Newsgroups: alt.revisionism,soc.history,soc.answers,alt.answers,news.answers
Subject: HOLOCAUST FAQ: The "Leuchter Report" (1/2)
From: [email protected] (Periodic Manager)
Date: Sat, 24 Apr 93 08:00:08 GMT
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Organization: The Old Frog's Almanac, Vancouver Island, CANADA
Keywords: Leuchter
Summary: Research guide to the Leuchter Report
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Archive-name: holocaust/leuchter/part01
Last-modified: 1993/04/06


[Leuchter]                                                     [Page  i]

             The Leuchter Report: A Layman's Guide
                Holocaust Denial & The Big Lie

1.00 Introduction & Editorial Notes......................... 1
1.10   Copyright Notice..................................... 2
1.20   Overview............................................. 2
2.00 Point, Counterpoint - Denial Claims Addressed.......... 3
2.01   Disparities in Hydrocyanic Compound Levels........... 3
2.02   Explosive Property of Zyklon B & Furnace Proximity... 6
2.03   Gas Chambers Could Not Have Been Opened Safely....... 7
2.04   The Extermination Chambers Were Actually Morgues..... 8
2.05   Impossible to Kill 6 Million People at Auschwitz..... 9

Part Two:

2.06   Doors of Gas Chambers Too Weak to Prevent Escape.....10
2.07   They Would Not Have Used Zyklon-B for Gassing........10
2.08   The gas chambers were never sealed, or...............11
2.09   The gas would have killed everyone outside when
       ventilated...........................................13
2.10   Where did all the ashes from the cremations go.......13
2.11   People who dropped the gas into the gas chamber would
       have been killed by it...............................13
2.12   The Auschwitz death list doesn't show all those
       people were killed...................................13
2.13   Why would there be a swimming pool at a death camp...14
2.14   The high water table made it impossible to burn
       bodies in ditches....................................14

[Leuchter]                                                     [Page ii]

2.15   How did witnesses to the gassings survive............14
2.16   Toxicity of fumes from a diesel engine...............14
3.00 Leuchter's perjury in Canadian court...................16
4.00 Research Sources & Other Useful Appendices.............17
4.10   Recommended Reading..................................18
4.20   Abbreviations Used in Citations......................18
4.30   Glossary.............................................18
4.40   Works Cited..........................................18


[Leuchter]                                                     [Page 1]

1.00 Introduction & Editorial Notes

  This document provides a counterpoint to assertions commonly made by
  those who deny that anyone was gassed at the Auschwitz-Birkenau and
  Treblinka death camps during World War II; who, in fact, deny that
  the gas chambers even existed.  (At least a million people were
  ruthlessly exterminated at Auschwitz, and seven-hundred-thousand more
  at Treblinka - the worst of the Nazi extermination camps in terms of
  victims slaughtered.)

  The most prestigious source in Germany regarding the crimes of the
  Nazis during WW2, the "Institute for Contemporary History" in Munich,
  sums up the facts in a recent publication.  (For the full document,
  Request holocaust IFZ.report)

     Treblinka (district Warschau, general government) from the end of
     July 1942 on had three gas chambers and received at the start of
     September 1942 furthermore ten larger gas chambers.  Up to the
     dissolution of the camp in November 1943 altogether 700,000 Jews
     were killed here by carbon monoxide.

     Auschwitz-Birkenau (in the formerly Polish, in 1939 adjoined to
     the "Reich" upper eastern Silesian area, south eastern of
     Kattowitz): The extermination camp in Birkenau, established in the
     second half of 1941, was joined to the concentration camp
     Auschwitz, existing since May 1940.  From January 1942 on in five
     gas chambers and from the end of June 1943 in four additional
     large gassing-rooms gassings with Zyklon B have been undertaken.
     Up until November 1944 more than one million Jews and at least
     4000 gypsies have been murdered by gas. (Request auschwitz
     auschwitz.faq1, auschwitz auschwitz.faq2)

  (Note that these numbers include only people gassed - many were
  murdered using more "conventional" means) (Request index
  einsatzgruppen).

