The Gas Vans: A Critical Investigation - Holocaust Handbooks

SANTIAGO ALVAREZ, THE GAS VANS 297
Translation & Remarks
II D Rf/HB
B. Nr. 167/42g
1.) Letter:
To the
Institute for Crim. Tech.
At the Imperial Police Office for Investigations
B e r l i n.
26 March 2.
Attached I return the file of the garrison physician concentration
camp Mauthausen.
The special vehicles manufactured by us are currently all in use according
to the order of the head of the Security Police and the SD.
More vehicles are on order, whose delivery, however, depend on the
availability of the chassis by the Plenipotentiary [GBK] of motor vehicles.
It is not yet known when the allocation will be made by the
GBK, and it has to be reckoned that after the allocation an additional
time for conversion of ca. 8 to 14 days will be needed for the individual
vehicles. After this point in time I would be prepared to place
such a special vehicle at the disposal of the concentration camp
Mauthausen for a certain period of time. At a given time I will apprise
you, as soon as the vehicle can be deployed.
Since I assume that the concentration camp Mauthausen cannot wait
for an undetermined amount of time for the allocation, I ask to initiate
for there the acquisition of steel bottles with carbon oxide or other
auxiliary agents for the implementation.
2.) II D 3 A – Major P r a d e l – for information and resubmission on
completion of new special vehicles.
P.P.
(signed Rauff)
REMARKS: Formally seen, almost everything about this letter is wrong:
a) The name of the sending authority (RSHA) is not given.
b) The name of the sending office is incomplete: Instead of “II D 3,” it
only states “II D.”