The Gas Vans: A Critical Investigation - Holocaust Handbooks

SANTIAGO ALVAREZ, THE GAS VANS 53
In 1980 the Munich District Court stated that
“[…] later, about early summer 1942 and on orders from the
Imperial Security Main Office, the so-called gas van was used for
the killings in order to save ammunition and to spare the members of
the commandos the terrible scenes of the executions.” (Rüter et al.
1968ff., vol. 44, p. 250)
From this we ought to conclude that the execution method used previously
– shootings – which is common practice during wartime, caused
even more mental and physical harm to those charged with it.
As we will see when dealing with various court cases, the situation
is contradictory and confusing indeed; while some witnesses or verdicts
stated that gas vans replaced shootings due to gassings being less stressful
for the executioners, others stated that gas van executions were
eventually abandoned (or never implemented to begin with) because
this method of killing was allegedly even worse than shootings (see e.g.
chapters 3.7.3.1. and 3.7.5.2.). However, I have not found a single occasion
where the unloading is said to have been done by SS men.
With regard to jeopardizing their physical health, the respective men
could inhale only insignificant amounts of exhaust gases when opening
the doors, and since the operation took place outdoors, the risk was
minimal in any case.
– 32nd sentence: This sentence implies that the gassings took place
while the trucks were stationary, because a driving truck cannot be operated
at “full throttle” all or even most of the time. This in turn implies
that the truck’s engine was running without any load. In case of Saurer
trucks with Diesel engines, their exhaust gases would not have had toxic
amounts of carbon monoxide under these circumstances; hence they
would have been unsuited for murder by asphyxiation (see chapter
1.3.1.). This way the victims could only have been very slowly cooked
to death with the hot gases.
– 33rd & 34th sentence: These sentences make no sense at all, since
the cause of death is suffocation under any circumstances. “Putting to
sleep” by means of poisonous gas is merely a euphemism for asphyxiation.
While it cannot be argued that suffocation under the described
conditions can occur while the victims were either awake or asleep, no
reason can be seen how “adjusting the levers properly” could have an
influence on the drowsiness of the victims.
We must keep in mind that Diesel exhaust gases of yore have always
been full of smoke and irritants under any circumstances, which arouse