
Newsgroups: alt.revisionism
Subject: EIGHT MONTHS OF MYOPIA [LARGE PRINT VERSION]
Summary: In the American tradition, this article is reposted in
LARGE PRINT, so Greg Raven can read it without his spectacles...
Reply-To: KMCVAY@ONEB.ALMANAC.BC.CA
Followup-To: alt.revisionism
Organization: THE OLD FROG'S ALMANAC, VANCOUVER ISLAND, CANADA
Keywords: MYOPIA
Archive/File: holocaust/usa/ihr raven.002
Last-Modified: 1994/12/04
[CHANGE IN SUBJECT: ONLY. EVERYTHING BELOW THIS POINT IS AS IT
WAS ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED TO THE NET ON MAY 4, EXCEPT THAT THE
ARTICLE HAS BEEN ADAPTED TO SUIT MR. RAVEN'S APPARENT MYOPIA]
FROM: K044477@HOBBES.KZOO.EDU (JAMIE R. MCCARTHY)
SUBJECT: A RESPONSE TO GREG RAVEN'S REQUEST
MESSAGE-ID: <1994MAY4.183336.1331@HOBBES.KZOO.EDU>
DATE: WED, 4 MAY 1994 18:33:36 GMT
LINES: 631
ON APRIL 20TH, GREG RAVEN POSTED A CHALLENGE. HE ASSERTED, WITHOUT
EVIDENCE, THAT THE HOLOCAUST NEVER HAPPENED - AND HE CHALLENGED THOSE
OF US WHO DISAGREE TO _PROVE_OTHERWISE_!
THINGS ARE CERTAINLY GETTING INTERESTING, NOW THAT THE INSTITUTE FOR
HISTORICAL REVIEW HAS AN IMPORTANT MEMBER ON THE NET. PERHAPS, SOON, THE
FLAT-EARTH SOCIETY WILL ENTER INTO SCI.GEOLOGY DISCUSSIONS AND ASK THE
PARTICIPANTS TO "PROVIDE EVIDENCE" THAT THE PLANET IS A SPHERE. THEN, THE
EDITORIAL BOARD OF THE NATIONAL ENQUIRER WILL ASK THE READERS OF REC.MUSIC
TO "PROVIDE EVIDENCE" THAT ELVIS IS NOT BEING HELD IN SUSPENDED ANIMATION
AT THE NORTH POLE BY SPACE ALIENS.
BUT PREPOSTEROUS CHALLENGES LIKE THOSE COULD BE SIMPLY CROSS-POSTED TO
ALT.USENET.KOOKS AND LAUGHED OFF. SADLY, THE EQUALLY-PREPOSTEROUS
CLAIMS OF GREG RAVEN AND HIS COMPATRIOTS CANNOT. THEY ARE A SERIOUS
MATTER, AND MUST BE ADDRESSED SERIOUSLY.
GREG RAVEN WROTE:
>...I WOULD LIKE TO GET THIS
>DISCUSSION BACK ON TRACK, AT LEAST AS FAR AS HOLOCAUST REVISIONISM IS
>CONCERNED..... TO THIS END, I WOULD LIKE TO MAKE A FEW SIMPLE STATEMENTS
>CONCERNING MY POSITION, AND THEN ASK FOR A FAIRLY SPECIFIC RESPONSE, IN
>ORDER TO PREVENT A SPLINTERING OF DISCUSSIONS AND ENERGIES.
WE WELCOME FOCUS. EDUCATION IS OUR GOAL, AND CONFUSION HINDERS EDUCATION.
>FIRST, I DO NOT DENY THE HOLOCAUST HAPPENED. LET ME REPEAT THAT. I DO NOT
>DENY THE HOLOCAUST HAPPENED. FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS DISCUSSION, I AM
>USING A FAIRLY GENERIC DEFINITION OF THE WORD "HOLOCAUST," WHICH IS "THE
>MURDER OF SIX MILLION JEWS AS A CENTRAL ACT OF STATE BY THE NAZIS DURING
>THE SECOND WORLD WAR, MANY IN GAS CHAMBERS." IF ANYONE HAS A PROBLEM WITH
>THIS DEFINITION, I INVITE YOU TO PROVIDE YOUR VERSION.
