Archive/File: people/e/eichmann.adolf/transcripts/Sessions/Session-035-01
Last-Modified: 1999/06/01

Session No. 35
24 Iyar 5721 (10 May 1961)

Presiding Judge: I declare the 35th Session of the trial
open.

State Attorney Bach:  Your Honours, the next document is
Prosecution document No. 589, which was shown to the Accused
and given No. T/37(200) with his statement.  Here the Court
will find another progress report signed by Zoepf, addressed
to IVB4 in Berlin.  In it there are exact figures of the
number of Jews who emigrated, the number of Jews in camps,
those relocated to Theresienstadt, and those sent for
Arbeitseinsatz (work assignment) to the East.  At the time
these were 58,000 persons in sixty trains.  There follow
figures of those sent to Westerbork, Vught, Barneveld, etc.
and also a breakdown according to type of occupation.

Presiding Judge: This document will be marked T/543.

State Attorney Bach:  The next document is Prosecution
document No. 1356.  It is a report signed by Harster,
addressed to the Zentralstelle fuer Juedische Auswanderung
in Amsterdam, to Westerbork, to Hertogenbosch, and to all so-
called Aussenstellen (Field Offices), and it says here:

     "By virtue of the latest instruction from SS
     Gruppenfuehrer Rauter and consultations with the
     representative of the Head Office for Reich Security,
     the following operations are to be carried out during
     the coming months: The Reichsfuehrer-SS wishes as many
     Jews as humanly possible to be deported to the East
     during this year (dass an Juden abtransportiert wird
     was menschenmoeglich ist)."

There follow details about the trains to the East, the
various camps, the situation concerning Amsterdam, the
"munition Jews," etc.  I call attention to paragraph 6:

     "All Portuguese Jews are to be concentrated (insofar as
     there are no other reasons for deferment) in a special
     barrack in the (Westerbork) camp, in order to be
     examined as to their descent by the officer
     representing the Head Office for Race and Settlement."

Then there is mention of mixed marriages, and I draw your
attention to paragraph 9:

     "Jewesses over the age of 45 are to be summoned, one by
     one, to Amsterdam and to be exempted from wearing the
     star, so that in this way it will become known that
     Jewish partners of mixed marriages may stay on, if no
     offspring is to be expected from them.  Jews in mixed
     marriages without children shall be transferred to the
     camp.  For the rest of the Jews and Jewesses voluntary
     sterilization is to be aimed at, and carried out in
     Amsterdam.  In case of refusal, sterilization is to be
     performed forcibly in the Hertogenbosch camp."
     
Then there is a directive to investigate the economic
activities and occupational affiliation of male Jews in
mixed marriages; proposals for various anti-Jewish measures;
and then, in paragraph 10:

     "It is to be considered whether, among other things,
     exemption from return to captivity in prisoner-of-war
     camps should be granted as a prize for producing Jews
     in considerable numbers.  In this case we shall
     approach the WBN."

Presiding Judge: What is WBN?

State Attorney Bach:  I have to look up this point, Your
Honour.  I think that this is a matter connected with the
armistice, that persons who deliver up Jews, and who are
themselves prisoners of war, do not have to return to
captivity.

Presiding Judge: This document is marked T/544.

State Attorney Bach:  I call the attention of the Court to
paragraph 11, which deals with foundlings; each such case
has to be reported to the Security Police.

The next document, No. 590 - T/37(201) - is signed by Zoepf
and addressed to the Jewish Camp, Westerbork.  Zoepf
indicates how many Jews have been deported, how many more
are ready for departure, and he states that at least 2,200
Jews are lacking for the "obligatory monthly quota," as he
calls it.  "But this number has to be seized at all events,
with the help of an operation of some kind, before the last
week of May, and taken to Westerbork to be sent on from
there.  For this purpose the following possibilities are
envisaged..." - and he proposes various schemes how to get
hold of these Jews, the overriding condition being that the
number asked for must be sent to the extermination camp.

Presiding Judge: This document is marked T/545.

State Attorney Bach:  As the Court can see here, Zoepf gives
the order directly to Westerbork Camp.

Prosecution document No. 601 - T/37(183).  This is a
document to which we attach particular importance.  The
Accused writes to Knochen in Paris, copy to Brussels and to
Harster in The Hague, and this is what he states:

     "In 1943 the Swiss Evangelical Assistance for the
     Confessional Church in Germany published the book
     Judennot und Christenglaube (Jewish Distress and
     Christian Belief) through the Protestant Publishing
     House Ltd., Zollikon-Zuerich.  Apart from the general
     trend, which can be gleaned from its title, the book is
     especially notable because it contains the diary notes
     of a French minister of the Reformed Church about his
     activities in assembly camps during the deportation of
     the French Jews.  The work mentioned, and especially
     the diary notes, make it essential to prevent improper
     activities by the political church of the kind
     mentioned.  Clergymen are therefore to be kept away
     from the deportation camps as far as possible."
     Signed: - Eichmann.  This letter, too, was shown to the
     Accused.

