SESSION CVI
ABOUT THIS SESSION
SESSION 106 of the trial of Adolf Eichmann took place in the morning of Friday, July 21, 1961. The session begins with Eichmann’s direct examination by Judge Yitzhak Raveh, which began in SESSION 105. Topics discussed include: Eichmann’s preparations for the Wannsee Conference; the Nazi bureaucracy and hierarchy, and Eichmann’s place within it; Eichmann’s participation in the Wannsee Conference; Eichmann’s comparison of himself to Pontius Pilate; and discrepancies between Eichmann’s testimony during his police interrogation and his testimony in court.
Following the conclusion of Raveh’s examination and a recess, Judge Benjamin Halevi begins his direct examination. Topics discussed include: Eichmann’s wartime belief that Chaim Weizmann had declared war on Germany on behalf of the Jewish people; the difference in the treatment of Jews relative to other German enemies and relative to other Semitic nations; Eichmann’s comparisons between the mass-murder of Jews and German civilian casualties of war; Heinrich Himmler’s Posen Speech; plans for the Final Solution; instances in which Eichmann did or did not make exceptions for Jewish deportations; whether or not Eichmann himself was anti-Semitic; whether Eichmann felt any inner conflict when following immoral orders; and whether there was a general absence of ‘courage of conviction’ in Germany during the war (see SESSION 42). Finally, Halevi asks Eichmann whether he has the courage today to accept responsibility for his actions. Eichmann says that he does, but reiterates that he was only following orders. Halevi finally concludes his examination, and court is adjourned.
Unlike most sessions of the trial, SESSION 106 is preserved nearly in its entirety, with just a single gap in the recording comprising only a portion of a translation. The audio for the first 45 seconds following that gap survives only via a recording featuring a simultaneous spoken English translation. Altogether, SESSION 106 is one of the longest sessions in the trial in terms of the length of the surviving material.
NOTABLE MOMENTS
0:00:00 - Court not in session
0:01:31 - Eichmann enters
0:06:22 - Judges enter
0:07:03 - Session 106 begins
0:11:06 - Direct Examination on Eichmann’s preparations for the Wannsee Conference
0:18:47 - Direct Examination on the Nazi bureaucracy & hierarchy
1:11:10 - Direct Examination on Eichmann’s participation in the Wannsee Conference
1:12:52 - Eichmann says ‘Various methods for killing’ were discussed at Wannsee
1:17:32 - Direct Examination on Eichmann’s comparison of himself to Pontius Pilate
1:47:21 - Recess
1:54:02 - Judges re-enter
1:54:31 - Direct Examination of Eichmann by Judge Benjamin Halevi
1:54:57 - Eichmann on his motivation for testifying in his own defense
2:02:32 - Halevi contrasts Eichmann’s cross-examination with Gestapo tactics
2:03:43 - Halevi suggests that Eichmann would be a coward not to admit his guilt
2:22:30 - Halevi points out that the Jews were treated differently from other enemies of Germany
2:29:08 - Eichmann differentiates between anti-Semitism and anti-Judaism
2:33:39 - Halevi on Eichmann’s comparison of Jewish victims and German civilian deaths
2:42:12 - Eichmann reads an excerpt from the Posen Speech acknowledging the Final Solution
2:51:23 - Direct Examination on the meaning of the word ‘Blutkitt’
3:01:50 - Direct Examination on Heydrich’s personality
3:04:04 - Direct Examination on the introduction of an extermination policy
3:11:02 - Direct Examination on the Jewish Councils (Judenrat)
3:14:16 - Eichmann on the effect of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising on extermination plans
3:18:20 - Direct Examination on instances in which Eichmann made exceptions to deportations
3:32:56 - Direct Examination on the ‘Goods for Blood, Blood for Goods’ deal
3:42:35 - Direct Examination on whether Eichmann was anti-Semitic
3:52:45 - Direct Examination on Eichmann’s inner conflict or lack thereof
3:55:24 - Eichmann reads an excerpt from the Posen Speech about disobedience
3:59:44 - Direct Examination on the lack of ‘courage of conviction’ in Germany
4:04:38 - Eichmann says that nationalism leads to egoism, and then to radicalism
4:06:39 - Halevi asks Eichmann if he has the courage to accept responsibility for his actions
4:24:06 - Court is adjourned