>
>SECOND, HERE IS WHAT HOLOCAUST REVISIONISTS REALLY SAY: THE JEWS OF EUROPE
>SUFFERED A GREAT TRAGEDY BEFORE AND DURING THE SECOND WORLD WAR. MANY WERE
>MISTREATED, AND MANY DIED UNDER HORRIFIC CONDITIONS. HOWEVER, A) THERE IS
>NO EVIDENCE THAT THE NAZIS HAD A PLAN OR POLICY OF EXTERMINATING THE JEWS,
>B) THERE IS NO EVIDENCE THAT THERE WERE HOMICIDAL GAS CHAMBERS FOR MURDER
>JEWS, AND C) THE FIGURE OF SIX MILLION JEWISH VICTIMS IS AN EXAGGERATION.
>
>I IMAGINE THAT SOME OF YOU WILL TAKE EXCEPTION TO AT LEAST SOME OF THESE
>STATEMENTS. WHAT I ASK FROM THOSE WHO DO IS SIMPLY THIS: PROVIDE ME WITH
>WHAT YOU THINK IS THE ONE OR TWO BEST PIECES OF EVIDENCE THAT THE NAZIS HAD
>A PLAN TO EXTERMINATE MILLIONS OF JEWS IN HOMICIDAL GAS CHAMBERS. ONCE YOU
>PROVIDE WHAT YOU THINK IS THE BEST EVIDENCE, I WILL RESPOND.
>
>YOU WILL NOTE THAT I DO NOT WANT LONG COLLAGES CONSISTING OF SNIPPETS OF
>SPEECHES, FRAGMENTS OF DOCUMENTS, ETC. I WANT ONE OR TWO PIECES OF
>EVIDENCE. I WILL NOT CONSIDER PERSONAL ATTACKS, DISCUSSIONS OF RACE,
>DISCUSSIONS ABOUT THE META-MEANING OF HOLOCAUST "DENIAL," OR OTHER
>NON-SUBSTANTIVE, OFF-TOPIC POSTS TO ADDRESS THE ISSUE AT HAND. I LOOK
>FORWARD TO HEARING FROM ALL WHO HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY.
>
>P.S. I DO NOT HAVE A LOT OF TIME TO PUT INTO THIS DISCUSSION, BUT I WILL DO
>THE BEST I CAN. I HOPE YOU UNDERSTAND, AND TRY NOT TO GET TOO SURLY WITH ME
>IF I SKIP A DAY OR TWO WHILE I ATTEMPT TO MEET MY MANY DEADLINES.
>
>GREG RAVEN
>GREG.IHR@KAIWAN.COM
POINT ONE:
IT IS NOT FOR _RAVEN_ TO BE CHALLENGING _US_.
NO REPUTABLE HISTORIAN BELIEVES THE CLAIMS IN HIS FOURTH PARAGRAPH - THAT
MUCH QUICKLY BECOMES CLEAR TO ANYONE TAKING THE TIME TO RESEARCH THE
MATTER. THE HOLOCAUST, THE DELIBERATE MURDER OF ABOUT SIX MILLION JEWS
ALONG WITH ABOUT FIVE MILLION OTHERS, IS A HISTORICAL FACT, AS CERTAIN AND
UNDENIABLE AS WORLD WAR II ITSELF.
SUPPOSE A COMPETENT ADULT SAID TO YOU "I DO NOT BELIEVE THAT THE UNITED
STATES EVER LANDED A PERSON ON THE MOON - PLEASE PRESENT YOUR BEST
EVIDENCE THAT THEY DID." WHERE TO BEGIN? YOU WOULD HAVE TO BEGIN WITH
THE QUESTION THAT COMES TO MIND, WHICH IS "WHY DOES THIS PERSON CONTRADICT
EVERY AUTHORITY ON THE SUBJECT?" WE NEED MORE INFORMATION FROM MR. RAVEN.
