Henschel here, Henschel there, followed by the Reverend's wishful thinking.
Where are the Saurer and Diamond trucks converted into gas vans by Gaubschat that are mentioned in the documentary evidence and eyewitness testimonials?
Where are the Renault trucks with Otto engines mentioned by Chelmno gas van driver Walter Burmeister in his deposition before the Bonn County Court withing the scope of the 1962/63 trial againt the members of the
Sonderkommando Lange?
Where are the gas vans with gasoline engines described by witnesses Levinbuck and Piller?
Testimonial of Zalman Levinbuck, survivor of the Baranovice ghetto (Baranovice Memorial Book, Tel Aviv, pages 562 and following; quoted in Kogon/Langbein/Rückerl et al, Nationalsozialistische Massentötungen durch Giftgas, page 91):
Unter den Lastwagen gibt es riesige mit hermetisch verschließbaren Türen … Diese luftdicht geschlossenen Wagen werden ‘dushegubky’ genannt, was auf russisch ‘Seelentöter’ heißt. Sie bringen bereits tote Menschen heran, die man nicht mehr erschießen muß. Die Menschen werden unterwegs vergiftet durch Gase und Abgasdämpfe, die durch das Verbrennen von Benzin im Motor entstanden sind. Denn diese Abgase werden durch ein spezielles Rohr ins Wageninnere geleitet, anstatt, wie normalerweise, frei an die Luft zu entweichen; und so werden die Menschen durch das Kohlenmonoxyd getötet.
My translation:
Among the trucks there were giant one with doors that closed hermetically.... These hermetically closed vans are called ‘dushegubky’, which in Russian means ‘soul killer’. They already bring along dead people who don’t have to be shot anymore. The people are poisoned during the drive by gases and exhaust fumes that are created by the combustion of gasoline in the motor. This because the exhaust is led through a special valve into the inside of the van instead of freely vanishing into the air as it normally would, and thus the people are killed by the carbon monoxide.
From the deposition of Chelmo gas van driver Walter Burmeister at the trial before the Bonn County Court against the members of Sonderkommando Lange (StA Bonn AZ: 8 Js 52/60 (AZ. ZSL 203 AR-Z 69/59, Volume I, pages 138-141, quoted in Kogon Langbein/Rückerl et al, as above, page 114):
[…]Die Wagen waren mittelschwere Renault-Lastwagen mit Ottomotor. Sie ließen sich schlecht fahren, weil sie nicht einen so großen Wendekreis hatten. Der zeitweise hinzugekommene dritte Wagen war wohl ein schwerer. Die Wagen hatten Kastenaufbau mit einer großen Zweiflügeltür an der Rückseite, ähnlich wie Möbelwagen.[…]
My translation:
[...]The vans were medium size Renault trucks with Otto engines. They were hard to drive because they didn’t have so big a turning circle. The temporarily added third van must have been a heavy one. The vans had a box-like buildup with a big two-wing door at the back side, similar to furniture vans.[...]
From a report written by in Soviet captivity by SS-Hauptscharführer Walter Piller, former member of the Chelmno staff (ZSL Volume 411, Part VII, pages 16 and following, quoted in Kogon/Langbein/Rückerl et al, page 141):
[...]Während der Fahrt wurde durch den Kraftfahrer Laabs ein Ventil geöffnet, durch welches Gas einströmte, welches die Insassen in 2-3 Minuten tötete. Hierbei handelte es sich um Gase, die durch den Benzinmotor erzeugt wurden.[...]
My translation:
[...]During the drive the driver Laabs opened a valve, through which gas streamed in, which killed those inside within 2-3 minutes. These were gases that had been created by the gasoline motor.[...]
