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AUSCHWITZ:
Technique
and Operation
of
the Gas Chambers © | |
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Page 371 |
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Messing worked
successively on the following tasks [the terms have been simplified
and "Leichenkeller 1 and 2" have been replaced by “gas
chamber” and “undressing room” respectively, the terms
designating their true function]: |
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1. |
Fitting 3 forced draught
installations alongside the collective chimney of Krematorium II.
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2. |
Fitting 5 pulsed air blowers,
one on the side of each of the 5 furnaces of Krematorium II.
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3. |
Fitting the extractor fan for
the gas chamber of Krematorium II. |
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4. |
Fitting the extractor fan for
the dissecting, washing and laying out rooms of Krematorium II.
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5. |
Fitting an air extractor fan in
the furnace room of Krematorium II. |
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6. |
Fitting an air extraction duct
in the undressing room of Krematorium II. |
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7. |
Testing the ventilation and air
extraction installations of the gas chamber of Krematorium II
[10th and 11th March]. |
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8. |
Bringing into service the
ventilation system of the Krematorium II gas chamber [13th
March]. |
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9. |
Installing the air extractor fan
and duct in the undressing room of Krematorium II. |
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10. |
Fitting the air extraction
system of the Krematorium III furnace room. |
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11. |
Fitting the extractor fan for
the Krematorium III gas chamber. |
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12. |
Repair of the Krematorium II
lift. |
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13. |
Finish fitting the ventilation
system for the undressing room of Krematorium III. |
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14. |
Fitting the extractor fan for
the dissecting, washing and laying out rooms of Krematorium III.
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15. |
Changing the extractor fan of
the Krematorium II gas chamber. |
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16. |
Fitting Krematorium III
lift. |
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| COMMENTS |
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Henryk Tauber, a former member of the Sonderkommado of
Krematorium II, testified that:
On 4th March 1943, he
and his companions lit the hearths of the five furnaces in the
morning and kept them going until 4 pm. Then 45 gassed victims, well
fleshed, brought from Bunker 2 were incinerated, three per muffle in
the 15 muffles of Krematorium II. The operation took 40 minutes and
was carried out in the presence of members of the political section
of the camp, high-ranking SS officers and civilians and Topf
engineers.
The furnaces were kept going for ten days, without
any further cremations.
In the evening of Sunday 14th March,
1500 Cracow Jews were gassed Leichenkeller I after having undressed
in a provisional undressing hut erected in the yard of Krematorium
II.
The dates given by Tauber and those of Messing's
timesheets coincide perfectly. The originals [Documents 29 to
33], were filled in in green pencil by Messing. His working days
were very long, eleven hours on average. Sundays he worked only
eight hours, but counted double. On 10th March at the beginning of
the “tests” on Leichenkeller 1, he worked sixteen hours, and on the
13th, when the installation came into service, fifteen hours. These
are the longest days worked during the five months he spent at
Auschwitz. It is now easy to understand why — the SS were in a
terrible hurry.
It is likely that Messing filled in his
timesheets not every day, but at the end of the week. He does not
use the term “Auskleidekeller” until after 8th Match (or 14th
if he filled in his timesheets on the Sunday), as soon the function
of Leichenkeller 2 became obvious to him. The provisional undressing
hut in the yard was used only until Messing finished his work in
Leichenkeller 2, when it became redundant and was dismantled.
I have no idea what Messing must have thought as he was
installing the motors, blowers, valves and ducts of the ventilation
systems [Document 34] After 15th March he could not have any
doubts about the final destination of his work. As the first
civilian witness of large scale gassing he must have spoken about it
to his family and friends on his return to Erfurt. The telegram of
26th February 1943 proves that Topf & Sons were very much
involved in the technical implementation of the gassing system.
Compromising themselves with the SS in what they did “by order” and,
what is even worse, solely for commercial gain, resulted in 1945 in
the suicide of the managing Director Ludwig Topf Junior whose
“nerves had gone to pieces” [Weimar State Archives, Bestand Topf
& Sons No. 2/555, Aktennotiz of 11th October 1945] and the
arrest by the Russians, in the afternoon of 4th March 1946, of Kurt
Prüfer, head of the D.I V, or cremation installations, division of
this firm [same source, Aktennotiz registered on 24th April
1946].
In conclusion, a civilian not employed by KL
Auschwitz, in his timesheets, FIVE times called Leichenkeller 2
[i.e. one of the underground morgues] of Krematorium II and TWICE
that of Krematorium III the “undressing cellar”. The chronology
of his work confirms that the 10 GAS DETECTORS requested for
Krematorium II were used to test the ventilation of its gas
chamber. |
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Document 28:
[page 48 of Bw
30/34].
The telegram requesting immediate dispatch of
10 gas detectors. |
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The inscriptions written in green ink are by Ing.
Sachbearbeiter Jährling, a civilian heating engineer attached to
the technical section of the Bauleitung and in charge of the
documentation concerning Krematorium construction. As from January
1943, he was responsible for putting in order the correspondence
concerning these buildings under the overall responsibility, it
would appear, of Ustuf Kirschneck. It is Jährling who calculated
the (theoretical coke) consumption of the Krematorien, making a
mistake which earned him a reprimand from Kirschneck.
This
telegram, standing out from the other BW 30/34 documents, was an
enigma. Why would the Bauleitung ask for an 10 GAS DETECTORS from
Topf, A FURNACE MANUFACTURER? Topf was neither Degesch nor Tesch
und Stabenow, manufacturers and distributors of Zyklon-B. Two
solutions were possible: detection of the products of combustion,
such as CO or CO2 in the furnace room, or residual presence of HCN
in the Krematorium II (BW 30) gas chamber. The timesheets make it
possible to understand the exact significance of this telegram. On
24th and 25th February 1943, Messing was refitting an air
extractor fan for Leichenkeller I. The gas chamber appears to be
operational. SS Second Lieutenant Kirschneck on the evening of the
26th sends a telegram for the immediate dispatch of “Gasprüfer” to
an enterprise specialised in the manufacture of furnaces and
boilers. Topf will necessarily have to sub-contract this order.
Between 1st and 7th March Messing completes all the installations
of Leichenkeller 1. On 10th and 11th the “Gasprüfer” must have
arrived, because they proceed to “tests”. What tests? Surely
determining the quantity of Zyklon-B to be used then, after
ventilation, measuring the residual presence of toxic gas. By the
13th, everything is in order and the gas chamber is ready for
work. On the evening of the 14th, it is inaugurated by 1500 Cracow
Jews.
This implacable and irrefutable sequence of events,
putting in its proper context the little copy of the telegram sent
on 26th February 1943 at 18.20 hours, demonstrates the guilt of
Messrs Topf the preparation of the gas chambers and proves that
the “10 Gasprüfer” are damning evidence in the demonstration of
the existence of homicidal gas chambers in the Krematorien.
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AUSCHWITZ:
Technique
and operation
of the gas chambers
Jean-Claude Pressac
© 1989, The
Beate Klarsfeld Foundation |
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