SESSION XXXIX
ABOUT THIS SESSION
SESSION 39 of the trial of Adolf Eichmann took place in the morning of Monday, May 15, 1961. It begins with Attorney General Gideon Hausner announcing the next witness: Nuremberg Justice Michael Musmanno. Defense Counsel Robert Servatius pre-empts the testimony with an objection based on precedent preventing a judge from testifying in regard to his decisions on previous trials. Hausner counters that Musmanno will be testifying not in regard to his previous decisions, but instead about evidence he learned about while presiding over the Nuremberg trials. After a recess, the judges render a decision allowing testimony in regard to people who are no longer alive, but decline to allow testimony in regard to evidence that could be presented on its own. Musmanno then begins his testimony, which continues in SESSION 40.
Much footage from SESSION 39 has been lost. The hour of surviving footage is presented here. A very brief section of Musmanno’s testimony survives only via an audio recording. It is reproduced here with some minor edits made by the producers of that recording.
NOTABLE MOMENTS
00:00 - Michael Musmanno called to the stand
01:23 - Servatius objects to Musmanno’s testimony
09:49 - Hausner’s rebuttal to Servatius’s objection
14:14 - Servatius responds to Hausner’s rebuttal
17:18 - Recess
17:52 - Judges’ decision admitting Musmanno’s testimony
21:59 - Testimony of Justice Michael Musmanno
23:03 - Musmanno, quoting Goering, cites Eichmann’s responsibility for Jewish extermination
32:45 - Musmanno, quoting Schellenberg, says Eichmann was subordinate only to Heydrich
39:08 - Musmanno says the main objective of the Einsatzgruppen was “to kill Jews and rob them of their property”
TRANSCRIPT
Material highlighted green survives in video form.
Material highlighted pink has been lost.
Material highlighted orange is available only in audio form.