  This is by no means a replacement for serious research - just an
  expose of common frauds like the "Leuchter report", and a guide to
  scholarly sources.

  This document was prepared by Danny Keren and Jamie McCarthy, and
  edited to its present form by Ken McVay.  Comments, corrections, and
  additions are welcome.

  The appearance of a quotation mark within a proper name indicates
  that the previous letter should be read as an umlaut, although some
  quoted material appends a trailing 'e' instead.  (I.e.  Hoess and
  Ho"ss reference the same name.)

  Documents cited in this work which are available from our list-server
  are noted in the form (Request <archive> <filename>).  In order to
  obtain any document in this group, send a message to
  [email protected] and include the command GET <archive>
  <filename>, where <archive> is the actual archive, and <filename> is
  the given filename.

  Example: You read (Request leuchter leuchter.01), and you send: GET
  LEUCHTER LEUCHTER.01 to retrieve the cited file.


[Leuchter]                                                     [Page 2]
1.10 Copyright

  This post, as a collection of information, is Copyright 1993 Ken
  McVay and Danny Keren as a work of literature.  Distribution by any
  electronic means is granted with the understanding that the article
  not be altered in any way.  Permission to distribute in printed form
  must be obtained in writing.  The removal of this copyright notice is
  forbidden.

1.20 Overview

  Fred Leuchter is a man with no formal training in either chemistry or
  toxicology (he obtained a BA in history in 1964), and yet he claims
  to be a professional engineer - an assertion that has landed him in
  hot water in his home state.  In 1988, at the request of Canada's
  Ernst Zundel, Mr.  Leuchter went to Poland and visited the site of
  the Auschwitz concentration camp; (Mr.  Zundel financed Leuchter's
  trip to Poland.) The result of this journey was the "Leuchter
  Report." Here's what Mr.  Leuchter had to say about his
  "investigation:"

     The purpose [of the investigation and subsequent report] does
     not include a determination of any numbers of persons who died
     or were killed by means other than gassing or as to whether an
     actual Holocaust occurred.  It, further, is not the intent of
     this author to redefine Holocaust in historical terms, but
     simply to supply scientific evidence and information obtained at
     the actual sites and to render an opinion based on all available
     scientific, engineering and quantitative data as to the purpose
     and usages of the alleged execution gas chambers and crematory
     facilities at the investigated locations.  (Foner)

  You will note, as we will demonstrate using Leuchter's own sworn
  testimony, that Mr.  Leuchter failed to demonstrate any concern for
  the truth, even while under oath.

  While testifying at Mr.  Zundel's trial in Canada, Leuchter gave
  false evidence concerning his professional relationship with the
  administration of two American prisons regarding gas chambers, and
  proved himself to be unfamiliar with the most basic facts about the
  lethal gas Hydrogen Cyanide, including its flammability and the
  concentrations required for delousing purposes.

  The "Leuchter Report" purports to "scientifically demonstrate" that
  people were not killed by Zyklon-B at Auschwitz.  It is composed of
  old claims made by the French Holocaust denier Faurisson, as well as
  some new ones.  Many of the claims appear in the Institute for
  Historical Review's "66 Q&A on the Holocaust" pamphlet, and also in
  arguments offered by others who deny the Holocaust.


[Leuchter]                                                     [Page 3]
                              Zyklon-B

  Zyklon-B is a powerful insecticide.  It releases HCN, Hydrocyanic
  acid, a gas - Zyklon-B is the carrier, a material soaked with the
  gas; usually it comes in the shape of small pellets or disks.  HCN is
  what causes death.  While interacting with iron and concrete, it
  creates compounds ("Hydrocyanic compounds").  Leuchter concedes that
  these compounds were found in the ruins of the gas chambers in
  Auschwitz (as reaffirmed by the findings of the Polish government
  institute, which completely rejects Leuchter's conclusions - see
  Section 2.01).

