Inhalt (detailliert) |
=== Einstellungsprotokoll (- min/sek):
- 00'33'' ARCHIV-VORSPANN
=== Sitzung 063.01 - 02.06.1961:
=== [Vorangehende Verhandlung der Sitzung auf Band EICHMANN TRIAL // SESSION 063.02 - 02-JUN-1961 (VT EI310) [ET], 00'50''-25'04'']
- 01'11'' Benjamin Halevi (Richter) u. Moshe Landau (Vorsitzender Richter)
- 01'14'' Gideon Hausner (Generalstaatsanwalt) u. Robert Servatius (Verteidiger), Hausner όbergibt Gerichtsmitarbeiter Unterlagen
- 01'26'' Landau nimmt Unterlagen entgegen
- 01'36'' Gerichtssaal (total)
- 01'42'' Hausner u. Servatius
- 01'50'' Adolf Eichmann (mit Anzug), kratzt sich an Nase
- 01'52'' Haunser
- 02'10'' Landau
- 02'16'' Hausner u. Servatius
- 02'28'' Landau, Kopf in Hand gestόtzt
- 02'42'' Hausner u. Servatius, Hausner liest Dokument vor
- 03'07'' Hauner (nah) lesend
- 03'30'' Hausner lesend
- 03'41'' Hauner (nah) lesend
- 04'12'' Eichmann im Glaskasten
- 04'16'' Hausner (nah) lesend
- 04'31'' Eichmann im Glaskasten
- 05'02'' Hausner lesend
- 05'26'' Gerichtssaal (total)
- 05'34'' Hausner lesend
- 05'38'' Eichmann (nah)
- 05'52'' Hausner lesend, blδttert Seite um
- 06'25'' Eichmann (nah)
- 06'38'' Hausner lesend
- 06'49'' Eichmann (nah)
- 06'58'' Hausner lesend
- 07'10'' Gerichtssaal (total), Schwenk zu Hausner
- 07'30'' Eichmann (nah)
- 07'40'' Hausner lesend
- 07'58'' Landau, Kopf in Hand gestόtzt, lesend
- 08'05'' Hausner lesend
- 08'19'' Eichmann (nah)
- 08'40'' Hausner lesend
- 08'49'' Eichmann (nah)
- 08'57'' Landau
- 09'02'' Hausner lesend
- 09'28'' Eichmann (nah)
- 09'48'' Hausner lesend, legt Dokument zu Seite
- 10'25'' Landau
- 10'31'' Hausner u. Servatius
- 10'49'' Gerichtssaal (total)
- 10'52'' Landau
- 11'00'' Hausner u. Servatius
- 11'08'' Eichmann liest in Unterlagen
- 11'13'' Landau
- 11'22'' Hausner
- 11'30'' Landau
- 11'36'' Hausner u. Servatius
- 11'50'' Gerichtssaal (total)
- 12'07'' Hausner (nah)
- 12'10'' Israel Gutman (Zeuge) kommt zum Zeugenstand
- 12'31'' Landau
- 12'34'' Gutman
- 12'45'' Gutman (nah)
- 12'55'' Landau
- 13'02'' Gutman im Zeugenstand
- 13'10'' Gutman (nah)
- 13'33'' Hausner
- 13'44'' Gerichtssaal mit Zeugenstand (total), Schwenk zu Gutman
- 14'17'' Gutman (nah)
- 14'57'' Hausner
- 15'06'' Gutman (nah)
- 15'28'' Hausner
- 15'30'' Gutman im Zeugenstand
- 15'40'' Gutman (nah)
- 16'10'' Hausner (nah)
- 16'15'' Gutman (nah)
- 16'42'' Hausner (nah)
- 16'46'' Gutman (nah)
- 16'52'' Hausner (nah)
- 16'58'' Gutman (nah)
- 17'22'' Gutman im Zeugenstand
- 17'30'' Gutman (nah)
- 18'15'' Gutman im Zeugenstand
- 18'20'' Gutman (nah)
- 19'06'' Hausner blickt zum Zeugenstand
- 19'12'' Gutman im Zeugenstand
- 19'30'' Gutman (nah)
- 19'42'' Hausner (nah)
- 19'45'' Gutman (nah)
- 20'26'' Eichmann mit Kopfhφrer
- 20'30'' Gutman (nah)
- 21'23'' Hausner, Servatius im Bild
- 21'43'' Gutman (nah)
- 22'23'' Hausner (nah)
- 22'27'' Gerichtssaal mit Zeugenstand (total), Schwenk zu Gutman
- 23'00'' Gutman (nah)
- 23'46'' Hausner (nah)
- 23'48'' Gutman (nah)
- 24'56'' Yitzhak Raveh (Richter), Landau u. Benjamin Halevi (Richter)
- 25'00'' Gutman (Zeuge) (nah)
- 23'23'' Landau u. Raveh
- 25'30'' Gutman (nah)
- 25'37'' Gerichtssaal mit Zeugenstand (total)
- 25'44'' Gutman (nah)
- 25'54'' Hausner
