The Gas Vans: A Critical Investigation - Holocaust Handbooks

SANTIAGO ALVAREZ, THE GAS VANS 233
The verdict’s brief description of the “gas van” reads like the one
contained in the verdict handed down by the same court some 20
months earlier (LG München I, 14 July 1972; see previous chapter), including
the alleged vehicle’s nick name and the painted-on, false windows
(p. 601):
“This vehicle, which was called ‘soul killer’ by the Russians, was
a large truck with a cargo box. It had false windows painted on the
outside walls, and a double door at the back with which the cargo
box could be closed. A hose permitted the exhaust fumes to be directed
into the interior from below.”
It may thus be assumed that the judges copied it from there. The gassing
itself is said to have occurred while the vehicle was stationary, during
which exhaust gas was piped into the interior for “at least five
minutes” (ibid.), which is an execution time on the short side.
Nothing else can be gained from this verdict for our study.
3.7.5.5. LG Kiel, Verdict of 14 June 1974
This extraordinary case involves the defendant Heinz G. Rie.[?],
who was the head of unit 570 of the German secret military police (Geheime
Feldpolizei) during the war. He had been indicted for killing Soviet
partisans by means of a make-shift “gas van” in Mogilev in June
1944, shortly before the town was retaken by the Red Army. Since the
execution of partisans was covered by international law, the defendant
was acquitted.
The “gas van” is described as follows (p. 662):
“The defendant knew that the security service (Sicherheitsdienst)
had deployed to a considerable degree and over a longer period of
time a gas van for the extermination of Jews. Due to a conversation
[…] the idea occurred to him to also set up and deploy a gas van for
the execution of partisans sentenced to death. At least two months
before the retreat of his group from Mogilev end of June 1944, the
defendant arranged for a Russian truck of the make Ford with a
gasoline engine to be refitted as a gas van. […] Since the tarpaulin
covering the cargo area had been destroyed in Roslavl and as no replacement
could be obtained, the defendant arranged for it [the vehicle]
to be equipped with a sturdy compartment made of boards
while still in Roslavl. In Mogilev the vehicle was now sealed with
metal plates and equipped with a device which permitted to pipe the
exhaust gases into the interior of the cargo box. After operating a