SESSIONS
CX - CXIII
(Prosecution's Closing Argument)
ABOUT THE CLOSING ARGUMENT
The prosecution's closing argument in the trial of Adolf Eichmann began in the morning of Tuesday, August 8, 1961 in SESSION 110 and continued through SESSION 113 on August 10. It was delivered by Israeli Attorney General Gideon Hausner. Because of our web host's limits on the number of pages in a single website, we have consolidated these four sessions on this page.
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SESSION CX
ABOUT THIS SESSION
SESSION 110 of the trial of Adolf Eichmann took place in the morning of Tuesday, August 8, 1961, following a two-week break for Attorney General Gideon Hausner to prepare his closing statement. In this session, Hausner begins that closing argument, which takes up the entirety of the session and will continue through the end of SESSION 113. After a dramatic introduction, Hausner spends much of the session discussing the legal principle of ‘criminal conspiracy’, citing various precedents in support of Eichmann’s guilt. After a recess, he begins to illuminate Eichmann’s role in the WWII-era extermination program.
The vast majority of SESSION 110 is preserved, with only a single brief gap toward the end.
NOTABLE MOMENTS
0:00:00 - Court not in session
0:01:59 - Eichmann enters
0:02:33 - Eichmann talks with Defense Counsel Dr. Robert Servatius
0:04:19 - Judges enter
0:04:55 - Session 110 begins
0:05:11 - Decision mandating that the closing statements will be recorded by stenographers
0:05:43 - Prosecution’s closing statement begins
0:08:41 - Hausner cites specific imagery from witnesses’ testimonies
0:11:56 - Hausner on Eichmann’s lack of remorse
0:15:32 - “Of what material were these men molded?!”
0:16:03 - Hausner references Servatius’s opening statement
0:19:27 - Hausner recalls the testimony of Dr. Heinrich Grüber
0:21:56, 1:33:21, 1:06:45 & 2:34:42 - Unusual angle showing stenographers’ balcony
0:34:57 - “The Accused does not deny the fact that the Holocaust took place…”
0:39:19 - “In our view, he occupied the very pivotal point in this huge slaughterhouse…”
1:25:04 - Hausner on Eichmann’s sharp memory
1:28:57 - Hausner on the legal principle of criminal conspiracy
2:02:08 - Recess
2:09:25 - Hausner talks with Servatius
2:10:34 - Session resumes
2:11:11 - Hausner cites the Posen Speech as evidence that Eichmann could have resigned
2:35:30 - “The devil also claims to be an idealist.”
2:43:18 - Hausner argues that Eichmann went above and beyond to exterminate the Jews
2:44:42 - Hausner on the origin of the estimate of 6,000,000 Jewish victims
2:48:19 - “This, then, is the blood harvest that has no parallel throughout mankind’s history…”
2:48:34 - Hausner on Eichmann’s role in the extermination
3:12:53 - Presiding Judge pushes back as Hausner cites rumors of Eichmann’s role in extermination
3:18:21 - Hausner cites the many Nazis that referred to Eichmann as having a key role
3:24:59 - Hausner mocks Eichmann’s assertion that he only took minutes at the Wannsee Conference
3:40:59 - Court is adjourned
TRANSCRIPT
Material highlighted green survives in video form.
Material highlighted pink has been lost.
SESSION CXI
ABOUT THIS SESSION
SESSION 111 of the trial of Adolf Eichmann took place in the afternoon of Tuesday, August 8, 1961. In this session, Hausner continues his closing statement, which began in SESSION 110 and will continue through the end of SESSION 113. Hausner cites various legal precedents in an effort to show that Eichmann should be held responsible for even an indirect action in support of extermination, such as his directing trains to death camps with the knowledge that their passengers were bound for death. He cites evidence and witness testimony from earlier in the trial in an attempt to place Eichmann at the center of the extermination plan, and discusses Eichmann's role in the decision to use gas as a killing method and his involvement in procuring Zyklon B.
Unlike most sessions of the trial, SESSION 111 is preserved in its entirety with no gaps in the recording.
