The Nizkor Project: Remembering the Holocaust (Shoah)

The Trial of Adolf Eichmann
Session 48
(Part 2 of 8)


Judge Raveh: Mrs. Mark, you said that someone obtained permission for you to remain in Czernowitz. Was that a Jew or a Romanian?

Witness Mark: He was a Jewish colleague, who had studied at university with me.

Q. How was it possible for him to request such a permit?

A. It was possible for special people.

Q. About how many people remained behind in this way?

A. I cannot say today - I don't know. We were not allowed to leave the house, so we just did not meet one another.

Q. Throughout all these years you could not leave the house - only during the first years, or throughout the entire period?

A. No, not all those years. We were not allowed to go out for a couple of years - as long as the Germans were there, we were allowed to go out only between 11 and 1 o'clock. And then it was dangerous, because we wore the yellow star. We were outlaws - anyone could just shoot us down.

Judge Halevi: How long did the Germans remain there?

Witness Mark: Until 1944. Then we came here.

Q. Was that after liberation by the Russians?

A. No, the Germans were still there, the Russians came only later. We were separated, we had received certificates from Palestine, these were special certificates and we left immediately. It was a ramshackle ship, but we made it.

Q. Did you go via Constantsa?

A. Yes, we travelled via Constantsa.

Q. And before the German occupation, the Russians were also in Czernowitz?

A. Yes, the Russians were in Czernowitz for a whole year.

Judge Halevi: Thank you very much.

Presiding Judge: Just one more question: From whom could this special certificate, this special authorization to remain in the town, be obtained?

Witness Mark: It was a sort of company.

Q. Were they Germans or Romanians?

A. I think they were Jews, who somehow received permission to issue such and such a number of certificates.

Q. Just a moment, I am not now referring to the certificate which you obtained to leave in 1944. In 1941 you received authorization to remain in Czernowitz.

A. From the Romanians, not from the Germans.

Presiding Judge: Thank you very much, Mrs. Mark.

State Attorney Bach: I would now like to submit a series of exhibits:

The first document is our No. 472. Here von Killinger, the German envoy in Bucharest, informs the German Foreign Ministry that since the problems of Aryanization and Romanization of Jewish property in Romania have reached a crucial stage, it is absolutely vital that Hauptsturmfuehrer Richter, the Accused's emissary, come to Bucharest immediately, either in person or someone else, in order to help with these procedures, as an expert in these matters is required.

Presiding Judge: This document will be marked T/1001.

State Attorney Bach: The next document, our No. 840, is an agreement between Germany and Romania on the area of Transnistria - the area between the Dniester and the Bug, and between the Bug and the Dnieper. Here I would draw your attention to paragraph 7 of this agreement, enclosed here in a frame. This appears in the original. The special emphasis appears in the original, and it says here that "the expulsion of the Jews across the Bug is not possible at the moment. For this reason, they should be concentrated in concentration camps and put to work - until it is possible to move them eastward, after the operations are completed."

Presiding Judge: Of course, it is impossible to say who put this into the frame. You say that it was marked in the original, but the document passed through a number of hands, did it not?

State Attorney Bach: I only wanted to point out that we did make the marking. I assume that this was not in the original. Somebody in one of the German offices added it.

Presiding Judge: Who signed it? The Romanian General Staff and the German Army?

State Attorney Bach: General-Major Hauffe signed for the German army and Brigadier-General Tataranu for the Romanians.

Presiding Judge: This document will be marked T/1002.

Judge Halevi: Was the river Bug the western border of Transnistria?

State Attorney Bach: I think it was the eastern border. The area between the Dniester and the Bug - that was Transnistria, and they objected to deportation across the Bug.

Judge Halevi: Who objected?

State Attorney Bach: In this agreement, the Germans objected to uncontrolled deportations at that stage. We shall submit more documents on this subject. But it was part of the agreement that, in the meantime, Jews were not to be deported beyond the Bug.

The next document is our No. 43. Dr. Braeutigam of the Reich Ministry for the Occupied Areas reports about a meeting between Rademacher and SS Obersturmbannfuehrer Eichmann on the one hand, and Amtsgerichtsrat Dr. Wetzel on the other, the same Wetzel who has been referred to in other documents. He transmits a copy of the Tighina agreements, i.e., the document I have previously submitted. He says (in his letter): "I draw special attention to paragraph 7 of the agreements." This may be an indication who put in the emphasis.

