47. Theodor Meron, Legal Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to the West European Division; Jerusalem, 7 July 1960
ISA/RG 79/A/3352/2
A request from Dr. Robert Servatius, a West German lawyer, to the minister of justice to be allowed to represent Eichmann at the trial. An additional request on this matter was received from a law professor named Carrington. Discusses the amendment to the law that would be needed to enable Eichmann to be represented by foreign counsel.
48. Gabriel Bach, Legal Adviser of Bureau 06, to Shlomo Cohen, the Institute for Intelligence and Special Operations (Mossad); Jerusalem, 19 July 1960
ISA/RG 74/A3146/2
A opinion prepared by the Israel delegation in Cologne regarding Adv. Robert Servatius following his request to defend Eichmann. Includes discussion of whether he had been a member of the Nazi party, his army service, his political leanings, his legal standing and an assessment of his abilities as a lawyer.
49. Exchange of Letters
Adv. Robert Servatius, to Pinhas Rosen, Minister of Justice; Cologne, 27 June 1960 (In German)
Pinhas Rosen, Minister of Justice, to Adv. Robert Servatius; Jerusalem, 20 July 1960 (In English)
ISA/RG 74/A/3146/2
Adv. Robert Servatius writes that he is prepared to fulfill the Eichmann family's request to undertake Adolf Eichmann's defence. He wishes to inquire whether a German lawyer can represent the accused in Israel. Servatius notes that he is familiar with the issue due to his professional experience in the Nuremberg trials and additional trials in which he represented defendants with a Nazi past.
Rosen confirms the receipt of Servatius' letter and notes that a change of law that would enable a non-Israeli lawyer to represent a defendant in Israel under special circumstances is currently being discussed.
50. Gideon Hausner, the Attorney-General, to Prime Minister Ben-Gurion; Jerusalem, 2 August 1960
ISA/RG 74/A/3146/2
A request to accelerate the passage of the amendment to the law to enable a foreign lawyer to represent a defendant in an Israeli trial, in order not to delay Eichmann's meeting with his defence lawyer. Such a delay may lead to complaints by Eichmann and the legal profession that his rights have been violated.
51. Gideon Hausner, the Attorney-General, to Prime Minister Ben-Gurion; Jerusalem, 22 August 1960 (with an attachment in German and its Hebrew translation)
ISA/RG 74/A/3146/2
A report on Adv. Servatius' letter, in which he declares – as the law requires – that he had never been a member of the Nazi party, and attaches a confirmation from the president of the Bar Association in Cologne.
52. Memorandum on the Security Arrangements for Robert Servatius, Eichmnann's Defence Counsel; Tel Aviv,
19 September 1960
ISA/RG 79.11/A/3062/9 (Classified file)
In a meeting on this issue between police and GSS (General Security Service) personnel, it was determined that the GSS would be responsible for Servatius' safety, and the security procedures were reviewed.
53. Summary of a meeting between Assistant Commander Ephraim Hofstadter, Deputy Head of Bureau 06, and Simon Wiesenthal; 22 October 1960
ISA/RG 79.11/A/3062/14
Describes information which Simon Wiesenthal obtained from the office of Eichmann's brother, Adv. Robert Eichmann, regarding the Eichmann family's plans to finance Eichmann's defence, and the line of defence Servatius plans to use. Wiesenthal reported that since Adolf Eichmann's arrest, there has been a great increase in the number of clients at his brother's office in Linz, Austria. Information regarding Eichmann's connections with the mufti of Jerusalem, Haj Amin El-Husseini. Aid to be provided by Wiesenthal in obtaining documents to help in preparing the indictment against Eichmann.
54. Zeev Argaman, Deputy Legal Adviser to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to Shabtai Rosenne, Legal Adviser to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Jerusalem,7 November, 1960
ISA/RG 130.23/MFA/3352/10
A report on a visit to Israel by Servatius, Eichmann's defence counsel, his meetings with Attorney-General Hausner regarding the trial proceedings and appointment of an Israeli lawyer to assist him. He also met with Eichmann and received Eichmann's power of attorney to represent him and to publish his memoirs to finance his defence.
