us-005578-irn1001806
type: RecordSet
biographical history: Willem Sassen, Dutch by birth, was a former SS man who had been a war correspondent attached to an Einsatzgruppe unit during the war. Sentenced to death in his own country, he hid in Buenos Aires where he met Adolf Eichmann. In 1957 he began a series of taped interviews with Eichmann, the bulk of which became known as the Sassen Document and were used at the 1961 trial. The document itself consisted of the tapes and the transcripts. Emil Knebel was a cinematographer known for Andante (2010), Adam (1973), and Wild Is My Love (1963). He was one of the cameramen who recorded daily coverage of the Eichmann trial in Jerusalem (produced by Capital Cities Broadcasting Corp and later held academic positions in Israel and New York teaching filmmaking at universities. Refer to CV in file.
date: 1961 July 11
has or had holder: us-005578
has or had identifier: 1
has or had identifier: 2
has or had some members with language: deu
has or had some members with language: heb
has or had some members with language: eng
has record set type: Item
identifier: irn1001806
note: See official transcripts, published in"The Trial of Adolf Eichman", Vol. I-V, State of Israel, Ministry of Justice, Jerusalem, 1994. Also available online at the Nizkor Project. *Digital playback hits in audio track at 45 seconds.
scope and content: Footage begins in the middle of the session with cross-examination of the accused by Attorney General Gideon Hausner. Hausner questions Eichmann about the September 21, 1939 meeting in Heydrich's office. At this meeting Reinhard Heydrich met with Adolf Eichmann and other Einsatzgruppen commanders to discuss Hitler's approval of a plan to concentrate Polish Jews in cities and later deport them eastward. Eichmann maintains that he was not present at this meeting and refers to the testimony of Dr. Alfred Six, noting that the witness would have stated that Eichmann had been at the meeting. Hausner reads contrary evidence which proves that Eichmann did attend the meeting (00:02:48) and accuses Eichmann of distorting testimony. Eichmann protests, saying that he can not remember since too much time has passed, to which Hausner replies that less than three years ago Eichmann was interview by Sassen and recounted everything that he is being asked now (00:05:29). Hausner then asks the accused to indicate whether and when he read books by Reitlinger (00:07:39) and Poliakov. Eichmann testifies that he read them while in prison but Hausner states that Sassen had questioned him about these books (00:09:42). The accused is then asked about documents that Sassen had read to him, including one that refers to an order he gave to Globocnik for the murder of 250,000 Jews (00:13:29). Hausner returns to the subject of the meeting with Heydrich and whether or not Eichmann was the man in charge of Heydrich's Jewish policy (00:14:14). Eichmann is asked whether Heydrich boasted about Eichmann's successes to Herman Goering and the Reich Ministers (00:14:47). Hausner presses the accused about when he was named head of the Central Office for Jewish Emigration. When asked if he was in charge of departments in Prague, Vienna, and Berlin (00:16:56) Eichmann testifies that he was responsible for the general running of the offices but goes on to describe the differences between being the director of…
title: Eichmann Trial -- Session 91 -- Cross-examination of the Accused