Presiding Judge: This document will be marked T/1003.

State Attorney Bach: Our next document is numbered 573. Here Richter has already arrived in Bucharest and reports about a meeting with Prime Minister Mihai Antonescu on 12 December 1941. He says that draft laws prepared in co- operation with Commissioner Lecca were discussed; the population census is mentioned; there is mention of the dissolution of the "Union of Jewish Communities in Romania" headed by a man named Filderman - who will be mentioned later; Antonescu is reported to be in agreement with the German proposal; and the request of the Reichsfuehrer to prevent emigration (of Jews) from Romania is raised and reasons are given for it; then we find objection to the emigration of five thousand Jews to Palestine; Richter says that he suggested the establishment of a central Jewish organization after the French pattern - basing himself on the new law in Romania, under which it would be possible to deal appropriately with Filderman.

Finally, he reports about the case of Max Ausschnitt, a very rich Romanian Jew, to whom the Romanians are willing to give permission to emigrate, on condition that he leaves his entire fortune behind. Antonescu had said that he was no longer dangerous because his health had already deteriorated.

Presiding Judge: This document will be marked T/1004.

State Attorney Bach: In order to save time, may I now submit two documents together, as they belong to the same subject - our documents Nos. 576 and 577. Richter informs Lecca that several Jews, whose names are mentioned in the documents, must not be allowed to pass through Germany for the purpose of emigration. He asks to check whether it is possible to recruit these Jews for work. In document No. 577 he says: "It seems appropriate to put Baratz (the applicant) into a work camp."

Presiding Judge: Document No. 576 will be marked T/1005. Document 577 will be marked T/1006.

State Attorney Bach: Our next document is No. 571. It was shown to the Accused and was then numbered T/37(173). Here we find that Richter already reports directly to the Accused. He mentions once more that Antonescu has agreed to stop the emigration, and for the first time he mentions the "Struma," the ship on which seven hundred Jews are trying to reach Palestine. He says that as a result of his intervention, the ship was actually forbidden to sail. But while he was away, the former chief of the Siguranta (Security) ordered the ship to sail, contrary to his decision. He says that the "Struma" was now anchored in Istanbul, and would apparently be sent back to Romania because the Turks have had refused entry to the seven hundred Jews into Turkey. The Accused makes his remarks on this document on page 2161 (of his statement).

Presiding Judge: This document will be marked T/1007.

Mr. Bach: Our next document is No. 1225, another report about a conversation between Richter and Prime Minister Mihai Antonescu. Richter reports that he asked the Prime Minister to publish the organizational regulations of the "Judenzentrale" (Central Board of the Jews) as soon as possible. He again mentions the cessation of emigration and the "Struma" affair. He more or less repeats similar facts. I draw special attention to the third paragraph, which shows the control Richter exercised over events concerning Jewish affairs.

He told Antonescu about the division of functions between Representative for Jewish Affairs Lecca and Dragos, who was Undersecretary of State for Romanization. He reports how he proposed to divide the various tasks, and that Antonescu was pleased with the arrangement. Finally, in paragraph 4, he mentions the case of a Jew named Clejan, who was apparently asked to be a kind of leader of the Romanian Jews, and who made a number of conditions before accepting this function, and Richter adds this remark: "I pointed out to the Deputy Prime Minister that nowadays it is no longer proper to allow Jews to make conditions."

Presiding Judge: This document will be marked T/1008.

State Attorney Bach: Our next document is No. 1226. It was shown to the Accused and marked T/37(310). While Richter had addressed the report I submitted before to the German Minister, he sends a copy of this present report directly to Obersturmbannfuehrer Eichmann in Berlin. The Accused was interrogated about this document beginning on page 3520, and on page 3524 he was asked by Inspector Less: "Did Richter always send all his reports to you?" And the answer is: "To the extent that the subject concerned Jewish matters, as for instance in the present case, of course, that was his duty."

Presiding Judge: This will be marked T/1009.

State Attorney Bach: I now submit to the Court several Romanian reports relating to the district of Transnistria. The first document is our No. 474. Here, the commander of the gendarmerie (constabulary) reports to his superiors that German SS men have taken 120 Jews out of a Jewish camp and executed them by shooting. This has caused general panic and flights from the camp. He adds: "The information is reliable."