WE NEED TO KNOW WHY HE DOUBTS THE THOUSANDS OF TESTIMONIALS, THE PHYSICAL
EVIDENCE STILL PRESENT HALF A CENTURY LATER, THE CONFESSIONS, THE MEMOS,
THE LETTERS, THE RECORDINGS - THE TONS UPON TONS OF EVIDENCE THAT
INEVITABLY COLLECTS AFTER ANY HISTORICAL CALAMITY OF SUCH A SCALE. IT IS
THERE, IT IS IRREFUTABLE, WHY ON EARTH DOES HE DOUBT ITS VERACITY?
NOW, OF COURSE, WE ARE NOT NAIVE. WE HAVE SEEN ENOUGH OF THE IHR'S
MATERIAL TO GUESS MUCH OF WHAT HE WILL SAY ON ANY GIVEN TOPIC.
BUT THE BURDEN OF PROOF IS _HIS_. REALITY DOES NOT NEED TO BE PINNED DOWN
- IT'S AVAILABLE, IN AS MUCH DETAIL AS DESIRED, TO ANYONE WITH THE TIME TO
VISIT A LIBRARY. MR. RAVEN'S CLAIMS, HOWEVER, ARE AT THIS POINT
IMPOSSIBLY, AND PERHAPS DELIBERATELY, VAGUE.
THEREFORE, WE POSE THE QUESTION AS IT SHOULD BE. WHAT WE ASK FROM HIM
(OR ANYONE WHO DENIES THE HOLOCAUST) IS SIMPLY THIS: PROVIDE US WITH WHAT
HE THINKS ARE THE ONE OR TWO BEST PIECES OF EVIDENCE THAT THE NAZIS DID
_NOT_ EXTERMINATE MILLIONS OF PEOPLE IN HOMICIDAL GAS CHAMBERS. ONCE HE
PROVIDES WHAT HE THINKS IS THE BEST EVIDENCE, WE WILL RESPOND.
FOR THE LAST TWO YEARS, REPEATEDLY, JAMIE MCCARTHY HAS BEEN ASKING THIS
QUESTION OF DAN GANNON, BOTH ON USENET AND ON GANNON'S PERSONAL BBS. HE
HAS YET TO RECEIVE AN ANSWER. WE HOPE MR. RAVEN WILL BETTER ASSIST US.
POINT TWO:
IN HIS EFFORTS TO WHITEWASH HOLOCAUST-DENIAL, MR. RAVEN HAS POSTED A
GLARING CONTRADICTION, PERHAPS WITHOUT EVEN NOTICING THAT HE'S DONE SO.
HIS THIRD PARAGRAPH DEFINES "HOLOCAUST" AS "THE MURDER OF SIX MILLION JEWS
AS A CENTRAL ACT OF STATE BY THE NAZIS DURING THE SECOND WORLD WAR, MANY
IN GAS CHAMBERS." (THIS DEFINITION WILL SUFFICE, BUT WE WILL CONCERN
OURSELVES WITH _ALL_ THE VICTIMS OF THE NAZI MASS MURDERERS - THEY TOOK
THE LIVES OF ABOUT FIVE MILLION NON-JEWS, AS WELL.) AND HE WRITES, TWICE,
"I DO NOT DENY THE HOLOCAUST HAPPENED."
THEN, IN HIS FOURTH PARAGRAPH, HE DENIES THE HOLOCAUST HAPPENED. HE WRITES
THAT "THERE IS NO EVIDENCE THAT THE NAZIS HAD A PLAN OR POLICY OF
EXTERMINATING THE JEWS." HE WRITES THAT "THERE IS NO EVIDENCE THAT THERE
WERE HOMICIDAL GAS CHAMBERS FOR MURDER [SIC] JEWS." AND HE WRITES THAT
"THE FIGURE OF SIX MILLION JEWISH VICTIMS IS AN EXAGGERATION."
ONE WONDERS HOW HE WILL RECONCILE THESE TWO OPPOSING VIEWPOINTS.