  HCN is extremely poisonous to humans.  It is used in execution gas
  chambers in the US; the first such was built in Arizona in 1920.  It
  is absurd to claim (as the deniers do), that Germany in the 1940's
  could not handle "technical difficulties" in using HCN for execution
  - "difficulties" that were easily solved in 1920.  Moreover, the
  Germans had a lot of experience with HCN, as it was extensively used
  for delousing.  (For an extensive discussion of Zyklon B, request
  auschwitz auschwitz.faq1)

  There were two types of gas chambers in Auschwitz: those used for
  delousing clothes ("delousing gas chambers") and those used for
  killing people on a massive scale ("extermination gas chambers").
  The delousing gas chambers were a standard feature, and were left
  intact by the SS (as opposed to the extermination gas chambers, which
  were dynamited in an effort to conceal criminal activity from the
  rapidly approaching Soviet Army).  The deniers try to confuse the
  issue by mixing the two types of chambers.  For instance, they show
  pictures of the doors for the delousing chambers, and note that they
  are too weak to withstand the pressure of people trying to escape.
  Of course, the doors for the extermination chambers are completely
  different, but that fact is quietly overlooked (see 2.06).

2.00 Point, Counterpoint

  Holocaust denial often involves the same assertions, repeated
  endlessly, regardless of response.  We present many of them for
  consideration here, along with our response.

  The photographs we refer to can be found in Pressac, and many are
  available from our archives in GIF format. (Request index gifs)

2.01 Disparities in Hydrocyanic Compound Levels

  Holocaust deniers often claim that since more hydrocyanic compounds
  were found in the delousing chambers than in the ruins of the
  so-called "extermination" chambers at Auschwitz, and the reverse
  would be true if people were actually gassed there, it is clear that
  no gassings occurred.

  But - HCN is far more effective on warm-blooded animals (including
  humans) than on insects, so the period of exposure to HCN is far
  longer for delousing clothes than that required for homicidal
  gassings, and a much lower concentration is necessary to kill people
  instead of insects.


[Leuchter]                                                     [Page 4]

  A concentration of up to 16,000 ppm (parts per million) is sometimes
  used, with exposure times of up to 72 hours, to kill insects, but as
  little as 300 ppm will cause death in humans within fifteen minutes
  or so.

  Breitman offers background information about the development of
  Zyklon B as a killing device, and provides clear evidence that the
  Nazis determined the effective Zyklon B concentration through a
  process of trial and error.  (Request auschwitz Krema-I.001, which is
  Section 2.1 of auschwitz auschwitz.faq1)

  When the difference in the concentration of gas required to kill
  insects and humans was mentioned in Leuchter's cross-examination in
  the Zundel trial, Leuchter responded: "I've never killed beetles.  I,
  you know, I don't know.  I haven't made computations for killing
  beetles" - Hardly the response one would expect from an "expert" on
  the subject...

  Because of the relatively small concentrations required to
  exterminate humans as opposed to lice, and because of the far shorter
  exposure time required, the HCN in the gas chambers used to kill
  humans hardly had time to form chemical compounds on the walls.

  The gas chambers were not very large (those in Kremas II and III were
  about 210 square meters), and the Zyklon B was dropped through four
  openings in the roof, spreading the gas very quickly.  These openings
  are still visible in the ruins of the gas chambers, and rare
  photographs of them, taken while the camp was in operation, exist,
  and copies are readily available (Brugioni et al) from the sources
  noted in Section 6.1, below.  Since the concentration used was higher
  than the lethal one, death was swift.  (Request gifs krema4.gif -
  Krema IV was above-ground, and the Zyklon B was introduced through
  clearly visible slits in the walls.  Request also gifs c_krema4.gif,
  which provides a closeup of the wall openings, and 'index gifs' for a
  complete description of other available photographs.)

