The Gas Vans: A Critical Investigation - Holocaust Handbooks

SANTIAGO ALVAREZ, THE GAS VANS 71
the open position during a hypothetical gassing operation to prevent excess
pressures. So what were the flaps good for? The only technically
plausible reason for adding such flaps is to prevent both the formation
of excess pressure and a free exchange of air while no exhaust gases
were piped into the cargo box. But why was that necessary, if the vans
served no other purpose than gassing people? I will return to this point
in chapter 2.2.6. when discussing the likely real purpose of these RSHA
special vehicles. Anyway, the uselessness of these flaps for a hypothetical
gassing van seems to have slipped the author’s attention.
I should add here that in a later, probably authentic RSHA document
of 23 June 1942 reference is made to the fact that the first 20 Saurer
trucks delivered to the RSHA had “openings covered with sliders” in
their back doors, which means that the cargo boxes of the real Saurer
trucks never sealed hermetically, although such sliders could have been
a major obstacle for excess gases to escape, depending on their design.
The RSHA document mentioned requested the replacement of these
sliders with slits of the same kind as described in the Just document (see
point 7 of this document on p. 323), whereas the Just document gives
the impression that the slits were not as replacement item but rather a
new feature.
2. Shortening the cargo box
The two paragraphs dedicated to this demand seem to be the result
of an abstract intellectual construct.
– First the author of the memo states that the Saurer truck cannot be
loaded with 9 to 10 per m 2 , “because their off-road capability is highly
reduced by this,” “although no overloading occurs thereby.”
1. Remark: If considering that the cargo boxes installed on the
Saurer chassis had a surface area of (5.8 m × 2.3 m ) 20 13.3 m², then a
loading density of nine to ten persons per m² would have resulted in a
load between 120 and 133 persons.
First of all, this amount is at the upper range of what witnesses have
claimed about these vehicles, whereas the most frequent claim is about
50 to 60 persons (see chapter 4.2.4).
Next, assuming an average weight of 60 kg per persons, 48 this density
would also have resulted in a total load between seven and eight metric
tons, which is two to three tons (40 to 60%) over the maximum load
48 Usually an average weight of 75 kg is assumed for adults, but since the lower weight of
children has to considered, I have reduced this average weight to 60 kg.