WE SUSPECT THAT HE WOULD LIKE US TO BELIEVE THAT HE DOES NOT DENY THE
HOLOCAUST - RATHER, THAT HE MERELY HAS AN "OPEN MIND" ON THE SUBJECT,
AND IS SIMPLY WAITING TO SEE SUFFICIENT EVIDENCE EITHER WAY.
OF COURSE, THAT WOULD FOOL NO ONE. THE READERS OF ALT.REVISIONISM HAVE
SEEN MR. RAVEN'S NAME ON ENOUGH ARTICLES FROM THE IHR TO KNOW WHAT HIS
BELIEFS ARE. THEY'VE READ COMMENTS FROM HIM ON THE GENIE NETWORK SAYING
THAT HITLER WAS A "GREAT MAN, THE BEST THING THAT COULD HAVE HAPPENED TO
GERMANY." HIS MIND IS CLEARLY MADE UP.
WHAT SHOULD WE THINK IF WE ENCOUNTERED SOMEONE WHO CLAIMED: "BASED ON
INTENSE STUDIES FOR THE LAST TWENTY YEARS, I DO NOT BELIEVE THAT THE
UNITED STATES EVER LANDED A PERSON ON THE MOON - BUT MY MIND IS OPEN ON
THE SUBJECT." WE WOULD CONCLUDE, OF COURSE: THAT PERSON IS NOT MERELY
WRONG, THAT PERSON IS ALSO DELIBERATELY MISREPRESENTING HIS OR HER
BELIEFS, FOR SOME REASON.
POINT THREE:
WE UNDERSTAND RAVEN'S PLEA THAT HE DOES NOT HAVE "A LOT OF TIME TO PUT INTO
THIS DISCUSSION." WE KNOW WHERE HE'S COMING FROM. WE HAVE FULL-TIME
OCCUPATIONS THAT DEMAND MOST OF OUR SCHEDULE. ALL OF OUR EFFORTS TO
COMBAT HOLOCAUST-DENIAL ARE IN OUR SPARE TIME; NONE OF US HAS BEEN PAID A
DIME FOR DOING IT.
GREG RAVEN, ON THE OTHER HAND, IS AN EDITOR AT THE INSTITUTE FOR HISTORICAL
REVIEW, THE LARGEST HOLOCAUST-DENIAL-PROMOTING ORGANIZATION IN THE WORLD.
HIS EMAIL ADDRESS IS "GREG.IHR". HE ARE UNQUESTIONABLY A PROFESSIONAL AT
THIS - HE DOES IT FOR A LIVING. WE WONDER HOW MUCH HE GETS PAID.
AND, WE HOPE HE WON'T USE HIS OTHER COMMITMENTS AS AN EXCUSE TO BACK OUT OF
THIS DISCUSSION.
POINT FOUR:
AS WE SAY - THIS IS A SERIOUS MATTER, AND MUST BE DEALT WITH SERIOUSLY.
WE KNOW THE HOLOCAUST HAPPENED; IT'S UNDENIABLE. "HOW DO WE KNOW?" IS A
VALID QUESTION - IT'S MORE OF AN EPISTEMOLOGICAL THAN A HISTORICAL
QUESTION, BUT IT'S VALID NONETHELESS. "HOW DO WE KNOW THAT WASHINGTON WAS
THE FIRST PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES?" IS AN EQUALLY VALID QUESTION.
WE KNOW BECAUSE WE HAVE _TREMENDOUS_ AMOUNTS OF EVIDENCE TELLING US SO.
GREG RAVEN HAS, IN JUST A FEW WEEKS' TIME ON USENET, ALREADY EXHIBITED
A TENDENCY TO DOWNPLAY THE AMOUNT OF EVIDENCE. THIS IS ONE OF THE BASIC
TRICKS OF HOLOCAUST-DENIERS: CHANGE THE WORD "TREMENDOUS" ABOVE TO
"NOT MUCH," AND HOPE NO ONE WILL NOTICE. THEN, ATTACK THE "NOT MUCH."