  Leuchter's data is further suspect because the delousing chambers
  where he obtained his samples were left intact by the SS, while the
  extermination chambers were destroyed.  Clearly, their walls were
  exposed to the elements for forty-five years, which would certainly
  effect the validity of the samples taken.  (The ruins of Krema II are
  covered with about three feet of water during certain periods of the
  year, and HCN compounds would eventually dissolve under such
  conditions.  Nonetheless, so many gassings occurred there that some
  of the compound did remain).

  Summarizing, the walls of the extermination gas chambers were in
  contact with HCN for a much shorter time then those of the delousing
  chambers, and for the last 45 years were exposed to surroundings
  which dissolve the compounds, while the delousing rooms were not.
  Therefore it is obvious that less traces of compounds would remain in
  them.  This debunks the major "amazing discovery" in Leuchter's
  report, which, in retrospect, wasn't 'amazing' at all.

  This fact - that all, or most, of the compounds would vanish during
  45 years of exposure - is quite clearly stated in the report written
  by the experts at the Cracow Institute of Forensic Research:


[Leuchter]                                                     [Page 5]

     --------------------------------------------------------------
       INSTITUTE OF FORENSIC RESEARCH
       In the name of Prof. Dr. Jan Sehn, Krakow
       Division of Forensic Toxicology

                               Krakow, 24 Sept. 1990
                               Westerplatte 9 / Code 31-033
                               Tel. 505-44, 592-24, 287-50
                               Telex 0325213 eksad ...

     The hydrocyanic acid (HCN) that is released from the Zyklon B
     preparation is a liquid with a boiling point of about 27 degrees
     Celsius.  It has an acidic character, and therefore forms
     compounds with metallic salts, which are known as cyanides.  The
     salts of alkaline metals (such as sodium and potassium) are
     water soluble.

     Hydrocyanic acid is a very weak acid, and accordingly its salts
     dissolve easily in stronger acids.  Even carbonic acid, which is
     formed as a reaction of carbon dioxide with water, will dissolve
     ferro-cyanide.

     Stronger acids, such as sulfuric acids, easily dissolve the
     cyanides.  The compounds of cyanide ions with heavy metals are
     longer lasting.  This includes the already mentioned Prussian
     blue, although this will also slowly dissolve in an acidic
     environment.

     Therefore, one can hardly assume that traces of cyanic compounds
     could still be detected in construction materials (plaster,
     brick) after 45 years, after being subjected to the weather and
     the elements (rain, acid oxides, especially sulfuric and
     nitrogen oxides).  More reliable would be the analysis of wall
     plaster [samples] from closed rooms which were not subject to
     weather and the elements (including acid rain).

     The discovery of hydrocyanic acid compounds in samples of
     material which had been subject to the elements can only be
     accidental.
     --------------------------------------------------------------

  The deniers often claim that the gas chamber in Krema I was left
  intact, and therefore its walls were not exposed to the elements.
  Curiously, they also make great issue of the fact that Krema I was
  converted into an air-raid shelter, and then rebuilt by the Soviet
  Army, after the liberation of the camp, to reproduce its original
  shape, saying that it has been used to mislead the public, who were
  told that people were gassed in the building.  (The logic of their
  holding both views when it seems advantageous to do so will perhaps
  escape you, but then logic has not been a demonstrated asset when it
  comes to Holocaust denial.  See Section 3.0.)

  The modification consisted of essentially removing some partitioning
  walls inside the gas chamber, which were added as a common feature of
  bomb shelters.  Nontheless, this is the room in which people were
  gassed; there are still traces of cyanide on its walls, as Leuchter
  admits (he found traces in 6 of 7 samples).


[Leuchter]                                                     [Page 6]

  But - the gas chamber of Krema I was used only for a short time,
  before the conversion.  This, and the fact that "only" about ten
  thousand people were murdered within it, compared to
  three-hundred-fifty-thousand and four-hundred-thousand in Kremas II
  and III, explains why relatively small amounts of cyanide compounds
  remain.  The other Kremas were destroyed by the SS prior to the
  Soviet liberation.