54a. Simon Wiesenthal to Deputy Commander Ephraim Hofstadter, Deputy Head of Bureau 06; Linz, 7 December 1960 (In German)
ISA/RG 130.23/MFA/7027/12
Passes on information that Adv. Servatius considered changing his agreement to represent Adolf Eichmann following the publication of Eichmann's memoirs in the weekly magazine 'Life'. Also describes the efforts made by Adv. Robert Eichmann to defend his brother Adolf Eichmann, among others, by revealing testimony that raises serious accusations against Hans Globke.
55. Leo Savir, Deputy Head of the Israel Mission in Cologne, to (Felix) Eliezer Shinnar, Head of the Israel Mission in Cologne; Cologne, 13 December 1960
ISA/RG 93.43/MFA/584/8
Savir's conversation at the West German Ministry of Foreign Affairs regarding the constitutional and political considerations of the German government with relation to the appointment of Servatius as Eichmann's defence counsel. The German government prefers that the Israeli government pay Servatius' legal fees, and thus save it from political embarrassment.
56. Record of meetings between Adv. Robert Servatius and Adolf Eichmann; 20-22 December 1960
ISA/RG 79.11/A/3062/1
Three meetings in which Servatius and Eichmann discussed a variety of issues: Eichmann's conditions of detention and the attitude towards him, contact with his family, financing of his legal expenses, the circumstances under which his memoirs were recorded (the Sassen document) and their publication in the 'Life' weekly, the inclusion of Kurt Becher and Rudolph Kastzner's names in the trial, the defence strategy, Eichmann's visits to Auschwitz and viewing of the gas chambers, Eichmann's beliefs today compared with those he held when he was a Nazi officer, his opinion of Adolf Hitler, his opinion regarding the circumstances of his capture and his captors' actions; the publishing rights of his memoirs.
57. Adv. Robert Servatius to Pinhas Rosen, Minister of Justice; Jerusalem 22 December 1960 (German)
ISA/RG 31/A/3071/2
Requests that the Israeli government finance the defence expenses and fees, in light of the Eichmann family's inability to do so. Servatius notes that Eichmann agreed to stand trial in Israel on the understanding that he would have a defence counsel appointed for him.
58. Tuvia Friedman, Head of the Documentation Institute, to Pinhas Rosen, Minister of Justice; Haifa, 23 December 1960
ISA/RG 74/A/3146/2
Expresses his own opposition and that of Holocaust survivors in general to the covering of the expenses of Eichmann's defence counsel by the Israeli government, since the Eichmann family has the financial resources to pay for his defence (see also Document No. 63).
59. Chief Superintendent L. Koppel, Assistant to Head of the Organisation Branch on Operation Iyyar, Israel Police, to Yosef Nahmias, Inspector-General of the Israel Police;
24 January 1961
ISA/RG 79.11/A/3062/1
Summary of a meeting held with Servatius, Eichmann's lawyer, in Jerusalem. Servatius requests an immediate meeting with Eichmann, and expresses his apprehensions at the delay in the final confirmation by the government of his appointment as defence counsel and arrangements for his payment. He requests to arrange for his meetings with Eichmann to be 'not as they say, eye to eye, but rather ear to ear', that is, without any eavesdropping on their conversations. He refers to the issue of summoning defence witnesses.
59a. Commander Aharon Sela, Head of the Organisation Branch, Israel Police, to the Superintendant of Iyyar Camp; Standing Orders: Dr. Servatius' Meetings with Eichmann; Tel Aviv 1 February 1961
ISA/RG 79.11/A/3062/9 (Classified file)
Changes in the procedures for the meetings and the presence of police guards during them at the detention camp where Eichmann was held prior to his trial, allowing private convesation between Eichmann and his lawer.