The Gas Vans: A Critical Investigation - Holocaust Handbooks

84 SANTIAGO ALVAREZ, THE GAS VANS
In summary: The Becker documents, versions A, C, and D, give a
better impression of authenticity than the three versions of the Just document,
which are based on one single machine-written, impeccable text
that had obviously been tailored after the war to achieve a certain goal.
It goes without saying that this does not imply that the authenticity of
the various versions of the Becker document is historically beyond reproach!
2.2.6. The Real Purpose of the RSHA Special Vehicles
The information contained in the file R 58/871 about the cargo boxes
of the RSHA special vehicles do not reveal anything about the nature
of the intended load. All one can ascertain is that the material wasn’t
particularly fragile, since the unloading was to occur “fast” and “automatically”;
for this reason it was considered making “the entire cargo
box or a second floor tiltable.”
Here is Pierre Marais’ hypothesis about the nature of the intended
load:
The RSHA special vehicles with the described cargo box allowing a
fast automatic unloading were meant for the transportation of corpses.
The following points support Marais’ hypothesis:
1) The organization responsible for the conversion of these vans was
responsible for security and police issues, which indicates that third
persons were meant to remain unaware of the load. The load could
have been corpses – of executions, “natural” deaths, or war casualties
– which had to be transported en masse to crematoria, open air
incineration places, or mass graves.
2) The load was obviously not (or no longer) fragile or delicate.
3) The weight of the load, 4,500 kg, corresponds to some 60 to 75
corpses, which would have amounted to an average of six corpses
per square meter, which sounds plausible.
4) The requested hygienic measures:
a) In order to permit a thorough and effortless cleaning, the inside of
the van had to be covered with smooth sheet metal. The protruding
parts of the back wall had to be beveled with sheet iron. A
large opening had to be included in the cargo box’s floor.
b) In order to limit foul smells from exiting the van, the cargo box
was to be sealed, though obviously neither airtight nor pressureresistant.
Openings in the upper part of the side walls served to