  Finally, cyanide compounds were found on the ventilation grills of
  the extermination chambers, proving beyond doubt that gassing did
  take place within.

2.02 The Explosive Property of Zyklon B & Furnace Proximity

  Holocaust denial often asserts that Zyklon B could not have been used
  for killing in the gas chambers, because it is explosive, and the
  furnaces were nearby.

  They overlook, however the fact that the concentration of HCN
  necessary to cause death is nearly 200 times lower than that
  necessary to cause an explosion.  Although the SS used a
  concentration higher than the lethal one, it was far less than what
  would be required to cause an explosion.

  As a reference, one can look at "The Merck Index" and the "CRC
  handbook of Chemistry and Physics", or consult any manual dealing
  with toxicity and flammability of chemicals.  For HCN, a
  concentration of 300 ppm (parts per million) kills humans within a
  few minutes (Merck, 632, entry 4688), while the minimal concentration
  that can result in an explosion is 56,000 ppm.

  Frank Deis provides the following information from Merck, with
  editorial comments in [] brackets:

     -Hydrocyanic acid;- "Blausaeure" (German).  CHN; mol wt
     27.03 ...  HCN.  Prepd on a large scale by the catalytic
     oxidation of ammonia-methane mixtures [refs omitted].  May
     also be prepd by the catalytic decompn of formamide.
     Conveniently prepd in the laboratory by acidifying NaCN or
     K4[Fe(CN)6].  <[Editor's note: this last formula is quite
     similar to, but different from Prussian Blue, also a major
     topic in the Leuchter Report.  Prussian Blue is Ferric
     Ferrocyanide, or Ferric hexacyanoferrate (II).  The formula
     is Fe4[Fe(CN)6]3.  The =ferric= salt of ferrocyanide is
     insoluble in water.  Other salts, such as the =potassium=
     salt of ferrocyanide, are quite soluble in water]> [more
     refs omitted]

     Colorless gas or liquid; characteristic odor; very weakly
     acid (does not redden litmus); burns in air with a blue
     flame; =intensely poisonous= even when mixed with air.
     d(gas) 0.941 (air = 1) <[Editor's note: notice, the gas is
     LIGHTER than air]>; d(liq) 0.687.  mp -13.4.  bp 25.6 <[
     latest defense of Leuchter made a big deal out of how the
     gas would condense out on the cold walls.  This would
     clearly happen to some extent in a cold room.  If the room
     were filled with people, the gas would stay warm]> Miscible
     with water, alc; slightly sol in ether.  LC50 <[lethal

[Leuchter]                                                     [Page 7]

     concentration that kills 50% of test animals, NOTICE that
     this is dependent BOTH on time and on concentration!]> in
     rats, mice, dogs: 544 ppm (5 min), 169 ppm (30 min), 300
     ppm (3 min), [ref omitted].

     Human toxicity: High concn produces tachypnea (causing
     increased intake of cyanide) <[tachy = rapid, pnea =
     breathing]> then dyspnea <[dys = difficult, pnea =
     breathing]> paralysis, unconsciousness, convulsions, and
     respiratory arrest.  Headache, vertigo, nausea, and
     vomiting may occur with lesser concentrations.  Chronic
     exposure over long periods may cause fatigue, weakness.
     Exposure to 150 ppm for 1/2 to 1 hr may endanger life.
     Death may result from a few min exposure to 300 ppm.
     Average fatal dose <[ingested]> 50 to 60 mg.  =Antidote=
     Sodium nitrite and sodium thiosulfate.

     Use: The compressed gas is used for exterminating rodents
     and insects and for killing insects on trees, etc.  =Must
     be handled by specially trained experts.=

     <[end of article]> (Merck, 632)

  Cyanide is a small molecule.  Basically it is toxic because it
  resembles the oxygen molecule, O2 or OO looks like HCN to the binding
  sites in the mitochondria and also probably to the heme groups in
  hemoglobin and myoglobin.  If Cyanide "sits down" on the cytochrome
  a/a3 complex at the end of the mitochondrial respiratory chain, then
  the oxygen you breathe no longer does you any good.  You can't use it
  as an acceptor for high energy electrons, and you can't make ATP by
  the usual method of oxidative phosphorylation.  Your body makes you
  breathe faster at first, in an attempt to overcome it, and then cells
  start dying from lack of oxygen and lack of ATP energy.

