The Eichmann Trial

SESSION 57 of the trial of Adolf Eichmann took place in the morning of Tuesday, May 30, 1961. The session begins with the resumption of the testimony of Professor Gustave M. Gilbert, the psychologist whose testimony began in SESSIONS 55 and 56. Gilbert is cross-examined by Eichmann’s defense counsel, Dr. Robert Servatius, in regard to his diary entries from the Nuremberg Trial which had previously been submitted into evidence. After Gilbert is dismissed, Joel Brand is called to resume his testimony, which began in SESSION 56. Brand had been highly visible as a witness even before the trial began, appearing at a number of press conferences and in news coverage of the trial. A former leader in the Jewish community of Budapest, he had negotiated directly with Eichmann in a deal Brand describes as ‘Blood for Goods’; an exchange proposed by Eichmann in which Budapest Jews would be permitted to immigrate to Palestine in exchange for trucks. In this session, Brand discusses his trip to Turkey to attempt to acquire the aforementioned trucks. Brand will return for additional testimony in SESSION 59. In the midst of Brand’s testimony, a lengthy report by former Israeli Prime Minister Moshe Sharett is submitted into evidence, confirming much of Brand’s account of his trip and arrest. Throughout the submission of this document, Sharett is occasionally referred to by his birth surname, Shertok.

The vast majority of SESSION 57 has been lost. The roughly thirty minutes of surviving footage are presented here. The final surviving sections of the session survive only via a contemporaneous news broadcast, and are included here with minor edits made by the broadcaster.