FOR EXAMPLE, HE WROTE (THROUGH ROSS VICKSELL): "THE GERMANS WERE QUITE
GOOD ABOUT DOCUMENTING EVERYTHING ELSE (WE KNOW ALMOST TO THE PENNY HOW
MUCH THEY SPENT ON DOG KENNELS, FOR EXAMPLE), YET NOTHING ABOUT AN
EXTERMINATION PROGRAM." THIS IS A LIE: WE KNOW A _TREMENDOUS_ AMOUNT
ABOUT THE DETAILS OF THE VARIOUS EXTERMINATION PROGRAMS.
WHEN PRESENTED WITH A LIST OF THIRTY-FIVE BOOKS OF DOCUMENTATION, GREG'S
RESPONSE WAS "OBVIOUSLY, I CANNOT RESPOND TO EACH DOCUMENT CONTAINED IN
ALL THESE BOOKS YOU MENTION. PLEASE SELECT ONE DOCUMENT...."
NO, MR. RAVEN IS RIGHT - HE _CAN'T_ RESPOND TO EACH DOCUMENT. THERE IS
SIMPLY TOO MUCH EVIDENCE. IT'S OVERWHELMING, IT'S TOO MUCH FOR EVEN
SPECIALIZED HISTORIANS TO TAKE IT ALL IN. THE SIMPLE FACT IS, WE KNOW TOO
MUCH ABOUT THAT PERIOD OF HISTORY FOR HIM OR ANYONE ELSE TO DENY IT.
WE WANT TO STRESS THIS FACT. WE WILL PROVIDE DOCUMENTS TO EXAMINE, AND WE
WILL EVEN TELL MR. RAVEN IN WHICH ORDER HE IS TO EXAMINE THEM. BUT WE
COULD SPEND YEARS DOING IT AND BARELY SCRATCH THE SURFACE. HE HAS ASKED
US TWICE NOW TO PICK A SINGLE SOLITARY DOCUMENT - TO SQUABBLE OVER A TIDE
POOL, AND IGNORE THE VAST OCEAN.
SUPPOSE WE GAVE HIM A MEMO FROM HITLER DETAILING A PLAN TO EXTERMINATE
MILLIONS OF JEWS, AND SUPPOSE HE PROVED CONCLUSIVELY THAT IT WAS A
FORGERY. WHAT WOULD HE HAVE PROVED? NOTHING. NOTHING AT ALL.
D.J. SCHAEFFER ANTICIPATED THIS POSSIBILITY ON APRIL 21ST, WHEN HE
ADDRESSED MR. RAVEN, SAYING:
> I SUSPECT THAT WHAT YOU WANT IS THE OPPORTUNITY TO KNOCK DOWN INDIVIDUAL
> DOCUMENTS, AND DECLARE A REVISIONIST "VICTORY" BY VIRTUE OF HAVING
> ELIMINATED THE "BEST EVIDENCE." AS BARRY SHEIN HAS POINTED OUT HERE,
> HOWEVER, UNLESS YOU CAN ELIMINATE EVERY EYEWITNESS TESTIMONY, EVERY
> DOCUMENT, EVERY PIECE OF EVIDENCE, THEN YOU HAVE NOT DISPROVED THE
> HOLOCAUST.
IT'S WORTH NOTING THAT SCHAEFFER ALSO POINTED OUT RAVEN'S CONTRADICTION,
OUR POINT TWO ABOVE. AND YET RAVEN DISMISSED SCHAEFFER'S ENTIRE ARTICLE
AS "MEANINGLESS." IT IS NOT, OF COURSE, MEANINGLESS - IT'S TRUE, AND IT'S
MEANINGFUL. IT'S JUST THAT MR. RAVEN DOES NOT LIKE THE IMPLICATIONS.
MR. RAVEN WANTS TO CHANNEL "TREMENDOUS" INTO A FEW DOCUMENTS' WORTH OF "NOT
MUCH," AND THEN DEAL ONLY WITH THOSE DOCUMENTS. HE EXPECTS THAT HE'LL BE
ABLE TO QUIBBLE ABOUT THE TRANSLATIONS OF A FEW WORDS, ASK A FEW QUESTIONS
ABOUT AUTHENTICITY, AND THEN DECLARE THAT HE'S CAST DOUBT ON ALL OF THEM,
AND THAT, Q.E.D., THE "BEST EVIDENCE" FOR THE HOLOCAUST IS UNTRUSTWORTHY.