  In general, the statements about chemistry in Paul Grubach's defense
  of the Leuchter report seem valid.  (JHR, V12, #4) The =premises= are
  of course open to question, or wrong.  Yes, high concentrations of
  cyanide will cause formation of prussian blue on cold wet bricks that
  contain high levels of iron ions.  But were the bricks really cold
  and wet?  Was the air cold enough for the HCN to condense? Did "high
  concentrations" exist, given the relatively low concentrations
  required for killing human subjects, as opposed to insects?

  Anyway, I hope this information proves useful.  I teach Biochemistry
  at Rutgers University, and that's where my information about cyanide
  toxicity comes from.  The Merck Index is a standard reference book
  that probably every library has. Frank Deis ([email protected])

2.03 Gas Chambers Could Not Have Been Opened Safely in 20-30 Minutes

  The claim is often heard that it takes 20 hours to air a room which
  was disinfected with Zyklon-B, and therefore the eyewitness accounts
  giving a time of 20-30 minutes from when the gassing started to when
  the bodies where carried out is impossible, because the people
  carrying out the bodies would perish.

[Leuchter]                                                     [Page 8]

  It is true that if one disinfects a building in ordinary commercial
  use, it should not be reentered within 20 hours.  That figure,
  however, has no meaning relative to the extermination chambers, which
  were forcibly ventilated.  Fifteen minutes was ample time to replace
  the air after a gassing.  When ventilation was not used, the
  Sonderkommando (prisoners used as forced labor) who removed the
  bodies wore gas masks.  The Germans had plenty of experience with
  gas, especially HCN, which was widely used for delousing.  They knew
  how to work with it safely.  It is absurd to use the 20 hour figure
  in this context, as it does not assume forced ventilation and takes a
  huge safety factor into account.  The SS didn't care much for the
  safety of the Sonderkommando who had to enter the gas chambers to
  take the corpses out in any event.  In some cases, these people did
  suffer from the remaining gas (see, for instance, Pressac, p.  473)

  Furthermore, what makes ventilation difficult and lengthy is the
  presence of rugs, furniture, curtains, etc.  Needless to say, these
  were not present in the gas chambers - there was just bare concrete,
  making ventilation very fast and efficient.

  If the "20 hours ventilation period" above was true, this would mean
  that the corpses of people executed using cyanide gas in US prisons
  would remain tied to the chair 20 hours after they were
  killed...clearly nonsense, as Fred Leuchter, who claims expertise in
  gas chamber operation, knows full well.

2.04 The "Extermination" Chambers Were Actually Morgues

  Holocaust denial often claims that the "alleged" extermination
  chambers were actually morgues, and that Zyklon-B was used in them as
  a disinfectant.

  This claim stems from the fact that Hydrocyanic compounds were found
  on the ventilation grills of the gas chambers in Krema II and III
  (the chemical analysis was carried out by Dr.  Jan Robel of the
  Cracow Forensic Institute in December 1945, and was part of the
  evidence in the trial of Auschwitz commander Ho"ss).  This proves
  that gassing did take place in that chamber - but since this runs
  contrary to the deniers claims that it was an underground morgue,
  they claimed "a morgue is disinfected with Zyklon-B."

  Unfortunately for the people offering this assertion as truth,
  Zyklon-B is useless for disinfecting corpses, as it does not kill
  anaerobic bacteria - it kills only aerobic organisms.

