Eichmann Trial -- Session 41 -- Witness Dr. Grueber re: knowing Eichmann during the war and concentration camps

Eichmann Trial -- Session 41 -- Witness Dr. Grueber re: knowing Eichmann during the war and concentration camps 

Eichmann Trial -- Session 41 -- Witness Dr. Grueber re: knowing Eichmann during the war and concentration camps 

Session 41. Dr. Servatius complains that the numerous witnesses from abroad fall within various courts, and that it would take too much time to attain all of these witnesses, their affidavits, and their testimony. They list the witnesses whose addresses they do not yet have. That court will make the request to the German courts, and Dr. Servatius says that his assistant will attempt to do just that. Attorney General Hausner requests that the Defense be instructed to supply the names of all of the witnesses to be questioned, as it is becoming global. The Judges agree. Dr. Servatius says that he is overburdened with his work, so he does not know that he will be able to submit all of his witnesses immediately, but he will do his best once he is able to assess his work. Hausner says that they would prefer, in all cases, to bring the witnesses to the court rather than have an affidavit if at all possible. 00:14:50 Dr. Heinrich Karl Ernst Grueber is called in to testify. He is sworn in on a Bible, as he is a Christian clergyman, the Protestant Dean of Berlin who risked his life to save Jews from Nazi persecution. They move the interpreter next to the witness, as he is hard of hearing. They ask him basic questions about his past, and he answers that he was a clergyman in various places around Berlin prior to the war. 00:22:29 He says that Jews were second class citizens, not allowed to freely express themselves like others. He says that he had to become more prominent as he was not restricted in his actions, meaning that when someone had to visit a government office, or needed to acquire supplies of some sort, he had far more success than his Jewish partners. He describes that on Jewish holidays, there would be days of further oppression, and they would all hide together to try to avoid the beatings. He also mentions that he knew Eichmann's name before the war, and had been in his office, though he had never actually met him. 00:37:39 He describes the impression that Eichmann made, the transformation of his name into a symbol of oppression. 00:43:20 Tape jumps, and Grueber is being asked whether Eichmann ever referred to orders from above that he received. He says that Eichmann relied on the"" form for everything, that"I will orde" and such. He does not know whether he did that to raise his own prestige or because he was in charge, but he never said that he had to check with his superiors on anything. He describes the men who he associated with and requests not to give any names. He says that some were germane with the Jews, but not all. He describes how differently they see the concentration camps now than they did then. Then they did not understand what exactly they were doing, they did not comprehend how someone like Eichmann could act with such cruelty, it simply did not sink in. The Judges order a 20 minute recess when Hausner says he wants to switch topics.