- 26'02'' Gutman (Hausner unscharf)
- 27'00'' Hausner
- 27'04'' Gutman
- 27'11'' Gutman (nah)
- 27'26'' Hausner
- 27'37'' Gutman (nah)
- 28'02'' Eichmann zurόckgelehnt mit gefalteten Hδnden
- 28'06'' Gutman (nah)
- 28'39'' Eichmann
- 28'44'' Gutman (nah)
- 29'23'' Eichmann
- 29'26'' Gutman (nah)
- 29'47'' Gerichtssaal mit Zeugenstand (total)
- 29'50'' Gutman (nah)
- 30'19'' Landau
- 30'25'' Gutman (nah)
- 31'41'' Gutman im Zeugenstand
- 31'47'' Gutman (nah)
- 31'53'' Hausner
- 31'58'' Gutman (nah)
- 32'33'' Hausner (nah)
- 32'36'' Gutman (nah)
- 32'59'' Hausner (nah)
- 33'05'' Gutman im Zeugenstand, er setzt sich
- 33'12'' Landau
- 33'16'' Gutman, Gerichtsmitarbeiter richtet Mikrofon, Hausner unscharf
- 33'57'' Hausner (nah)
- 34'09'' Gutman
- 34'20'' Gutman (nah), Hausner unscharf
- 34'34'' Hausner
- 34'45'' Gutman (nah), Hausner unscharf
- 35'40'' Hausner
- 35'45'' Gutman (nah)
- 36'06'' Hausner
- 36'11'' Gutman im Zeugenstand
- 36'17'' Gutman (nah)
- 36'32'' Hausner
- 36'45'' Gutman (nah)
- 37'07'' Hausner
- 37'11'' Gutman im Zeugenstand
- 37'26'' Landau
- 37'31'' Gutman (nah)
- 37'43'' Hausner
- 37'49'' Halevi
- 37'56'' Gutman (nah), Hausner unscharf
- 38'37'' Hausner
- 38'42'' Gutman (nah)
- 39'12'' Hausner (nah)
- 39'23'' Landau
- 39'34'' Hausner (nah)
- 39'44'' Gutman (nah), Hausner unscharf
- 41'09'' Hausner
- 41'11'' Gutman im Zeugenstand
- 41'33'' Gutman (nah), Hausner unscharf
- 41'51'' Hausner
- 41'56'' Gutman im Zeugenstand
- 42'14'' Gutman (nah)
- 43'06'' Hausner (nah)
- 43'11'' Gutman im Zeugenstand
- 43'24'' Eichmann
- 43'29'' Gutman im Zeugenstand
- 43'44'' Gutman (nah)
- 44'06'' Hausner
- 44'15'' Gutman im Zeugenstand
- 44'26'' Gutman (nah), Hausner unscharf
- 44'40'' Hausner
- 44'44'' Gutman (nah)
- 44'51'' Hausner
- 45'38'' Gutman im Zeugenstand
- 45'54'' Gutman (nah), Hausner unscharf
- 46'04'' Hausner (nah)
- 46'14'' Gutman (nah)
- 46'28'' Eichmann
- 46'35'' Gutman im Zeugenstand
- 46'47'' Gutman (nah)
- 46'53'' Hausner (nah), setzt sich
- 46'59'' Gutman (nah), Servatius unscharf
- 47'04'' Gerichtssaal (total)
- 47'18'' Halevi
- 47'29'' Gutman (nah)
- 47'53'' Halevi
- 48'01'' Gutman (nah)
- 49'08'' Halevi
- 49'12'' Halevi, Landau u. Raveh
- 49'14'' Gerichtssaal mit Zeugenstand (total), Gutman verlδsst Zeugenstand
- 49'23'' Halevi, Landau u. Raveh stehen auf
- 49'38'' Servatius, Hausner, Gabriel Bach (Staatsanwalt), Yaacov Baror (Staatsanwalt) stehen auf u. packen Unterlagen zusammen
- 49'46'' Eichmann verlδsst Glaskasten
- 49'52'' Gerichtssaal mit Zeugenstand (total), Schwenk zu Publikum, Zuschauer stehen zusammen
- 50'21'' Schwarzfilm
- 50'23'' Filmklappe: "TRIAL OF ADOLF EICHMANN / DATE: JUNE 2.1961 / SESSION: A.M.II./ END / Produced by / MILTON FRUCHTMAN / Directed by / LEO HURWITZ / CAPITAL CITIES BROADCASTING CORPORATION"
- 50''33'' Ende
===
=== Tonprotokoll, Engl. άbersetzung (- min/sek):
=== Sitzung 063.01 - 02.06.1961:
=== [Vorangehende Verhandlung der Sitzung auf Band EICHMANN TRIAL // SESSION 063.02 - 02-JUN-1961 (VT EI310) [ET], 00'50''-25'04'']
- 0115 Hausner: And finally, two more documents. The famous speech of Himmler before senior SS officers at Posen on 4 October 1943
- 0130 Landau: Is that the same speech by Dr. Serafim?