Presiding Judge: On what page is the document mentioned?

State Attorney Bach:  On page 2251 of the statement.  He
admits that he dictated the letter.

Judge Halevi:  There is a remark of a later date after the
letter saying that "A copy was made and added to the file
'Evangelische Juden in Westerbork'."  What is this:
"Protestant Jews in Westerbork" - is this a known
institution?

State Attorney Bach:  Actually, the subject here is not
Protestant Jews, but it may be that they had a file on
converted Jews in Westerbork and that they put the letter
into this file.  It is a question of local filing.  Later on
confirmation was sent back to IVB4 for Novak.  Somebody
apparently noticed that there was a file on Protestants and
filed this letter in it.  But, as I said already, the
instructions were sent to France as well as to Holland and
Belgium.

Presiding Judge: This document is marked T/546.

State Attorney Bach:  The next document concerns a typical
case.  The subject is a Jew named Michaelis who lived in
Holland.  The document is numbered 363.  It was a simple
reply from Guenther to a question from the Foreign Ministry
saying that "For reasons of principle, I am unable to permit
the stateless Jew Michaelis to emigrate to Switzerland."
This was also given the number T/37(102).  It is apparently
the reply to a certain suggestion or request from the
Foreign Ministry.

Presiding Judge: This document is marked T/547.

State Attorney Bach:  The Foreign Ministry is not satisfied,
and so here is our No. 364.  Here the Foreign Ministry
explains that the Jew Michaelis is married to a Christian
woman who lives in Switzerland, where her parents also live,
and not only this, but her father is a very important man in
Switzerland who is absolutely neutral, or even to a certain
degree friendly towards Germany; and there are indications,
in view of the wild rumours circulating in Switzerland about
the German policy towards the Jews, the fate of his son-in-
law would receive wide publicity...and therefore the Foreign
Ministry...

Presiding Judge: The second page is missing here, Mr. Bach.

State Attorney Bach:  In this document, Your Honours, on the
tape we received, a page was missing.  We looked up the
microfilm and saw that only the first page was photographed.
At any rate, the contents so far are clear enough. It seems
important from the Foreign Ministry's point of view that
this man should be allowed to leave the Netherlands and come
to Switzerland.  This was also shown to the Accused and was
numbered T/37(138).

Presiding Judge: Was this also mentioned in the statement?
Please always give us the number of the page.

State Attorney Bach:  Yes, Your Honour, the number of the
page is 1818.  I believe that all the  documents concerning
Michaelis, which I now submit, were shown consecutively,
starting on page 1818.

Presiding Judge: This will be marked T/548.

State Attorney Bach:  The next document will be our No. 365.
After receipt of the previous letter this is the final
answer:

     "Even after renewed examination I am not, for reasons
     of principle, in a position, to my regret, to agree to
     the departure for Switzerland of the stateless Jew
     Michaelis.  Signed by order: - Eichmann."

Presiding Judge: This will be marked T/549.

State Attorney Bach:  I should like to make a remark in this
connection: Your Honours will remember that this morning I
brought before you the case of Professor Meyers.  I
mentioned that that was also submitted to the Accused and
that he was asked to comment on that case.

Presiding Judge: That was our T/534 and T/535.

State Attorney Bach:  The comment of the Accused on that
document is to be found on page 1258.  When he is told of
this matter, Eichmann says:

     "...es ist uninteressant an sich, ich will es nur
     erklaeren, Herr Hauptmann, es ist an sich so
     uninteressant wie nur etwas, aber diese Faelle - ob es
     auch Einzel-faelle sind, ganz egal - noch gerade -
     allerdings hier, bei 150,000 Schweizer Francs und dann
     die Einmischung der schwedischen Gesandtschaft - das
     entscheidet kein Dezernent einfach aus der Lameng
     heraus" (...it is not interesting in itself, I only
     wanted to explain it, Captain, in itself it is as
     uninteresting as anything, but these cases, even if
     they are individual cases, it does not matter -
     especially when - true, here, with 150,000 Swiss Francs
     and then the intervention of the Swedish Legation - no
     official decides on a matter like this out of hand).

Judge Halevi:  Was that the case mentioned before?

State Attorney Bach:  It is the case of Meyers.  I only
mention this in the context of individual cases.