Presiding Judge: Have you given Dr. Servatius a translation into a language which he understands?

State Attorney Bach: I think so. A complete list of all the documents which are not in German was drawn up, and we supplied translations of all those documents. I hope that this is one of them. The list was given to us at the time by the Defence, and thus I hope that they are aware of the contents of this document also.

Presiding Judge: This will be marked T/1010.

Dr. Servatius: Your Honour, the Presiding Judge, I have not yet received this document in German or in any other language. True, I can somehow decipher the general contents, but I should be very grateful if I could receive the document in German.

State Attorney Bach: We shall provide translations of these documents to the Defence.

The next document is our No. 475. In it the same commandant of the constabulary reports to his superiors that German policemen took 1,400 Jews from the camp in two days and executed them by shooting. The property of the Jews was seized and the bodies were burned. All these things happened in the district of Berezovka. It says that the information is reliable.

Presiding Judge: Do we know under whose command these camps in Transnistria were?

State Attorney Bach: Your Honours, later on we shall produce another witness, who will describe conditions in Transnistria for us. As I demonstrated by that Tighina Agreement, it was actually a joint German-Romanian administration, and I think that matters were not always the same in every place. Later there were also sporadic operations, there were German units and special operations units; they would come and carry out special operations. I also think that some of the reports of the special operations units, which have already been submitted in connection with their general operations, included these operations as well. I have included only one report of a special operations unit, which referred to Czernowitz only. But there are also joint operations for the district of Transnistria and special operations in the southern area.

Presiding Judge: This will be marked T/1011.

State Attorney Bach: The next document is No. 476, which reports that twelve hundred Jews were transferred to the area of the constabulary post in Huliacovka, and from there to a certain kolkhoz, and that afterwards the Germans, SS men, took these Jews from the German settlement of Lichtenfeld and shot them. The information is reliable.

Presiding Judge: This will be marked T/1012.

State Attorney Bach: Our next document is No. 83, which was shown to the Accused and numbered T/37(256). The Accused writes to the German Foreign Ministry in connection with the expulsion of the Romanian Jews to the Ukraine. And here he describes this process of expelling the Jews. In principle, he says, we agree to the removal of the Jews from Romania, but this disorderly expulsion entails various dangers both for the army and for the population, and this is detrimental to the progress of the deportation of Jews from Germany. Therefore, in order not to lose sight of the general plan, he objects to these unorganized, haphazard expulsions. So far, he says: "I have abstained from taking Security Police measures, but if these activities continue, I reserve to myself the right to let the Security Police take action." We shall see what that means in the next document. The Accused comments on this document on page 3068.

Presiding Judge: This will be marked 1013.

State Attorney Bach: The next document is our No. 99, which was before the Accused and was numbered T/37(257). Here, Your Honours, you actually see two documents. In the first one Rademacher informs the Accused that measures have in fact been taken in accordance with his previous letter, but I should like to direct special attention to the second document concerning the same matter. What Rademacher says here is not especially important - he repeats the same request - but I draw attention to the hand-written note at the foot of the document, which says: "About 28,000 Jews have been taken to German villages in Transnistria; in the meantime they have been liquidated." Rademacher's signature follows, then the date - the 18th of the month.

This document was shown to the Accused, and when his attention was drawn to the hand-written note at the bottom, he said - on page 3074: "Naturally I have nothing much to say about this. If they were brought to Romania illegally (those 60,000 persons whom I mentioned in the preceding letter), then naturally action was taken in accordance with the instructions of the Reichsfuehrer-SS." And then he adds this: "...und haben durch ihre Kommandos die Sache auf ihre Art und Weise bereinigt" (...and they settled this through their special detachments in their own particular way).

Less: "Indem man sie liquidiert hat?" (By liquidating them?)

Eichmann: "Jawohl" (Yes).

This appears on page 3074, second part (of the statement of the Accused).

Presiding Judge: This will be marked T/1014.

State Attorney Bach: The next document is our No. 471, a report from Richter concerning the negotiations about a central authority for the Jews, negotiations with Antonescu, and about drafting all the Jews for work assignment in Romania.

Presiding Judge: This will be marked T/1014.

State Attorney Bach: The next document is our No. 471, a report from Richter concerning the negotiations about a central authority for the Jews, negotiations with Antonescu, and about drafting all the Jews for work assignment in Romania.

Presiding Judge: This will be marked T/1015.


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