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AUSCHWITZ:
Technique
and Operation
of
the Gas Chambers © | |
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| BAULEITUNG DRAWING 936 OF
15/1/42 |
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The first drawing 936 (p) [Polish] comes from the PMO
Archives, file BW 30/04, neg. no. 17810 and 20818/6
The
second drawing, 936 (r) [Russian] comes from the
"October Revolution" Central State Archives in Moscow.
Krematorium [Birkenau Krematorium II, BW 30], scale 1:100.
Drawn on 15/1/42 by SS Sergeant Ulmer,
checked on 28/1/42 by
SS Second Lieutenant Dejaco and
approved on 28/1/42 by SS
Captain Bischoff
This drawing of the four elevations of
Birkenau Krematorium II was produced by combining drawings 935. 936,
937 and 938 for the new Krematorium originally intended for the
Auschwitz main camp: |
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– The east elevation of drawing 937
became the north at Birkenau;
– The west
elevation of drawing 935 became the south at Birkenau;
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The south elevation of drawing 938 became the
east at Birkenau;
– The north elevation of
drawing 936 became the west at Birkenau. |
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Since the west elevation at Birkenau, formerly the north
elevation at the main camp was at the bottom right of the combined
drawing. its number was given to the new drawing, on which the
shadows are still those of the original planned location in the main
camp. The three identification blocks of drawings 935, 937 and 938
were scratched out, but traces of them are still visible below and
to the right of each elevation [on 936(p)]. The original title
“Entwurf für das Krematorium” was erased from drawings 935, 936 and
938, and only the word “Krematorium” was retained on 937. The
original orientation of each elevation was also scratched out, the
traces being particularly visible on 936 and 938.
The nature
of the land at Birkenau, where the groundwater is almost at surface
level (unlike the main camp, where it lies deeper), meant that the
two Leichenkeller [“corpse cellars”] could no longer be directly
under the building, as had probably been initially planned,
but had to be raised to form semi-basements.
Because of this
local constraint, the elevation drawings for Birkenau were modified
by adding indications of the semi-buried Leichenkeller:
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– The beginning of the roof of
Leichenkeller 2 is shown at the right hand end of the north
elevation:
– On the left, the roof of
Leichenkeller 1, with its underground walls shown in broken lines
[on 936(r)], and on the
extreme left the beginning of the roof of Leichenkeller 2 can be
seen on the south
elevation;
– The roof of Leichenkeller 1
is drawn on the left of the east elevation;
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The roof and the underground walls in broken
lines [on 936(r)] of Leichenkeller 2 appear
in the center of the
west elevation, with on its right the beginning of the roof of
Leichenkeller 1. |
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[On drawing 936(p), the broken lines of the Leichenkeller
walls are present, but are practically invisible on the photograph
presented, whereas they can clearly been seen on 936(r).]
The date of 15th January 1942 attributed to this
drawing is clearly wrong, for it is that for the project for the
main camp, not Birkenau. A more likely date would be slightly
before or contemporary with that estimated for drawings 1173 and
1174, in April 1942 (necessarily after decision to
transfer the site of the new Krematorium, which was taken on 27th
February 1942). |
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Modification of the orientation of the building
Recapitulation |
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Drawing 937
East
elevation —> North |
Drawing 938
South elevation
—> East |
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Drawing 935
West elevation
—> South |
Drawing
936
North Elevation —> West |
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AUSCHWITZ:
Technique
and operation
of the gas chambers
Jean-Claude Pressac
© 1989, The
Beate Klarsfeld Foundation |
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