Our next document is No. 600, which was also marked
T/37(190).  Subject:

     "Acquisition by Jews of the Nationality of a Neutral
     Country.  However undesirable it may be for Jews who
     are destined to be deported under the existing
     regulations to acquire the nationality of a neutral
     country whose nationals cannot be deported,
     nevertheless, for reasons of foreign policy,
     deportation must be waived where the acquisition of the
     new nationality is legally valid.  If it transpires
     that any Jews are trying to acquire a new nationality,
     this does not have to be taken into consideration; on
     the contrary, the persons concerned are to be given
     priority for deportation to the East.  I request strict
     adherence to the decree of 5.3.43 and to the regulation
     issued later..."

The reaction of the Accused is on page 2321.  I draw your
attention to the last page of the examination, on page 2324.
Inspector Less asked him: "What did you intend to achieve by
that last sentence?"

Eichmann replied: "That the Jews should no longer acquire
another nationality, as was stated in the instructions."
Less: "That they should be deported before they achieved or
might achieve their aim?"

Eichmann: "Yes, yes."  In the question it says in German:
"dass man sie vorher abschiebt."

Presiding Judge: This will be marked T/550.

State Attorney Bach:  Now we have again two documents which
are connected with each other.  The first one is our
document No. 53.  Here von Thadden writes a letter, copy to
Eichmann.  He explains that there is a Jewish woman, a Mrs.
Simons, who lives in de facto marriage with an Italian
Catholic.  Then he says: They are not married, it is true,
but only as a result of the fact that the Catholic is
married to another woman and that his divorce is not valid
and therefore, in accordance with Italian law, he cannot
marry this Jewish woman, but in fact they live as man and
wife.  And von Thadden says: "In view of these
considerations, the Foreign Ministry regards a positive
treatment of the case as politically desirable," i.e.
permitting this Jewish woman to leave and go to Italy.

Presiding Judge: This document will be marked T/551.

State Attorney Bach:  And here is the reply, our No. 332,
also marked T/37(137).  The Accused replies to von Thadden:
"In view of the political changes which have taken place in
the meantime, there is in my opinion no longer any reason to
consider the departure to Italy of the above-mentioned
Jewess.  I have therefore instructed my office in The Hague
to send the woman Simons immediately to the East for work
assignment.  By order, signed: Eichmann."

Presiding Judge: What political changes?

State Attorney Bach:  What is meant here is the Badoglio
coup.  What he means is that now there is no longer any
reason for special consideration for the Italian government,
in view of the occupation, when Germany has in fact occupied
Northern Italy and the situation has changed.  Therefore
this woman has to go to the East immediately.

Judge Halevi:  That is to say that it is no longer necessary
to take Mussolini into consideration?

State Attorney Bach:  Yes, this is actually the intention.

Presiding Judge: This document will be marked T/552.

State Attorney Bach:  The next document is our No. 323,
another reply by the Accused to a request by von Thadden,
this time concerning a Jewish woman named Nolte.  He says
that this Jewess was taken to the East for work in May and
that there is no possibility, for the moment, to discover
her present whereabouts.  "Emigration, even for payment of
foreign currency, is anyway out of the question."

Presiding Judge: This document will be marked T/553.

State Attorney Bach:  Our next document is No. 591; it was
shown to the Accused and numbered T/37(203).  His reaction
appears on page 2391 in the statement. "Subject:
Consultation in the Head Office for Reich Security from July
1 to 6, 1943."  Here we have a report about a variety of
meetings and consultations in the Head Office for Reich
Security, that is to say, with all the various subordinates
of the Accused.  The discussions cover almost the whole
field: Questions of Mischlinge (persons of mixed descent); a
conversation with SS Hauptsturmfuehrer Woehrn, also a
subordinate of the Accused's; then, in paragraph 7, the
discussion concerns "Paraguayan and Honduran passports,
large numbers of which were recently sent to the
Netherlands.  The recipients are Jewish persons whose names
were copied from the address book, and the passports are
sent by the consular representations of the two countries in
return for payment of a suitable sum.  The passports are
sent by the office for examination of mail from abroad to
the Head Office for Reich Security, which in turn forwards
them to the BdS in The Hague.  The persons concerned, for
whom the passports were issued, are to be evacuated from
here immediately..."

There follows a conversation with Regierungsrat Hunsche, one
of the aides of the Accused, about Jewish property and
property deposited with the firm of Lippmann, Rosenthal and
Co.  We also heard about this in this morning's testimony.
Then the problem of mixed marriages is discussed again.

After this comes a discussion with SS Hauptsturmfuehrer
Novak and SS Untersturmfuehrer Hartmann about the re-
establishment of the Bergen-Belsen camp, and the writer was
informed by a competent source that the Theresienstadt camp
would continue to exist.  And here it says that the present
camp commander, SS Hauptsturmfuehrer Seidl, will become
commander of the Bergen-Belsen camp.  Seidl is also one of
the assistants of the Accused.  So here we see that the
Accused and his people had direct authority over both
Theresienstadt and Bergen-Belsen and, as a matter of fact,
the same Seidl was at first commander of Theresienstadt.

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