- 0135 Hausner: This is the one that Dr. Serafim relied on, partly. Incidentally, this was submitted at the major Nuremberg Trial, and the Court will be able to find it under the heading PS 1919
- 0152 Landau: But here there are other sections. Here it deals with the Jewish question
- 0155 Hausner: The speech was a very long one and lasted several hours. We copied extracts from it. It is printed in full in vol. 29 of IMG on pages 110-159
- 0209 Landau: This document will be marked T/1288
- 0247 Hausner: On the subject of the Jews, Himmler says the following to his officers: "In all frankness, I want to make mention to you here of a subject of a special difficulty. Amongst ourselves, let us speak openly for once, although we would never do so in public, in the same way as we did not hesitate to carry out our duty as we were ordered on 30 June 1934, and we stood our transgressing comrades up against a wall and shot them; we never spoke about it, nor shall we ever talk about it." The Court will recall that this was the famous purge of the SA in which Rφhm and his comrades were killed. "Thank God, it was a matter of innate self-understood tactfulness that, at no time, did we discuss it amongst ourselves, nor did we ever talk about it. Everyone was horrified, and yet it was clear to everyone that he would do the same thing again, if he were ordered to do so, and if it would be necessary. "I now mean the evacuation of the Jews, the extermination of the Jewish people. This is one of those things which are lightly uttered. `The Jewish people will be exterminated,' says every member of the party. 'Clearly, our programme stipulates elimination of the Jews, extermination this we shall do.' And then all those eighty million brave Germans come along, and each one has his particular decent Jew. Of course, they say, it is clear that the rest are swine, but this one is an excellent Jew. Not one of those who speak in this way has ever witnessed that, not one of them has ever experienced this. Most of you will know what it means when a hundred corpses lie together, when five hundred or when a thousand are lying there. To go through all this and to remain decent men, apart from human foibles this is what has hardened us. This is a glorious page in our history, a page which has never been written and which can never be written. For we know how we would be making things difficult for ourselves, if we were to have in every town, still today, the Jews as secret saboteurs, propagandists and inciters, in addition to the bombings, the burdens, and the deprivations of the War. If the Jews were still residing within the body of the German nation, we would probably have got today to the stage of 1916-1917. Whatever treasures they had, we took away from them. I gave a strict order that these treasures should, of course, be transferred in their entirety to the ownership of the Reich. This was carried out by Obergruppenfόhrer Pohl. We have not taken any part of it for ourselves. Individuals who have transgressed against this will be punished in accordance with the order given by me." And now, in the chapter on discipline: "In military life morning, noon and night, discipline is demanded and observed. The little man obeys it constantly or almost always. If he does not conform, he will be incarcerated. The question of discipline is more difficult in the case of the higher ranks in the state, the party and the army, as well as here and there in the SS. There is something I want to say there clearly and unambiguously: the little man must obey that is taken for granted. It is even more to be taken for granted that all the senior leaders of the SS that is to say, the whole corps of Gruppenfόhrer should provide an example of unconditional discipline. If anyone thinks that some order is based upon a mistaken view of his superior officer or arises out of an incorrect principle, then it goes without saying and this applies to each one of you that it is his duty and his responsibility to give expression to it, and he must also give his reasons in a manly and frank manner, if he is convinced that they militate against the order. But, as soon as the superior officer or the Reichsfόhrer-SS and in most cases that would apply to the corps of Gruppenfόhrer or even the Fόhrer himself, has given his decision and the order, then the order must be carried out not only according to the letter, but also according to the spirit. Whoever carries out the order must do so as a loyal commander, as a faithful representative of the commanding authority. If, at first, you thought this was right, and that was not right or even mistaken then there are two possibilities: If someone thinks that he cannot shoulder the responsibility for carrying out an order, he must report that frankly: `I cannot take the responsibility, I ask to be relieved of it.' Then, in most cases, an additional order will be given: `Nevertheless, you must carry it out.' Or one may think, this man has had a nervous breakdown, that one is weak. Then one can say: `All right, you leave on pension'."
