The Nizkor Project: Remembering the Holocaust (Shoah)

The Trial of Adolf Eichmann
Session 31
(Part 5 of 5)


Holocaust, Adolf Eichmann, Eichmann trial, holocaust, Jewish holocaust
State Attorney Bach: The next document is our No. 112. It was T/37(59). It contains fully detailed instructions from Dannecker for the deportation of the Jews: Those who shall be taken, what they were allowed to take with them, what to put in each railway carriage, etc.

Presiding Judge: This will be T/425.

State Attorney Bach: The next document will be our document No. 169. Zeitschel from the Embassy informs the BdS that Dannecker told him that he urgently needs 50,000 Jews from the unoccupied zone for transport to the East and he reports about measures he has taken in this respect.

Presiding Judge: This will be T/426.

State Attorney Bach: Our next number is 1069, where Dannecker states again that Jews older than those deported up to now may be included.

Presiding Judge: This will be T/427.

State Attorney Bach: He stresses vis-a-vis the French that there is no need to deport only certain kinds of Jews and stresses on the contrary that the deportation of the Jews is necessary for security reasons.

The next document is our No. 97 and it is one of the crucial documents. It is a report drafted by the Accused about a meeting he had with Dannecker in Paris on 1 July 1942. Almost everything that happened after this came about as a result of that meeting.

Presiding Judge: This will be T/428.

State Attorney Bach: Here it says: "Regarding the work connected with the Final Solution of the Jewish Question in France the following points emerge:

(a) Implementation work in the occupied part: Clear and without friction.

(b) Preparatory political work with a view to practical implementation in the unoccupied part not yet fully completed as the French Government causes increasing difficulties.

In view of the order of the RF SS* {*Reichsfuehrer-SS (Himmler's title).} (sent to Section IVB4 by Chief of Department IV on 23.6.42) according to which all Jews residing in France must be deported as soon as possible, the continued speeding up of the work makes the exertion of pressure on the French Government absolutely unavoidable. It is clear that practical results cannot be attained from one day to the next, but in the meantime there are the transports from the occupied part so that, in view of the difficulties in the unoccupied part, the RF SS order can nevertheless be fully implemented for the moment. With this object in view negotiations were conducted with Knochen.

"It was arranged in clear and mandatory form with SS Hauptsturmfuehrer Dannecker that the Jews delivered to their destination are to be regarded as stateless on entering the Reich area and that, in addition, the legal questions concerning their property must be settled in every respect. The legal underpinnings which may be necessary for this purpose must be provided by the local office with all the necessary energy since, in case of failure in this respect, the greatest unpleasantness is to be expected from the point of view of foreign policy and this has to be avoided by all means in implementing the order of the RF SS.

"In conclusion it was decided that the pace envisaged until now (three transports of 1,000 Jews per week) would have to be speeded up considerably before long with a view to relieving France completely of Jews in the shortest possible time. The necessary preliminary technical measures connected with the transports are now being taken from Berlin. The Paris Office has to make sure that the pace originally determined is adhered to in the interest of the frictionless completion of the Final Solution of the Jewish Question." Signed Eichmann, SS Obersturmbannfuehrer and Dannecker, SS Obersturmfuehrer.

The next document is our No. 59, which is also numbered T/37(26).

Presiding Judge: By the way, the last document, the preceding one, was it shown to the Accused?

State Attorney Bach: I now come to this point. The proceeding document is included in a collection of documents which I now submit. The whole batch was shown to the Accused. I now put it before you, it is our No. 59, T/37(26). I submitted it (No. 97) separately because this most important document, precisely this one, is poorly printed in the collection which I have just submitted to you.

Presiding Judge: The collection is T/429.

State Attorney Bach: As I said the same document is included here, together with a covering letter from Dannecker to Knochen, in which he says: "As per instruction I attach hereto the minute by Obersturmbannfuehrer Eichmann on the arrangement concerning the large-scale deportation of Jews from France..." This is additional proof that the Accused was indeed the author of the document I read out before.

The third memorandum here in this collection says that following the discussion there is already a consultation with the Section officers for the Jewish Question in the Security Police units which was also held on 1 July 1942. The subject here is the deportation of 50,000 Jews and on page 2 states that various questions are to be clarified. How many Jews can be deported, how many children are to be left behind, how many aged Jews will remain, how many do not wear the star, etc.

Presiding Judge: Are you now passing on to a different chapter?

State Attorney Bach: Not exactly a different chapter, but I think this is a convenient point to stop, because I now come to the question of the children and there I may have several relevant documents and I shall also submit the testimony of a witness who himself was present during these events.

Presiding Judge: All right. We shall now adjourn. The next Session will be tomorrow morning, at 9 o'clock.


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