The Gas Vans: A Critical Investigation - Holocaust Handbooks

260 SANTIAGO ALVAREZ, THE GAS VANS
– 35-40 (Kogon et al. 1993, p. 84)
– 30-40 (NMT, vol. 4, p. 213)
– at least 30 (LG München I, 19 Dec. 1980, p. 251)
– 30 (Beer 1987, pp. 411f., 414; Kogon et al. 1993, p. 61; LG Karlsruhe,
20 Dec. 1961, p. 100; LG/BG Neubrandenburg, 22 Feb. 1961,
p. 393)
– 25-30 (small, Kogon et al. 1993, p. 54; LG Hannover, 7 June 1966,
p. 622, Diamond; LG Greifswald, 3 July 1952, p. 474)
– 25 (with luggage; LG Köln, 20 June 1953, p. 153; Kohl 2003, pp.
69f.)
– 15 (small), 30 (large) (NMT, vol. 4, p. 301)
– 15-25 (NMT, vol. 5, p. 688)
– up to 14 (Artur Meyer, Archives of the Auschwitz Museum, Collection
“Statements,” vol. 93, pp. 23, 23a)
Although next to nothing is known about the technical data of some
of the claimed gas vans, the 30 Saurer trucks equipped with Gaubschat
cargo boxes allegedly used for gassings are well defined. As I have described
elsewhere (p. 71), loading a Saurer truck with nine to ten persons
per m², resulting in a capacity of 120 to 133 persons, would have
exceeded the vehicle’s maximum permitted load of 5 tons considerably
by some 50% (±10%). It also appears impossible to cram so many unwilling
individuals so tightly. Hence, claimed packing densities beyond
6 persons per m², amounting to some 80 persons in the entire cargo box
with a total of some 4.8 tons, must be regarded as technically highly unlikely.
4.2.5. Duration of the Gassing Procedure
– 20-30 min. (Rosenberg 1985, p. 36; Loewenstein 1961, p. 51)
– 15-30 min. (LG Darmstadt, 18 Apr. 1969, pp. 94f.)
– 15-20 min. (Sakowska 1993, p. 166; Kogon et al. 1993, p. 63; LG
Kiel, 26 Nov. 1965, p. 430; Kohl 2003, pp. 69f.; LG Koblenz, 30
Dec. 1965, p. 513; LG Kiel, 14 June 1974, p. 663)
– 15 min. (LG Köln, 20 June 1953, p. 153; Benz/Distel 2009, pp.
575f.; LG Koblenz, 21 May 1963, p. 194)
– 10-15 min. (NMT, vol. 4, p. 206; IMT, vol. 4, p. 322; LG Bonn, 23
July 1965, p. 232; LG Kiel, 28 Nov. 1969, pp. 284, 286)
– 12 min. (Kogon et al. 1993, pp. 58, 87)
– 10 min. (NMT, vol. 4, p. 302; Kogon et al. 1993, pp. 58, 86;
Klee/Dreßen/Rieß 1988, p. 201)