NOTABLE MOMENTS
0:00:00 - Court not in session
0:01:49 - Eichmann enters
0:02:10 - Eichmann talks with Defense Counsel Dr. Robert Servatius
0:05:32 - Judges enter
0:06:00 - Session 111 begins
0:12:30 - Hausner: “Eichmann acted in accordance with the most extreme Nazi concepts…”
0:24:18 - Hausner places Eichmann “at the center of the conspiracy” to kill Jews
0:25:40 - Hausner on the legal principle of ‘partnership in the commission of an offense’
0:28:21 - Hausner cites precedents pertaining to ‘partnership in crime’
0:49:02 - Hausner cites evidence of Eichmann’s participation in crimes against the Jewish people
1:11:03 - Hausner cites the testimony of Ada Lichtman (see SESSION 20)
1:13:10 - Hausner cites the testimony of Avi Pachter (see SESSION 21)
1:15:31 - Hausner cites the testimony of Noach Zabludovich (see SESSION 21)
1:17:52 - Hausner cites the testimony of Moshe Beisky (see SESSION 21)
1:19:36 - Judges pass a note back and forth
1:21:19 - Hausner cites the testimony of Zivia Lubetkin (see SESSION 25)
1:21:47 - Hausner cites the testimony of Rahel Auerbakh (SESSION 26, footage lost)
1:21:59 - Hausner cites the testimony of Dr. Adolf Berman (see SESSION 26)
1:23:28 - Hausner cites the testimony of Georges Wellers (see SESSION 32)
1:24:34, 1:26:02, 1:27:23, 1:29:20, 1:46:56 & 1:48:01 - Emotional audience members
1:29:58 - Teenage boys watch from balcony
1:34:14 - Hausner cites the testimony of Leon Wells (see SESSIONS 22-23)
1:36:25 - Hausner cites the autobiography of Auschwitz commandant Rudolf Hoess
1:43:39 - Hausner cites the testimony of Liona Neumann (SESSION 30, footage lost)
1:45:43 - Hausner cites the testimony of Avraham Aviel (see SESSION 29)
1:46:27 - Hausner cites the testimony of Rivka Yoselewska (see SESSION 30)
1:49:01 - Hausner offers evidence of Eichmann’s involvement in procuring Zyklon B gas
1:55:55 & 2:17:08 - Unusual angle showing stenographers’ balcony
2:20:48 - Session is adjourned
TRANSCRIPT
SESSION CXII
ABOUT THIS SESSION
SESSION 112 of the trial of Adolf Eichmann took place in the morning of Wednesday, August 9, 1961. In this session, Attorney General Gideon Hausner continues his closing statement, which began in SESSION 110 and will continue through the end of SESSION 113. Citing evidence submitted by the prosecution and witness testimony from earlier in the trial, Hausner gives numerous examples of Eichmann’s involvement in and knowledge of the extermination operation. In this session, he focuses on: Eichmann’s involvement in concentration and death camps, including his visits to Auschwitz; his actions in Hungary; his involvement in pricing skeletons for the ‘Ancestral Heritage’ foundation; and his involvement in dispatching Jews to Auschwitz and other concentration and death camps. Anticipating Eichmann’s defense, Hausner cites precedents negating arguments that Eichmann was not guilty on account of his having acted on orders from his superiors or that his actions were ‘Acts of State’.
While the majority of SESSION 112 survives, there are four lengthy gaps in the recording where footage has been lost. The three hours of surviving footage are presented here.
NOTABLE MOMENTS
0:00:00 - Court not in session
0:01:09 - Eichmann enters
0:02:30 - Eichmann passes a note to Defense Counsel Dr. Robert Servatius
0:04:10 & 1:11:43 - Unusual angle showing stenographers’ balcony
0:07:44 - Judges enter
0:08:07 - Session 112 begins
0:08:17 - Hausner cites evidence connecting Eichmann to the concentration camps
0:31:51 - Hausner on Eichmann’s visits to Auschwitz
0:34:35 - Hausner on the use of postcards to ‘camouflage’ the realities of Auschwitz
0:35:35 - Hausner on the Ahnenerbe’s request for skeletons (see SESSION 72)
0:57:58 - Hausner on Eichmann’s actions in Hungary
1:17:14 - Hausner on Eichmann’s involvement in sending Jews to Auschwitz
1:23:46 - Hausner on Eichmann’s organization of an unapproved transport
1:28:03 - Hausner on Eichmann’s organization of a deceptive meeting of Jewish representatives
1:35:40 - Recess
1:38:43 - Eichmann re-enters
1:42:32 - Judges re-enter
1:42:51 - Discussion on upcoming schedule
1:43:45 - Hausner on the ‘Blood for Goods’ transaction
2:04:37 - Hausner on the ‘foot-march’ organized by Eichmann
2:10:11 - Hausner on allegations that Eichmann murdered a Jewish teenager (see SESSION 54)
2:21:21 - Hausner on the legitimacy of Eichmann’s ‘following orders’ defense
2:36:27 - Hausner argues that Eichmann went above and beyond following orders
2:53:15 - Hausner on the legitimacy of Eichmann’s ‘Act of State’ defense
2:58:26 - Unusual close-up of Assistant Defense Counsel Dieter Wechtenbruch
2:59:22 - Court is adjourned
TRANSCRIPT
Material highlighted green survives in video form.
