TECHNICAL DISCUSSION: REFUTATION OF "HOLOCAUST REVISIONIST" CLAIMS CONCERNING CREMATION PRELIMINARY VERSION "Holocaust revisionists" claim that it would have taken the SS two, three, or four hours to cremate one corpse - hence, they suggest, the number of victims in Auschwitz-Birkenau is exaggerated. It suffices to look at one single document out of many, to see that the "revisionists" are in grave error. A report of the Gusen crematorium tells us that on November 7, 1941, 94 corpses were cremated in this small, 2-muffle crematorium, in 20 work hours. In 1941, there were no children in Gusen camp; so this rate of cremation is for adults. In Auschwitz, the cremation rate was even higher, due to the fact that many of the victims were infants and children (in both Auschwitz and Gusen, furnaces manufactured by the Topf firm were used; see main cremation and refutation of "Holocaust revisionism" page for data on the Auschwitz-Birkenau crematoriums). How did the SS-men in charge of the cremation achieve this rate? A short explanation follows. "Holocaust revisionists" also claim that not enough coke was delivered to Auschwitz, to cremate the number of people that historians agree were murdered there; that corpses cannot be burned in the open (as many of the corpses were); and that the temprature of the furnaces wasn't high enough. These claims are also addressed here. Burning more than one corpse simultaneously There are many testimonies describing this "technique" (see, for instance, Henryk Tauber's testimony). The "Holocaust revisionists" claim that it is impossible; however, while it is certainly illegal today, there is no technical problem in burning a few corpses in the same muffle at the same time. Actually, Dr. Kenneth V. Iverson writes the following in his book "Death To Dust", Galen Press, 1994 (_Iverson_), p. 264-265: Examples of such litigation abound. The Harbor Lawn-Mount Olive Mortuary and Memorial Park in Costa Mesa, California, paid $14 million to settle a suit by 25,000 people who claimed that their relative's bodies have been cremated en masse, rather then separately [140]. Another southern California firm, the Pasadena Crematorium, which was luridly described in the book, A Family Business, routinely packed nine to fifteen bodies into each oven.... [141] [140] Englade, A Family Business, p. 130. [141] Englade, A Family Business, p. 49-51. Dr. Iverson cites "Settlement proposed for class action", The American Funeral Director, 1992;115(4):18-19 as another source for such "multiple cremations". In Auschwitz, two or three adult corpses were usually cremated simultaneously, as were an even higher number of children's corpses; there are many testimonies concerning this, for instance that of Henryk Tauber. This considerably speeded up the cremation process. Inserting additional corpses before the ones in the muffle were entirely consumed This is, of course, prohibited under normal circumstances, but it was practiced in Auschwitz-Birkenau and other camps; as a matter of fact, the manual for operating the Topf furnaces in Auschwitz states (see German original and translation): "As soon as the remains of the corpses have fallen from the chamotte grid to the ash collection channel below, they should be pulled forward towards the ash removal door, using the scraper. Here they can be left for a further 20 minutes to be fully consumed, then the ashes should be placed in the container and set aside to cool. In the meantime, further corpses can be introduced one after the other into the chambers." In the 1975 conference report of the Cremation Society of Great Britain, we read that the last 20 minutes of the cremation are required to dispose only of a "very very small quantity of body material in the shape of chest and lung material" (p. 83). Hence, barring any legal considerations - not to mention plain decency - it was not a problem to save considerable time in the cremation process, by inserting more corpses when those already in the muffle were mostly consumed. The "Holocaust revisionist" claim that a muffle cannot be opened while the previous corpses are still burning, has no basis in reality; people routinely work near even higher temperatures (as in manufacturing of steel etc.). Naturally, those operating the furnaces did not put their hands and their heads into the open muffle, but used various devices to insert the corpses into the hot muffles - including a simple stretcher-like device on which the corpse was slid into the muffle (see, for instance, Tauber's aforementioned testimony). See also the following description about how a furnace cremation is opened in the midst of the cremation process, without any ill-effects: "Rapp checks on the corpse's progress. He raises the retort's door about 10 inches and peers into the hearth. It looks like a giant fireplace at the end of a cozy night." [source] Bypassing various considerations which slow present-day cremation Current commercial crematoriums have to submit to many regulations which were of no importance to the SS. For instance, they are equipped with devices which limit the resulting odors and pollution (_Iverson_, p. 262), and these slow down the cremation process. Naturally, the SS did not bother with these issues. As an American expert on cremation said, "much of the burn time is devoted to breaking down and whitening the bones, because people expect nice white remains". This was certainly