Gas vans

[Dan]

[Dan]

Thanks to the knowledgeable people on this board, I have come to the conculsion (yes, I know, Charles, no one cares what I think) that one would have to ignore much evidence to deny that there were not at least some homicidal gassings at Auschwitz, but I wonder if vans like this provided fuel for rumors at places like Mauthausen.

[Dan]

BTW, this was taken in 1926.

[Billy Bishop]

If people don't believe there were gas chambers at Auschwitz, what makes you think they will believe in gas vans? :p

BTW, are there any pictures of the gas vans used during WWII?

[Dan]

Just the kinds that really wouldn't work. The evidence is from testimony rather than physical proof.

As to what someone wants to believe or not, that's up to them, no? There might be eternal judgement, but there shouldn't be judgement here on earth.

[Billy Bishop]

Just the kinds that really wouldn't work. The evidence is from testimony rather than physical proof.

As to what someone wants to believe or not, that's up to them, no? There might be eternal judgement, but there shouldn't be judgement here on earth.

Yes true, and that's why I don't really like to debate these things, like they do over at the "Air Photo Evidence' board.

[Scott Smith]

BTW, are there any pictures of the gas vans used during WWII?

Yes, here they are:

Personal Decontamination Van Kfz 92



Clothing Delousing Van Kfz 93



Here's another version of the 1922 Gas-Van for a little more detail, hopefully:

[Scott Smith]

Both of the WWII Gas-Vans are Einheits Diesels, btw.

[Billy Bishop]

Smaller than I thought they would be. How did they work?

[Dan]

In the last, and probably the second one, Zyklon was pumped in to a compartment where the things that needed de-lousing were put.

[michael mills]

The two soldiers appear to be British, perhaps part of the Rhineland occupation force.

The device shown is probably using Zyklon-A, which was liquid HCN. Its most common use was for spraying onto fruit trees. The design of the device suggests that the box-like compartment contained Zyklon-A, which evaporated and moved through the pipe into the delousing compartment.

Zyklon-A, which evaporated almost instantaneously, was very dangerous to use. That is why Zyklon-B was developed; by binding the HCN to a carrier, either diatomaceous earth, a ceramic, or to cardboard, evaporation was delayed, allowing for much safer handling.

[Dan]

Michael, as usual, you are right. I went back and checked the caption, and I stupidly put in 1926, when the photo was taken in 1922. Thanks.

The 1926 photo is of German barracks being fumigated.

I also have a 1917 stationary Zyklon fumigation chamber which I can post if anyone is interested.

I think scale insects on fruit trees were killed with another product, but I plan of checking.


Regards

[Dan]

Michael, I am sure the chemical you are refering to is CALCID, which is Calcium Cyanide. Zyklon was somewhat rough for trees. BTW, the main income for the company was outside Germany, because the most important use was for citrus trees, which can't grow in Germany, although it could also kill White Flies, which are pains in greenhouses everwhere, except for people like me who use Pinguicula, Drosera and Nepenthes plants for insect control, but that's another subject.

[Scott Smith]

Smaller than I thought they would be. How did they work?

The top vehicle (Kfz 92) is an ordinary shower for troops or civilians to scrub with soap and chemicals.



The bottom vehicle (Kfz 93) is literally a gaschamber on wheels.



Delousing clothing can be accomplished in several ways: hot air, steam, cyanide (or other) gas, or microwave oven. DDT (a powder or spray) was also used in the last year of the war but was in short supply for the Germans; it was safe and convenient but was banned in the 1960s for use in agriculture (e.g., mosquito control) because it killed wild animals. (Compare the 1962 Rachel Carson book Silent Spring.)

Auschwitz also had a microwave oven for delousing in the last year of the war. The first SS man below is spraying water on the clothes and the second is not loading in pizzas but instead bundles of clothing into the microwave oven.



To use Zykon-B, a can (figure #5) is placed in the holder and opened, and hot air is blown over the clay granules, thus releasing the hydrocyanic acid, which is recirculated throughout the chamber by the blower inside. When the exposure is complete, a lever is actuated so that fresh air is blown in and the air inside the chamber is exhausted safely up the chimney. The used Zyklon is harmless and is removed and recycled by sending back to the manufacture for recharging with HCN. Dachau had four such fumigation chambers which can be inspected today.



Here is a steam delousing-chamber from Mauthausen:



I'm not sure exactly how the steam was generated for the above steam-chamber, but hot-air, such as from a crematoria oven, could also be used for delousing.

Here's a wartime advertisement for Zyklon and other fumigation chemicals. Entire trains could be fumigated inside gaschambers:



And here is a modern gaschamber for fumigating cargo-shipping containers:



Hope this helps.

[Roberto]

Thanks to the knowledgeable people on this board, I have come to the conculsion (yes, I know, Charles, no one cares what I think) that one would have to ignore much evidence to deny that there were not at least some homicidal gassings at Auschwitz, but I wonder if vans like this provided fuel for rumors at places like Mauthausen.

Why do you wonder ?

Have you have a plausible alternative explanation as to what the "special van" mentioned in Rauff's letter to the Criminal Technical Institute
at the Reich Criminal Police Office of 26 March 1942 could have been for and what bottled carbon monoxide had to be used for until it arrived ?

The letter, as translated under

http://www.holocaust-history.org/194203 ... nderwagen/ :

II D Rf/Hb March 26 2.


Secret


1.) Note

to the
Criminal Technical Institute
at the Reich Criminal Police Office

Berlin.

In the attachment, I refer back to the procedure of the garrison doctor at concentration camp Mauthausen.

The special vans manufactured by us are at this time in operation pursuant to the order of the Chief of the Security Police and the SD. There are more vans under construction, whose delivery is however dependent upon the appropriate shipping orders being issued by the General Plenipotentiary for Vehicles [GEK]. At what point in time the GEK will confirm the state of preparedness is not known, and, after that happens, one must further factor in a rebuilding period of around 8 - 14 days that will be necessary. At that point in time, I would be prepared to put a special van of that kind at the disposal of the Mauthausen concentration camp for a specified time.[my emphasis] At the given time, I will let you know as soon as the van can be deployed.

Since I assume that the Mauthausen concentration camp cannot wait indefinitely for the delivery, I request that you use steel bottles with carbon monoxide or respectively other remedies to get things started.[my emphasis]

2.) II D 3 a - Major Pradel - for information and Wvl. for the completion of new special vans.


by order of
Rauff