THE RUDOLF REPORT

GERMAR RUDOLF · THE RUDOLF REPORTpiece of information appears: [199]‘2 Topf disinfestation heaters for crematorium II in the prisonerof war camp Auschwitz.’On 14 May, Bischoff sent Topf the following ‘urgent telegram’: [200]‘On Monday bring the overdue warm water project for approximately100 showers. Installation of water heater or boiler inthe still under construction trash incinerator crematorium III or fluefor the purpose of utilizing the high emission temperature. Contingentlyhigher walling of the oven for the purpose of accommodatinga large reserve container is possible. It is being requested to sendalong the appropriate designs with Herrn Prüfer on Monday, May17.’On June 5, 1942, Topf sent Drawing D60446 to the Zentralbauleitung‘regarding the installation of the boilers in the rubbish incinerator’.This project involved the installations intended for crematorium II. [201]In an undated ‘questionnaire’ apparently written in June 1943 regardingthe Birkenau crematoria, in answer to the question, ‘Are the exhaustgases utilized?’, the head of the Zentralbauleitung, Bischoff, responded:‘planned but not carried out’, and in response to the followingquestion: ‘If yes, to what purpose?’, Bischoff answered: ‘for bath facilitiesin crematorium II and III’. [202]Finally, there is an invoice from the firm VEDAG Vereinigte Dachpappen-FabrikenAktiengesellschaft (United Roofing-Felt Factories, Incorporated)dated July 28, 1943, with the subject ‘Auschwitzcrematorium’referring to ‘completed sealing work for the disinfestationfacility’ (emphasis added) which was carried out between May 21 andJuly 16, 1943, cf. Fig. 30. [203]Before drawing any conclusions, a few explanations are required.While both Topf disinfestation heaters were then installed in the Zentralsauna,the document cited above refers them to crematorium II. The projectfor the installation of 100 showers in crematorium III (and in crematoriumII) could not have been for the prisoners of the ‘Sonderkommando’of the crematoria, since only 50 showers were installed in theshower room of the Zentralsauna, which had been designed for the in-199 Archiwum Panstwowego Muzeum w Oswiecimiu (hereafter APMO), BW 30/34, p. 47.200 APMO, BW 30/34, p. 40.201 TCIDK, 502-1-336 (page number illegible).202 TCIDK, 502-1-312, p. 8.203 TCIDK, 502-1-316, p. 431, “Zweitschrift” in 502-1-323, p. 137.98