What follows is a complete translation of Dr. Becker's letter to Rauff of 16 May 1942, transcribed under
http://www.ns-archiv.de/einsatzgruppen/ ... auff.shtml
The translation is my own, though I have used the partial translation featured under
http://www.ns-archiv.de/einsatzgruppen/ ... auff.shtml
Feldpostnummer 32 704
Kiev, 16 May 1942
B. Nr. 40/42 -
Secret Reich Matter
To
SS-Obersturmbannführer Rauff
in Berlin
Prinz-Albrecht-Str. 8
The overhauling of the vans of Groups D and C is concluded. While the vans of the first series can also be used when the weather is not all too bad, the vans of the second series (Saurer) are completely immobilized in rainy weather. This because if it has been raining for only half an hour the van cannot be operated because it simply slips away. It can only be used in good weather. The question now arises if the van can only be used at the place of execution standing. The van must first be brought to that place, which is possible only in good weather. The place of execution, however, is located at least 10-15 km away from the traffic routes and is already difficult to access due to its location; in bad weather it is inaccessible altogether. If those to be executed are led or driven to this place, they notice immediately what is going on and become restless, which should be avoided. The only remaining possibility is to load them in at the place of assembly and then to drive them out.
I ordered the vans of group D to be camouflaged as house trailers by putting one set of window shutters on each side of the small van and two on each side of the large vans, such as one often sees on farm houses in the country. The vans became so well known that not only the authorities but also the civilian population called the van "death van", as soon as one of these vehicles appeared. It is my opinion the van cannot be kept secret for any length of time, not even camouflaged.
The Saurer van that I transferred from Simferopol to Taganrog had a brake damage on the way. At the S.K. [Spezialkommando = special unit] in Mariupol it was verified that the flange [Manchete] of the combined oil and compressed air brake was broken in several places. Through persuasion and bribe at the H. K. P. it was possible to have turned a form after which two flanges were forged. When I came to Stalino and Gorlovka a few days later, the drivers of the vans complained about the same damage. After consulting the commanders of these special units I went again to Mariupol in order to have further flanges for these vans manufactured. It was agreed to forge two flanges for each of these vans, while 6 flanges remained as a reserve in Mariupol for the Group, and 6 flanges were sent to SS-Untersturmführer Ernst for the vans of Group C to Kiev. For the groups B and A the flanges could be obtained from Berlin, because the transport from Mariupol to the north is still too cumbersome and would last too long. Smaller damages on the vans are repaired by technicians of the special units or groups or in a workshop.
Due to the uneven terrain and the hard to describe road conditions the sealing and rivet places loosen after some time. I was asked if in such cases the vans can be sent to Berlin for repair. Such a transfer would be much too expensive and cost too much fuel. To save this expense I gave the instruction to rivet smaller leaking parts on site and, if this was no longer possible, to immediately inform Berlin by radio that van Pol. No. …. had broken down.
Besides that, I ordered that during application of gas all the men were to be kept as far away from the vans as possible, so they should not suffer damage to their health by the gas which eventually would escape. I should like to take this opportunity to bring the following to your attention: several commands have had the unloading after the application of gas done by their own men. I brought to the attention of the special units concerned the immense psychological injuries and damages involved to their health that this work can have for those men, even if not immediately, at least later on. The men complained to me about headaches, which appeared after each unloading. Nevertheless they don't want to change the orders, because they are afraid prisoners called for that work could use an opportune moment to flee. To protect the men from these damages, I request orders to be issued accordingly.
The application of the gas is not undertaken correctly. In order to come to an end as fast as possible, the driver presses the accelerator to the fullest extent. By doing that the persons to be executed suffer death from suffocation and not death by dozing off as was planned. My directions have now proved that by correct adjustment of the levers death comes faster and the prisoners fall asleep peacefully. Distorted faces and excretions, such as could be seen before, are no longer noticed.
In the course of this day I will travel on to Group B, where further news may reach me.
Dr. Becker
SS-Untersturmführer
Incidentally, the existence of "real diesel vans" may explain why some witnesses erroneously thought that the gas vans they described had diesel instead of gasoline engines, or why some investigators erroneously reached this conclusion. Assuming that they were necessarily in error, that is, which Smith hasn't demonstrated so far.