- 1023 Landau: You have not submitted the party programme that is mentioned here
- 1029 Hausner: No. If the Court wishes to peruse it, the entire document has, in fact, been presented in this way. It is true that I only submitted these passages
- 1040 Landau: Not the entire speech, but the programme of the National Socialist party mentioned here
- 1045 Hausner: We have not submitted it but, obviously, if the Court is interested, we can submit Mein Kampf; that would not be a problem
- 1055 Landau: I meant the programme of the National Socialist party, but very well
- 1100 Hausner: If the Court will still allow me to consider this comment, I shall examine exactly what has been submitted, and what it is still necessary to submit
Landau: Because he mentions it here: "That is clear, it says so in our programme; elimination of the Jews, extermination this we shall do
- 1121 Hausner: Yes. According to our plan, we ought now to have the first witness on Majdanek
- 1129 Landau: Do you prefer that he should not be heard now?
- 1138 Hausner: No, actually, I would prefer him to be heard, since he has come from far away. He comes from a settlement in the north of the country. If I may ask the Court to sit possibly until 12.45 instead of 12.30, then we can finish. The witness is Mr. Israel Gutman
- 1230 Gutman: I wish to make an affirmation
- 1235 Landau: Why do you want to make an affirmation? It is my duty to ask you this question
- 1245 Gutman: I can only do things that I believe in with perfect faith
- 1306 Gutman: Will be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth
- 1316 Landau: What is your full name?
- 1318 Gutman: Israel Gutman
- 1334 Hausner: You are a member of Kibbutz Lahavot Habashan in Upper Galilee?
- 1340 Gutman: Yes, since my arrival in Israel
- 1354 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?
- 1407 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
- 1422 Hausner: What led you to leave the bunker?
- 1425 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
- 1459 Hausner: And then you were transferred to the assembly square, which was known in Warsaw as the Umschlagplatz?
- 1506 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
- 1528 Hausner: And railway freight cars were standing there?
- 1531 Gutman: Railway freight cars waited there, ready. We were put inside right away, and the train started off
- 1541 Hausner: How many people were there in that transport?
- 1544 Gutman: I cannot state numbers. I can only say that it was actually impossible to stand up in the freight car
- 1556 Hausner: Why was it impossible to stand?
- 1600 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
- 1616 Hausner: Where did the train come to?
- 1620 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
- 1652 Hausner: Describe to us what happened when you reached the railway station at Majdanek
- 1659 Gutmann: When we got there, they were already awaiting us
- 1706 Hausner: Who were "they"?
- 1708 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
- 1735 Hausner: How long did the walk last?
- 1739 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
- 1908 Hausner: Where were you housed in Majdanek?
- 1911 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
- 1948 Landau: How was the field called in German?
- 1954 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
- 2029 Hausner: Was there anything written on the huts?
- 2033 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
- 2124 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
- 2142 Hausner: Now, how many floors were there in a hut such as this?
- 2147 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
- 2200 Hausner: For one person?
- 2201 Gutman: It was for one person, formally, I might say
- 2208 Hausner: And in practice?
- 2211 Gutman: At the time of our arrival, many transports were brought in. They made two people lie down in one bunk of this kind
- 2221 Hausner: What was the work like at Majdanek?
- 2226 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
- 2315 Hausner: What sort of work was it?
- 2318 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
- 2535 Hausner: What was the meaning of Revier?
- 2537 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
- 2555 Hausner: How long were you there?
- 2558 Gutman I contracted pneumonia, with complications caused by gas poisoning. I was not the only one to be sick with an illness like that
- 2609 Hausner: Are you referring to the chlorine poisoning in the Warsaw bunkers?
- 2612 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
- 2724 Hausner: Mr.Gutman, while you were in hospital, did you see people being marched off to the gas chambers in Majdanek?
- 2734 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
- 2944 Hausner: Mr. Gutman, when you left the hospital, you were in a totally debilitated physical condition, is that correct?
- 2953 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
- 3019 Landau: Mr. Gutman, please pay attention to the Hausner's questions
- 3023 Hausner: What happened to the others?
- 3025 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
- 3048 Hausner: Mr. Gutman, did you come across Dr. Yitzhak Schiper there?
- 3055 Gutman: Yes
- 3058 Hausner: In what circumstances did you find him?
