SESSION VI
ABOUT THIS SESSION
SESSION 6 of the trial of Adolf Eichmann took place in the morning of Monday, April 17, 1961. In this session, the judges render their decision on the preliminary objections of the defense. Eichmann is then asked enter pleas on all 15 counts of the indictment, pleading not guilty ‘in the sense of the indictment’ to each. Prosecuting Attorney General Gideon Hausner then begins his opening statement with the famous line “When I stand before you here…I am not standing alone. With me are six million accusers.” His opening statement continues through the end of this session, and on into Sessions 7 and 8. Philosopher Hannah Arendt, who controversially coined the term ‘banality of evil’ when describing the Eichmann trial, can be seen briefly in the audience (see below).
The vast majority of the footage from SESSION 6 survives. Only a few very short sections are missing, including the last couple of minutes. However, a large portion of the session from roughly 2:06:13 to the end has severely degraded audio that is very difficult to hear. You may use the subtitles to follow this portion of the trial. One small section survives only via an audio recording.
NOTABLE MOMENTS
00:00:00 - Court not in session
00:06:30 - Eichmann enters
00:08:26 - Session 6 begins
00:09:03 - Decision on the Preliminary Objections of Defense Counsel
00:18:58 - Eichmann Pleads Not Guilty
00:30:06 - Decision on Recording of Attorney General’s Opening Statement
00:30:31 - Attorney General’s Opening Statement: ‘Introduction’
00:45:07 - Hausner on the impossibility of understanding the Holocaust’s true cause
00:54:41 - Hausner quotes from ‘Mein Kampf’
01:30:02 - ‘The SS, The SD and The Gestapo’
01:37:51 - Hausner places Eichmann in the SS hierarchy
02:04:40 - Recess
02:13:02 - Hausner discusses Eichmann’s background
02:43:05 - ‘The Final Solution of the Jewish Problem’
02:44:54 - Hausner outlines the evolution of the Final Solution
02:49:04 - Hausner discusses the case of Herschel Grynszpan
03:47:00 & 3:47:45- Philosopher Hannah Arendt can be seen in the audience
03:49:36 - Court adjourns
TRANSCRIPT
Material highlighted green survives in video form.
Material highlighted pink has been lost.
Material highlighted orange is available only in audio form.
Material highlighted black with red text appeared in the Attorney General's written opening statement, but was not spoken aloud in the courtroom.