Eichmann Trial -- Sessions 48 and 49 -- Testimony of Perla Mark and Dr. T. Lowenstein Lavi; Romanian documents

Session 48. Testimony from Perla Mark who describes the burning of the main synagogue in Czernowitz and the murder of Jews including her husband, the town's chief rabbi. Mark gives an account of the deportation of her son and brother to Theresienstadt. She states that her brother died in Theresienstadt and that her son was sent to Auschwitz, where he was forced to play cello in the camp orchestra. Begins in the middle of testimony from Theodor Löwenstein. The witness speaks in Hebrew. Löwenstein describes the physical measures against the Jews in Romania including the pogroms in Jassy, Bessarabia, and Bukovina. There are various shots of Eichmann in the booth during this section. Löwenstein gives an account of the deportations from Czernowitz to the Transnistria and Bogdanovka camps (00:08:51). He also gives an estimate of the number of Romanian Jews that were exterminated. Part of the proceedings are missing and the footage continues with testimony from Löwenstein concerning attempts made to stop deportations and the various embassies from which he requested intervention. Löwenstein gives an account of the underground halutzim (Zionist movements) in Bucharest. He then describes the scale of forced labor in Romania, including the size of the camps (including Vapniarka) and the number of people being drafted to work (00:17:50). State Attorney Bach submits documents pertaining to the proposed emigration of Jewish orphans from Transnistria to Palestine and Eichmann's attempts to stop these emigrations. Eichmann takes notes throughout this segment. Other documents are submitted, including documents about the number of Romanian Jews with radio sets in their possession and the "Romanization" (presumably Aryanization) of Jewish property (00:24:18). Session 49. Testimony from Dr. Ernst Abeles. He discusses the Jewish Central Office and interactions with Eichmann's deputy, Dieter Wisliceny. Abeles testifies to the establishment by Wisliceny of labor camps. Only a few questions regarding labor camps are missing from testimony. Abeles gives an account of his first meeting with Eichmann in Bratislava. Eichmann takes notes. Abeles giving an account of attempts made by Rabbi Weissmandel to pay off Wisliceny to stop the deportations. The witness describes the "Europe Plan," an attempt made by the Jewish community to pay a large sum of money to stop deportations all over Europe. Discussions between the witness, Bach, and the judges pertain to the proposed "Europe Plan" and the attempts made to alert the world to the extermination of the Jews following the report made by two Slovaks who had escaped Auschwitz. There is some video interference towards the end of this segment but the testimony is complete.