not a factor in Auschwitz-Birkenau. Running the furnaces continually This makes cremation much more efficient, as the furnaces don't have to be pre-heated before every cremation. "Holocaust revisionists" answer by claiming that continuous operation harms the furnaces. However, the opposite is true; keeping the furnaces hot, and avoiding repeated changes of temperature, actually preserves the furnace. This fact is acknowledged in a letter from the furnace manufacturer firm Topf to the Mauthausen SS Construction Administration, July 7 1941: "It is not harmful to operate the incinerators day and night, if required, since the fire clay lasts longer when an even temperature is maintained". (Quoted in Danuta Czech's "Auschwitz Chronicle 1939-1945", p. 71-2) Saving Fuel "Holocaust revisionists" claim that not enough coke was delivered to Auschwitz, to cremate the number of people that historians agree were murdered there. This is not true. How, then, was fuel saved in the cremation process? Firstly, one has to know that many corpses in Auschwitz-Birkenau were burned in the open; this mainly took place in 1944, but during other periods as well. Coke was not used in the open-air burning, but wood, as well as various flammable liquids such as methanol (see, for instance, testimony of former member of the SS Perry Broad, "KL Auschwitz Seen by the SS", The Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum, p. 134). Second, when coke was in short supply, wood was used in the furnaces; see the aforementioned testimony of Henryk Tauber, and also a photograph taken immediately after the liberation of Auschwitz, showing a large amount of wood near on the crematoriums which were dismantled by the SS before they fled. Lastly, the Auschwitz-Birkenau furnaces used compressed air which was injected into them to enhance the burning. The fact that this can save a great deal of fuel was noted by the Enginner Mueller, who in 1937 planned a crematorium for the Dachau concentration camp. See "Auschwitz: Technique and Operation of the Gas Chambers", J.C Pressac, the Beate Klarsfeld Foundation, NY, 1989, for a study of the Auschwitz-Birnekau cremation furnaces. The facts of nature have not changed, and today we can read in the brochure of the Simonds firm, which manufactures various incinerators, including pathological incinerators (this material is quoted from the Simonds firm web page as it appeared there on 09/23/1999): "At or near capacity our continuous feed incinerators operate without auxiliary fuel." And "Pathological Incinerators are designed to consume Type IV waste. This includes: Human and animal remains, consisting of carcasses, organs and solid wastes from hospitals, laboratories, abatoirs, animal pounds and similar sources. These wastes consist of up to 85% moisture and 5% incombustible solids with a heating value of 1000 BTUs per pound as fired Unlike the starved-air systems of Continual Burn and Batch Burn Incinerators, Pathological Incinerators function on excess air." For those not fluent with technical terms, this means that the "Type IV waste" described here, has a heating value - that is, with enough air, it can sustain its own burning process for some time. Burning corpses in the open Many corpses in Auschwitz, and other death camps, were burned in the open - either on large pyres, or inside pits which were first stacked with wood and other flammable materials. Some "Holocaust revisionists" claim that this is "physically impossible". This claim is quite easy to dispose of. There is absolutely no problem in burning corpses in the open. As a matter of fact, the Germans burned in the open many corpses of people who were killed in the aerial attack on Dresden. As for burning corpses in pits - it is certainly possible; as a matter of fact, it was practiced many years ago, when a Belgian officer, colonel Creteur, was ordered to dispose of the corpses at the site of the Sedan battle field. Creteur's task was even more difficult than that of the SS, because the corpses were already buried in large pits, while in Auschwitz-Birkenau, the pits were first filled with layers of wood, and the fire kept going with various flammable materials (see, for instance, Perry Broad's aforementioned testimony). Temperature of cremation "Holocaust revisionists" sometimes claim that the Topf furnaces in Auschwitz and other camps, could not achieve a high enough temperature which is required for quick cremation. This is patently false, for two reasons: The Topf furnaces did reach high temperatures; see their operation manual, which includes the following: Once the cremation chamber (muffle) has been brought to a good red heat (approximately 800 C), the corpses can be introduced one after another in the cremation chambers... After each incineration, the temperature rises in the furnace. For this reason, care must be taken that the internal temperature does not rise above 1100 C (white heat). Higher temperatures result in "cleaner" cremation, but are not essential for the burning time. A detailed study, presented in the 1975 conference report of the Cremation Society of Great Britain (see summary of results in p. 88), proved that in the range of temperatures between 500 and 1100 degrees Centigrade, there is only a margin of 6 minutes in the cremation time. Back to main cremation and refutation of "Holocaust revisionism" page.
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