Pressac, Jean-Claude. _Auschwitz: Technique and operation of the gas chambers._ The Beate Klarsfeld Foundation, New York, 1989. p. 340: (PMO neg. no. 20995/494, Kamann series. This photo is also in the Archives of the Warsaw Central Commission for research into Hitlerian crimes in Poland, but as it was never identified or communicated to the Auschwitz Museum, it remained unexploited until it was rediscovered in the Bauleitung Album.) South/north view of the greater part of the south side of Krematorium II and its Leichenkeller I (gas chamber), not yet covered with earth, taken on the same day as Photos 15 and 16, probably between 9th and 11th February 1943. [Omitted: one sentence which concerns the next photo. -Nizkor] This photo provides the following information: - The height of the ventilation chimneys of Krematorium II has been increased above that of Photo 13; - The furnaces had not yet been working at full capacity because there are no soot stains on the collective chimney; - Leichenkeller 1 has only 3 of the 4 openings for pouring Zyclon-B with which it was finally fitted. Rising about 55 or 60 cm above the roof, they were later covered to a depth of about 45 cm with gravel and earth, so that only 10 to 15 cm remained visible. This would explain why they did not stand out much when the grass grew and why they are so indistinct on the next Photo, though this seems to be in contradiction with aeriel photos taken by the Americans in 1944 which show them to be higher. (The latest interpretation of these openings by Robert Faurisson should be mentioned: they are simply ventilation chimneys. In that case what was wrong with the ventilation and air extraction system installed in Leichenkeller 1? What is more, he does not take into account that the SS designated them in writing as "wire mesh introduction devices" closed by "wooden lids." What ventilation can there be if they are closed by lids?) - In the foreground is a narrow-gauge locomotive belonging to Messrs. Carl Brandt of Magdeburg [that name, inscribed on the engine, is indistinct in Pressac's reproduction -Nizkor], for which an order for the repair of a condensation valve has been found in the correspondence concerning the construction of Krematorien II and III. This firm worked at Birkenau on the drainage and sewerage ditches and the laying of narrow-gauge railways to facilitate the transport of the materials required for enlarging the camp (for example, work on B.A. III, according to Brandt drawing 6158 of 15.3.43).
Home ·
Site Map ·
What's New? ·
Search
Nizkor
© The Nizkor Project, 1991-2012
This site is intended for educational purposes to teach about the Holocaust and
to combat hatred.
Any statements or excerpts found on this site are for educational purposes only.
As part of these educational purposes, Nizkor may
include on this website materials, such as excerpts from the writings of racists and antisemites. Far from approving these writings, Nizkor condemns them and
provides them so that its readers can learn the nature and extent of hate and antisemitic discourse. Nizkor urges the readers of these pages to condemn racist
and hate speech in all of its forms and manifestations.