Dr. Robert Servatius, the German lawyer defending Adolf Eichmann, the Nazi mass-murderer of Jews whose trial will start here on April 11, indicated today that he may call some Israelis as defense witnesses in the trial. Refusing to give any names, he said that during the last years of the Nazi regime, Eichmann came into contact with several Jews, some of whom are in Israel now.
Pinhas Rosen, Israel’s Minister of Justice, disclaimed knowledge today of reports that Eichmann had refused, during interrogation in his Israel Jail cell, to give testimony about the role of Dr, Hans Globke, State Secretary to Chancellor Konrad Adenauer of West Germany, as an Interior Ministry official during the Nazi regime.
Dr. Rosen said that Eichmann had refused to give information about some of the subjects on which he was questioned and added he might do so again. He stressed that he had no information as to whether the subject of Dr. Globke’s role during the Hitler regime was among the questions raised during the interrogation.
Israeli officials were reported today to have rejected the application of Dr. Friedrich Kaul, an East German attorney, to appear during the trial of Eichmann in a civil suit for Jewish clients persecuted by the Nazis. The decision was based on a ruling that under Israeli law, civil suits cannot be heard during a trial involving a possible death penalty for the defendant. Dr. Kaul came to Jerusalem to argue his case for appearing in the Eichmann trial.
A Swiss Jew, Joseph Mandel of Zurich, filed a civil suit today in Haifa district court against Eichmann for recovery of 300 pounds sterling ($840) arising from a bribe paid to the Nazis to allow 1, 200 Jews to escape to Switzerland in 1944. Mr. Mandel paid 37,500 pounds (about $100, 000) in 1944 as part of the amount against which the Germans permitted the 1, 200 Jews to leave on a rescue train. The 300 pounds claimed is the legal minimum for such a suit for recovery of funds.
A copy of the legal papers, in which the 62-year-old Mandel seeks a declaratory Judgment against the Gestapo colonel, was filed with the Attorney General’s office and the case was expected to be heard in Haifa next week.
It was disclosed meanwhile that the three Judges who will hear the case will not sit on April 13, the day set aside as Memorial Day for the victims of the Nazi holocaust. The court met today to discuss technical procedures for the hearing. They agreed to sit daily from 9 a.m to 1 p.m and from 3 p. m. to 6 p. m. There will be only one session on Fridays and none on Saturdays and Sundays.
The Hebrew-language proceedings will be simultaneously translated into German for the defense and the minutes will be recorded in Hebrew. The trial will be recorded in its entirety on tape and simultaneous translations also will be made in English and French for the correspondents of the foreign press and other communications media.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
