Gutman: She and four other Jewish girls were executed by hanging, and Roza Robota's last word, which was heard by the girls standing on parade for they obliged all of them to stand on parade and watch it was: "Vengeance"
- 5931 Hausner: Thereafter, you were transferred from Auschwitz to the camp at Mauthausen?
- 5942 Gutman: I walked in the death march that was in January, 1945 towards Mauthausen
- 5954 Hausner: And you arrived at Mauthausen, where you were set free?
- 5956 Gutman: They brought me there, and there I was liberated by the United States army
- 6000 Landau: Servatius, do you have any questions to the witness?
- 6014 End
=== [Teil von Verhandlung der Sitzung nicht auf Band]
=== [Fortgesetzte u. beendete Verhandlung der Sitzung auf Band EICHMANN TRIAL // SESSION 063.01- 02-JUN-1961 [ET] (VT EI210) [ET], 46'59'' - 50'21'']
=== Erfassung lt.: N.N.: The Trial of Adolf Eichmann. Record of Proceedings in the District Court of Jerusalem, Vol. 3, Jerusalem: State of Israel, Ministry of Justice / Israel State Archive / Yad Vashem, 1993, redigiert |