50 years ago - on December 20th, 1963 - the Frankfurt Auschwitz Trial began
Between 1963 and 1965, the first criminal proceedings in German postwar history against SS guards at Auschwitz took place. The survivor Yehuda B. talks about his experiences as a witness.
News from Dec 12, 2013
18 years after the end of the war, SS personnel serving at Auschwitz was for the first time held accountable at a German court of law. During the first, 20-month-long lawsuit, more than 360 contemporary witnesses were heard. For many survivors, those testimonies were extremely distressing.
In August 1965, the Frankfurt Trial ended with 17 convictions and 3 acquittals. It attracted much public attention and underlined the great importance of the survivor testimonies. However, the historical science didn't show any interest in the contemporary witnesses until much later.
Testifying in Nazi Trials
The juridical statement in a court case is certainly something else than the historical testimony in an interview. Instead of the individual, often traumatic memories, criminal proceedings such as the Auschwitz Trial require testimonial evidence on the responsibility of individual perpetrators.
Jewish Auschwitz survivor and artist Yehuda B., who testified as a witness at the Eichmann and Auschwitz Trial, tells of his experience during the lawsuit.
On the occasion of the 50th Anniversary of the beginning of the Frankfurt Auschwitz Trial, the short film "Testifying in Nazi Trials" (in German) is now available. Moreover, the seminar "Voices of the Victims at the Site of the Perpetrators" dealing with video testimonies from participants in the Frankfurt Auschwitz Trial (among others with Yehuda B's interview) is offered at the Topography of Terror.