SESSION XLI
ABOUT THIS SESSION
SESSION 41 of the trial of Adolf Eichmann took place in the morning of Tuesday, May 16, 1961. It begins with a discussion on the taking of evidence from witnesses located abroad. Following this discussion, Heinrich Karl Ernst Grüber begins his testimony. One of the few non-Jewish witnesses at the trial, the Christian pastor Grüber was a Holocaust survivor nonetheless, having been imprisoned in the Dachau concentration camp in retaliation for his advocacy for German Jews. After answering questions from Assistant Prosecutor Jonathan Bar-Or, Grüber faces cross-examination from Defense Counsel Robert Servatius, displaying a wry, combative sense of humor. Grüber’s cross-examination continues in SESSION 42.
Much footage from SESSION 41 has been lost. More than an hour of surviving footage is presented here.
NOTABLE MOMENTS
0:00:00 - Discussion on Taking Evidence Abroad
0:13:51 - Bar-Or makes correction to the record
0:18:54 - Testimony of Heinrich Grüber
0:35:59 - Grüber recalls a meeting with Eichmann in Berlin
0:37:39 - Grüber recalls his negative impression of Eichmann
0:53:36 - Grüber on trying to find the root of Eichmann’s anti-Semitism
1:00:12 - Recess
1:01:48 - Grüber is asked about his treatment in the Sachsenhausen concentration camp
1:06:22 - Cross-Examination of Heinrich Grüber
1:09:20 - In a contentious exchange, Grüber compares Eichmann to a ‘mercenary’
1:12:56 - Eichmann’s guard chuckles at Grüber’s metaphor
1:17:53 - Grüber recounts a poignant conversation with Eichmann
TRANSCRIPT
Material highlighted green survives in video form.
Material highlighted pink has been lost.