4th Leuchter Report

20.000 Chapters 5 and 6.

Krematorien II and III. The Ventilation systems of Krematorien II and III Chapters 5 and 6 are essentially a history of the design and construction of Kremas II and III. It is a treasure trove of documents and blueprints which can provide insight into the facilities themselves. There is no proof contained therein as to the existence of any gas chambers or occurrences of any gassings and, in fact, proves the contrary.

20.001 There are many misconceptions, errors and unsupported theories on the part of Mr. Pressac. All of these have been addressed in the discussion of the proofs. Anything not covered or of special interest, I will comment upon here.

  1. Wooden ducts, blowers and valves are mentioned numerous times in reference to the ventilation of Leichenkeller 1. It is inconsistent to mix wood and hydrogen cyanide. Despite the shortage of materials, the Bauleitung would have used metal.
  2. The fans of the forced-draft system probably failed ONLY because of the poor quality materials caused by the war effort and not because of the heat or Prufer's error. The chimneys and flue linings failed likewise because of poor quality materials and not because of over use.
  3. The use of the heat from the forced-draft system would have, at best, only served to "take the chill off" the basement area and prevent the water pipes from freezing. It was insufficient to raise the temperature to a level sufficient to sublimate HCN.
  4. Despite what Pressac says, there are no aerial or ground photos shown (or in existence) showing gas introduction ports or vents on the roof of Leichenkeller 1.
  5. Drawing # 1300 (page 297) clearly shows that the drains of Leichenkeller 1 are common with the other drains of Krema II and connected to the main drains of the camp. Pressac either cannot read blueprints or is misinterpreting them. (Illustration 6)
  6. A wooden screen (called a wall) was built in front of the corpse chute in Krema II. Pressac claims that this was done because they no longer needed the chute because the people were walking in, alive. It makes more sense to assume that it was built as a cosmetic screen so inmates and others could not see the bodies come down the chute. Why, ALWAYS, an ulterior motive?
  7. Much is made of DeJaco's drawing # 933 (page 303). Pressac says he eliminated the corpse chute, added cellar stairs to bring in executees and replaced the double door with a single one which could have been sealed. Perhaps the door replacement was to keep the stench of rotting cadavers in the decaying body morgue, and the stairs were needed to get in. The drawing was never used. Why make so much out of a simple architectural exercise? (Illustration 7)
  8. Photos of the Leichenkeller 1 ceiling (page # 353) show no phony (dummy) wooden shower heads or holes for their mounting. (Illustration 8)
  9. Kremas II and III were not built as, converted to, or utilized as gas execution facilities.


Continue on to Part Two CH 7 or return to Leuchter Report Table of Contents