Material highlighted pink has been lost.
SESSION CXIII
ABOUT THIS SESSION
SESSION 113 of the trial of Adolf Eichmann took place in the morning of Thursday, August 10, 1961. In this session, Attorney General Gideon Hausner concludes his closing statement, which began in SESSION 110. He addresses issues inherent in judging the testimony of trial witnesses who were themselves guilty of perpetrating the Holocaust, Eichmann’s character and those who saved Jews during the war. He reads a poem, "Ihr nennt mich eine Fremde" (“You Call Me a Stranger”) by German-Jewish poet Hilde Domin, who he misidentifies as a non-Jew. He begins to move through the fifteen counts of the indictment against Eichmann, contending that the prosecution has proved his guilt on each.
The vast majority of the footage from SESSION 113 survives, with two gaps of only a few seconds and a third gap comprising a few minutes. The three hours and forty minutes of surviving footage are presented here. There is no audio for the first minute or so, in which the court is not yet in session.
NOTABLE MOMENTS
0:00:00 - Court not in session
0:01:00 - Eichmann enters
0:01:15 - Eichmann chats with Defense Attorney Dr. Robert Servatius
0:04:38 - Eichmann smiles
0:05:00 - Judges enter
0:05:36 - Session 113 begins
0:08:14 - Hausner on weighing the witness testimony of former Nazis
0:18:33 - Hausner on the many witnesses that Eichmann claimed were lying
0:24:23 - Hausner says Eichmann’s lies show he is too intelligent to have been a cog in the Nazi machine
0:44:30 - Hausner on the discrepancy between the number of Jews Eichmann says were killed
0:48:07 - Hausner on Holocaust denial and neo-Nazism
0:59:24 - Hausner on those who saved Jews during the Holocaust
1:04:58 - Hausner reads the poem "Ihr nennt mich eine Fremde" by Hilde Domin
1:12:01 - Hausner discusses Count 1 of the indictment (physical extermination)
1:37:23 - Hausner on new documents discovered in the course of the trial
1:40:34 - Hausner discusses Count 2 of the indictment (living conditions)
1:43:48 - Unusual angle showing stenographers’ balcony
1:48:12 - Hausner discusses Count 3 of the indictment (caused grave harm)
1:49:48 & 2:50:18 - Unusual close-ups of Assistant Defense Counsel Dieter Wechtenbruch
1:52:32 - Hausner discusses Count 6 of the indictment (persecution)
1:54:02 - Hausner discusses Count 7 of the indictment (plunder of property)
2:08:14 - Recess
2:11:59 - Eichmann re-enters
2:18:50 - Judges re-enter
2:19:10 - Session 113 resumes
2:30:27 - Hausner on the Reinhardt Operation
2:35:43 - Hausner discusses Count 4 of the indictment (abortions & sterilizations)
2:45:48 - Hausner discusses Counts 9-11 of the indictment (deportations)
2:47:24 - Hausner discusses Count 12 of the indictment (children of Lidice)
2:55:50 - Hausner discusses the last counts of the indictment (criminal organizations)
3:15:20 - Hausner offers his concluding thoughts
3:19:34 - Discussion on the legal principle of ‘conspiracy’
3:35:22 - Court is adjourned
TRANSCRIPT
Material highlighted green survives in video form.
Material highlighted pink has been lost.
Material highlighted black with red text appeared in the Attorney General's written closing statement, but was not spoken aloud in the courtroom.