The Gas Vans: A Critical Investigation - Holocaust Handbooks

256 SANTIAGO ALVAREZ, THE GAS VANS
– hermetically closed box of 5 m × 2.5 m × 2.5 m, like railway car;
lined with galvanized sheet iron, wooden floor grate; door lined with
rubber and automatic lock; two metal pipes with frequent holes
spreading the gas; rubber hose connected to engine exhaust pipe
(IMT, vol. 7, pp. 572f.; similar The People’s Verdict 1944, pp. 49,
85)
– airtight cargo box lined with sheet metal at the outside, a gas inlet
near the driver’s cabin, and benches for the victims to sit on (LG
Berlin, 14 Aug. 1978, p. 500)
– false windows (The People’s Verdict 1944, pp. 16f.: “appearance of
motor buses”; LG München I, 14 July 1972, p. 408; 29 Mar. 1974, p.
601)
– false windows and closed curtains (LG München I, 19 Dec. 1980, p.
251)
– prisoner transport van, 1.5 to 2 metric tons (Choumoff 1987, p. 42;
The People’s Verdict 1944, p. 50)
– 5 or 7 ton, grey (The People’s Verdict 1944, pp. 8, 16, 85)
– 3 ton van with cargo box 4 m × 2 m (Beer 1987, pp. 412-414)
– two smaller vans (Beer 1987, p. 413)
– tiltable cargo box for fast unloading (Kogon et al. 1993, p. 70)
– stationary gas chamber (State of Israel, session 46, part 6; 19 May
1961)
And here is my favorite, attested to by George Goiny-Grabowski regarding
alleged gas vans deployed in Auschwitz:
122
“The gas vans had an image showing a
human head which kept its nose closed
with one hand.”
Or in other words the vans allegedly
had a warning sign like the one designed
by me on the right warning
everyone:
Danger! Stinker on the
road!
Please forgive me my black
humor.
122 Archives of the Auschiwtz Museum, Collection “Statements,” vol. 61, p. 167.