us-005578-irn1001267
type: RecordSet
biographical history: Leon Weliczker Wells was born in Stojanow near Lvov, Poland on March 10, 1925. At the outbreak of the Soviet-German War, Wells was in Lvov. In July 1941, the Ukrainian police who were working with the SS arrested Wells and his father. The police officers took Wells to the police station; they were severely beaten, and taken to Pelczynska Street, where other Jews were assembled. Wells and the other Jews were instructed to lay face down on the street; they remained facedown for the rest of the night as the SS men randomly chose Jews for physical abuse and death. This continued for two days; on the third day, the Nazis selected certain people for relocation, and the rest of the Jews returned home. Two days later, Nazis arrested Wells and forced him to work at the railroad, unloading ammunitions and weaponry. After returning home, Wells went into hiding; he remained in hiding until December 1941, and joined the Working Brigade on the railroad. In March 1942, Wells was transferred to the Janowska concentration camp. Wells health was poor due to horrible conditions in the camp. In May, the Nazis took a group of Jews including Wells on a death march; they were given shovels to dig their own graves. Just as Wells walked into the pit to be shot, the Nazis instructed him to return to camp and retrieve the body of an inmate who had died of sickness. On his way back to camp, Wells slipped away from his SS guard; the SS pronounced him dead, and this inattention allowed Wells to escape. Upon learning of his mother's death, Wells attempted to commit suicide, but a neighbor found him, and saved him from death. Soon thereafter, Wells traveled to Radziechow (Julag) Ghetto in an attempt to find his father and brothers. He eventually found his family, helped them to hide, and began working as a canal cleaner. The Nazis decided to liquidate the Julag Ghetto; during and after selection, Wells's father and brothers were shot, and Wells was taken back to the Janowska concentration camp. In…
date: 1961 May 02
has or had holder: us-005578
has or had identifier: 1
has or had identifier: 2
has or had some members with language: eng
has or had some members with language: heb
has or had some members with language: deu
has record set type: Item
identifier: irn1001267
note: See official transcripts, published in"The Trial of Adolf Eichman", Vol. I-V, State of Israel, Ministry of Justice, Jerusalem, 1994, pp. 411-419. Also available online at the Nizkor Project.
scope and content: Session 23. Adolf Eichmann stands as the Presiding Judge enters and then sits down. WS of the courtroom. The Presiding Judge takes notes and declares the twenty-third Session of the trial open. He then confirms that applications submitted by Dr. Servatius will be discussed later on. Servatius states that the evidence given by the witness, Dr. Wells, is irrelevant and repetitive and thus should not be submitted. Attorney General Hausner responds by saying that Eichmann was appointed by Reinhard Heydrich, who was in charge of exterminating the Jews, and offers several other examples as well. The Presiding Judge deliberates then rules that the witness is indeed relevant and Dr. Wells is called to the stand. After he walks up to the podium and the microphone is adjusted, footage cuts out and part of the proceedings is missing. 00:12:28 Eichmann sits in the booth. The Attorney General asks Wells how he had the will to survive after seeing his entire family die and Wells answers,"It was the will of responsibility, that somebody had to remain to tell the world that it was the idea of the Nazis to kill all the Jews - so we had a responsibility somehow to withstand this idea and to be alive" Footage cuts out again, but nothing is skipped. Shots of Wells, Eichmann, people in the audience and the translator are shown as Wells describes his duties for the Death Brigade. 00:17:50 Part of the proceedings are missing and it picks up with Mr. Hausner asking about the supplies used to get rid of all the evidence of bodies. After Dr. Wells responds, the Presiding Judge asks for clarification of what a grinding machine was and the process is explained. 00:20:28 A large part of the proceedings is missing. Footage continues as Witness Wells describes the location, procedures and security of the Death Brigade. The Attorney General inquires about why the people didn't attempt to hurt the guards before they were murdered. Wells explains that they were broken up into groups and that those w…
title: Eichmann Trial -- Sessions 23 and 24 -- Testimony of L. Wells, H. Ross, and J. Buzminsky