The Gas Vans: A Critical Investigation - Holocaust Handbooks

78 SANTIAGO ALVAREZ, THE GAS VANS
we shall see later, Ingrid Weckert shares out point of view. I will next
summarize some of her observations.
2.2.4.3. Ingrid Weckert on the Just Document
Ingrid Weckert’s original German analysis of this document (1985,
pp. 23-28) was published in a somewhat revised version in English
(2003). Instead of quoting it in length, I will only give the highlights of
her analysis here and refer the reader to her full text for a more thorough
reading.
The contents of the German Federal Archives file R 58/871, which
reflect a coherent sequence of events, are as follows:
April 1942: The RSHA considers equipping its special vehicles with
a device to accelerate their unloading.
23 and 24 April 1942: Representatives of the RSHA and the Gaubschat
Company meet to discuss three possible solutions, of which only
the third, the manufacture of a retractable grate, is taken into consideration.
27 April 1942: The RSHA has a note prepared with a precise suggestion
for the construction of a retractable grate.
(30 April 1942: In a letter to the Gaubschat Company the RSHA requests
the agreed-upon design changes according to the above-mentioned
note. This document is not part of the file, but is mentioned in
the next document, the response of the Gaubschat Company.)
14 May 1942: In a letter to the RSHA the Gaubschat Company declares
that is cannot implement the changes requested in the RSHA letter
of 30 April 1942 due to lack of personnel.
23 June 1942: Internal writing by Pradel. As its first point it discusses
the impossibility to have the outstanding vans produced by a Czech
company, since secrecy could not be guaranteed. Point two of the memo
is a draft for a letter by the RSHA to the Gaubschat Company, in which,
with reference to a meeting between RSHA officials and Gaubschat
employees of 16 June 1942, the originally requested major changes of
the vehicle design are abandoned in exchange for seven minor modifications.
18 September 1942: The Gaubschat Company informs the RSHA in
its response that the requested design changes will be implemented, but
initially only for one vehicle.
24 September 1942: The Gaubschat Company informs the RSHA
that it will manufacture the remaining nine vans.