SESSION XVI
ABOUT THIS SESSION
SESSION 16 of the trial of Adolf Eichmann took place in the morning of Wednesday, April 26, 1961. The session begins with judges’ decisions admitting two reports by Eichmann’s former deputy, Dieter Wisliceny, into evidence, along with the autobiography of Auschwitz commandant Rudolf Hoess. An affidavit by Nazi officer Wilhelm Hoettl is then submitted into evidence, as well as statements by Nazi officer Eberhard von Thadden. Finally, former Viennese Jewish community leader Moritz Fleischmann begins his testimony, which continues in SESSION 17.
Only about half an hour of footage from SESSION 16 has survived. One nearly four-minute section of this session survives only via audio, which includes the simultaneous English translation heard through headphones by English-speaking attendees. In this section of the video, no image appears. Subtitles reflect the Nizkor transcript of the trial and may not perfectly match the spoken translation. Three sections, beginning at 32:56, survive only via a 1961 news broadcast, and are included here with watermarks from the broadcaster. These portions of the trial were re-edited by the broadcaster and do not appear exactly as they did in the trial.
NOTABLE MOMENTS
00:00 - Submission of Rudolf Hoess’s autobiography into evidence
18:33 - Submission of Eberhard von Thadden’s testimony into evidence
20:08 - Servatius suggests inviting von Thadden to testify
23:51 - Hausner states that if von Thadden sets foot in Israel, he will have him arrested and brought to trial
27:45 - Hausner is asked about the Sassen interview published in LIFE magazine
32:56 - Testimony of Moritz Fleischmann
TRANSCRIPT
Material highlighted green survives in video form.
Material highlighted pink has been lost.
Material highlighted blue survives via third-party material.