- 3103 Gutman: I saw Yitzhak Schiper after I returned from hospital
- 3108 Hausner: Just give us a brief description, Mr. Gutman, because I want to ask you some further questions
- 3112 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
- 3154 Hausner: Mr. Gutman, where in Majdanek could people perform their bodily functions?
- 3158 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
- 3240 Hausner: Why did you have to run?
- 3243 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
- 3259 Hausner: Perhaps you would like to sit down, Mr. Gutman. The Court will allow you to do so
- 3307 Landau: Yes, certainly, I told you that. The important thing is your evidence, not the fact that you are standing
- 3315 Gutman: Thank you
- 3318 Hausner: Did they maltreat you there with whips? Did they beat you with whips?
- 3324 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
- 3358 Hausner: From what kind of persons were those prisoners in Majdanek who were in charge of other prisoners the Kapos drawn?
- 3409 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
- 3431 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?
- 3444 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
- 3502 Hausner: And you felt that you could not hold out any longer in Majdanek?
- 3508 Gutman: That is how I felt, and this was the feeling common to all those who had come on the same transport
- 3512 Hausner: So you volunteered to go to another place?
- 3515 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
- 3540 Hausner: You failed to pass this test three times?
- 3543 Gutman: Three times I tried to pass the test, but they rejected me
- 3547 Hausner: On the fourth attempt, you managed by stealth?
- 3552 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
- 3605 Hausner: This transport went to Birkenau?
- 3608 Gutman: This transport arrived at Auschwitz A, I was never in the Stammlager at Birkenau
- 3614 Hausner: So you were not at Birkenau?
- 3615 Gutman: I was in Auschwitz A
- 3622 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?
- 3645 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
- 3701 Hausner: There was an underground at Auschwitz?
- 3704 Gutman: At the time I arrived there, a very extensive underground was in existence.
- 3708 Hausner: And did you belong to it?
- 3710 Gutman: I belonged to the Jewish division within the underground
- 3713 Hausner: By the way, did you know Noach Zabludowicz, who has testified here?
- 3718 Gutman: He was also one of those who was in constant touch with the underground
- 3728 Landau: Was he outside?
- 3730 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
- 3739 Landau: Was that the witness who was a driver?
- 3741 Hausner: The one who was considered to be one of the Volksdeutsche. Some time later he was arrested
- 3750 Halevi: And I asked him some question in error...That was a mistake on my part a misunderstanding, and I am sorry about it
- 3757 Gutman: There were other comrades from Ciechanow, Mordechai 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.
- 3916 Hausner: Since the Court's time is limited, I would ask you to give a very brief description
- 3923 Landau: As you have come from a distance, we are trying to finish your evidence today
- 3932 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?
- 3946 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
- 4452 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?
- 4545 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
- 4603 Hausner: And then she was executed by hanging?
- 4607 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"
- 4631 Hausner: Thereafter, you were transferred from Auschwitz to the camp at Mauthausen?
- 4642 Gutman: I walked in the death march that was in January, 1945 towards Mauthausen
- 4653 Hausner: And you arrived at Mauthausen, where you were set free?
- 4656 Gutman: They brought me there, and there I was liberated by the United States army
- 4700 Landau: Servatius, do you have any questions to the witness?
- 4705 Servatius: No, I have no questions
- 4713 Halevi: Mr. Gutman, when were the gas chambers at Auschwitz and Birkenau destroyed? Do you know, by any chance?
- 4723 Gutman: I only know this from rumours that circulated amongst the prisoners. I think it was I cannot state a precise date during the last days of the autumn of 1944. I should only like to add that we did not believe it. At all events, we, the Jews, I, myself, at any rate, did not believe it
- 4753 Halevi: But afterwards it became clear that it was true?
- 4754 Gutman: Afterwards it turned out that it was a fact
- 4757 Halevi: After that no more people were put to death, or how was it?
- 4802 Gutman: For example, in that death march in which I participated, I called it that a death march, those were the survivors of Auschwitz whom it was decided to evacuate. We insisted on a revolt, for we believed that the Jews did not have a chance. But the underground ordered us to go with the evacuation, since they had information that this was really an evacuation and not an execution. And, on the way, anyone whose foot was sprained, who felt momentarily weak, anyone who had to sit down for a few minutes was shot. I wanted to say that that group of Jews of ours walked with arms linked and, as far as possible, helped those who became weak. We dragged them along, and all of us reached Mauthausen. With the exception of one man whom they killed when he tried to save a comrade, we all survived
- 4913 Landau: Thank you, Mr. Gutman, you have concluded your evidence. As I announced previously, the next Session will take place on Monday next, at 10.30 a.m., and will continue until 1 p.m. without a break
- 50''33'' End
=== 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 |