  Finally, the "morgue" is specifically referred to as a "gassing
  cellar" in a letter from the Auschwitz construction department to SS
  General Kammler, January 29, 1943.  Why call a morgue "gassing
  cellar?" And why is the other underground room called "undressing
  cellar?" (see Pressac, p.  221; also The Final Solution: The Attempt
  to Exterminate the Jews of Europe, 1939-1945 - G.  Reitlinger, South
  Brunswick, T.  Yosellof, 1968, p.  158.  These documents are
  reproduced in the "AUSCHWITZ" section of the file "Original Nazi
  Documents", together with other documents about the process of
  gassing in Auschwitz).


[Leuchter]                                                     [Page 9]

2.05 It Was Impossible to Kill 6 Million People at Auschwitz

     "Judging by the amount and area of the gas chambers, and the
     number of the Kremas, it was impossible to kill 6 million people
     in the time interval in which the concentration camps existed."

  No-one claims that 6 million people died at Auschwitz.  Many died in
  other death camps, in the ghettos and in occupied Soviet territory.
  Estimates of the number of people who were gassed to death in
  Auschwitz vary, but the lowest is 900,000, and the highest about
  1,600,000.  It is obvious that the extermination and cremation
  facilities in Auschwitz could take care of such a number.

  Just look at the photographs of the furnaces of Krema II (Pressac,
  367; Request gifs furnaces.gif to view these installations).  There
  were five Kremas in Auschwitz.  Number II, for instance, had 15 huge
  furnaces, especially designed to burn efficiently and quickly.  Each
  could consume 3 to 4 bodies at once (remember that many children were
  present, and many of the people were emaciated), and do so in a
  maximum of 45 minutes.  The SS experimented with different
  combinations of corpse types and coke to determine which would
  provide the most cost-efficient results!  (Mu"ller, 60-61; Klarsfeld,
  99-100; Request auschwitz Krema-I.001)

  The figure Leuchter gives as the maximum number of people that could
  be executed in a week - 1693 - is absurd, as is demonstrated by the
  following calculation for a single Krema, number II:

  One gas chamber, about 210 square meters (2220 square feet) in area,
  easily accommodated a few hundred people, who were crammed into it.
  (See Section 2.16)

  Fifteen furnaces, each capable of incinerating at least 3 bodies in
  45 minutes, could dispose of at least 720 bodies in a 12-hour day.

  In a single year, Krema II could incinerate over a quarter-million
  bodies.  Add that to the capabilities of Kremas III, IV, and V, and
  you begin to get the picture.  In addition, bodies were also burned
  in massive pits.  Two gruesome photographs of these "burning pits",
  taken in secrecy in Auschwitz-Birkenau, have survived.  They are of
  reasonable quality, and show men standing inside a pile of naked
  bodies, with the smoking pit in front of them.  Some bodies are being
  dragged into the pit.  The photographs are reproduced in Pressac,
  (422) and are also available as GIF files.  (Request gifs
  aupit001.gif)

  As a reference, one can look at a letter dated June 20 1943, sent to
  SS General Kammler in Berlin, citing the number of bodies that can be
  disposed of in 24 working hours as 4,756.  A photograph of the letter
  and its serial number in German archives appears in Pressac (247).
  (This is lower than 5 x 1440 = 7,200 because some of the Kremas had
  fewer furnaces than II and III.  The exact breakdown, specified in
  the letter from Jahrling to Kammler, is 340 corpses for Krema I, 768
  for IV and V, 1440 for II and III.  This letter is available in GIF
  format.  (Request gifs au-doc.001)


[Leuchter]                                                     [Page 10]

  It is naive at best, and contemptuously dishonest, to claim that such
  a number of crematoriums were provided for anything other than the
  disposal of bodies created by the mass murder of helpless victims.

  Leuchter arrives at his figures assuming that the people could occupy
  the gas chambers at a density of maximum 1 person per 9 square feet
  (!!) and that it would take a week (!!) to ventilate the gas chambers
  before they could be used for another mass execution.  These
  assumptions are absurd.

  Lastly, two other gassing installation existed in Auschwitz - the
  so-called "Bunker I" and "Bunker II".  They were also demolished by
  the fleeing SS.

(Continued in Part Two)
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