The Eichmann Trial

SESSION 42 of the trial of Adolf Eichmann took place in the afternoon of Tuesday, May 16, 1961. In this session, Defense Counsel Robert Servatius continues his cross-examination of Christian pastor Heinrich Karl Ernst Grüber, which began in SESSION 41. One of the few non-Jewish witnesses at the trial, Grüber was a Holocaust survivor nonetheless, having been imprisoned in the Dachau concentration camp in retaliation for his advocacy for German Jews. Servatius asks Grüber about the church’s official position regarding Hitler and the Nazi party, the relevance of which is questioned by the Presiding Judge. The judges then ask asks Grüber several questions. Judge Yitzhak Raveh asks Grüber about a comment from SESSION 41 (at 45:11) in which he asked to withhold the name of a man who had helped the Jews during the Nazi era. Raveh asks why a man who helped the Jews would want anonymity today, and Grüber responds that such a man would receive plenty of criticism even today, and that he himself has received hate mail for his decision to testify in the trial. Judge Benjamin Halevi solicits his opinion on whether things might have unfolded differently in Germany had there been more ‘civil courage’ in the Nazi ranks. Asked whether Eichmann was anti-semitic or a National Socialist, Grüber replies that the two went hand-in-hand. Before he leaves the stand, Grüber asks to make a statement, delivering a short sermon about forgiveness. Following Grüber’s testimony, documents are submitted on Nazi actions in Germany, including a declaration by Dr. Bernhard Lösener. Next, Theresiestadt survivor Charlotte Salzberger testifies, showing artifacts that she collected during the war.

Most of the footage from SESSION 42 has survived, including the first 75+ minutes of the recording. Grüber’s closing statement survives only via a 1961 news broadcast, and may appear differently from the way it appeared in the original recording.