OF COURSE, WE ALL KNOW THAT WON'T WASH. ANYONE COULD DISPROVE ANYTHING
THIS WAY. LET'S TRY AN EXAMPLE, SHALL WE? WE'LL ASK FOR ONE OR TWO
PIECES OF "BEST EVIDENCE" THAT AMERICANS LANDED ON THE MOON. LET'S SAY
WE'RE HANDED A VIDEOTAPE OF THE EVENT AND TESTIMONY FROM NEIL ARMSTRONG
HIMSELF. WE QUESTION THE AUTHENTICITY OF THE TAPE (BLACK AND WHITE
PICTURES ARE EASILY FORGED, JUST LOOK AT THE FILM _2001_) AND THE
QUALIFICATIONS OF THE WITNESS (ANY GROUNDS WILL DO). INSTANTLY, WE'VE CAST
DOUBT UPON THE "BEST EVIDENCE" FOR THE MOON LANDING - AND IF THIS IS THE
_BEST_ EVIDENCE, WHY ALL THE REST OF IT MUST BE EVEN _LESS_ TRUSTWORTHY!
(IT IS, INCIDENTALLY, PERFECTLY ACCEPTABLE FOR _US_ TO ASK _RAVEN_ FOR ONE
OR TWO PIECES OF EVIDENCE. HIS CASE CONSISTS SOLELY OF TRYING TO "KNOCK
HOLES" IN THE EXISTING BODY OF RESEARCH. THE IHR'S NUMEROUS CLAIMS ARE,
FOR THE MOST PART, TOTALLY INDEPENDENT OF ONE ANOTHER - THEY ARE ATTACKS
UPON WHAT IS KNOWN, BUT THEY DO NOT JOIN TOGETHER INTO A COHESIVE THEORY
OF WHAT _DID_ HAPPEN TO THOSE ELEVEN MILLION PEOPLE IN THE EARLY 1940S.
THE CASE OF THE HOLOCAUST-DENIERS IS NOTHING BUT ARTILLERY SHELLS FIRED AT
THE ESTABLISHMENT, AND THERE'S NOTHING WRONG WITH US ASKING THEM TO NAME
WHICH OF THOSE SHELLS THEY FIND MOST EFFECTIVE. BUT THEY WON'T WANT TO
PICK ANY ONE OF THEM, BECAUSE, UPON EXAMINATION, THEY ALL TURN OUT TO BE
MADE OF MARSHMALLOWS, AND THEIR ONLY VIABLE STRATEGY IS TO KEEP FIRING
MORE AND MORE OF THEM.)
WE HAVE NOT GONE INTO DETAIL ABOUT THE MOON LANDING, WHEREAS MR. RAVEN AND
HIS COLLEAGUES HAVE NOTHING _BUT_ DETAILS. THAT IS THE ONLY DIFFERENCE
BETWEEN OUR EXAMPLE AND THE TECHNIQUE USED BY HOLOCAUST-DENIERS.
WE WOULD HOPE THAT ANY REASONABLE OBSERVER, AND INDEED MOST UNREASONABLE
ONES, WOULD BE TOO SMART TO FALL FOR SUCH A SIMPLE TRICK, AND THAT THERE
WOULD BE NO NEED TO WASTE TIME WITH ANSWERS TO SUCH SOPHISTRY.
UNFORTUNATELY, THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT HITLER'S "BIG LIE" TECHNIQUE COUNTED
ON - REPEAT A CHARGE LOUD ENOUGH AND OFTEN ENOUGH, HOPING THAT ANY LACK OF
RESPONSE WILL LEAD PEOPLE TO CONCLUDE THAT IT MUST THEREFORE BE TRUE. IT
IS FOR THIS REASON, AND THIS REASON ALONE, THAT WE RESPOND TO GREG RAVEN
AND HIS ILK.
SO, WE WILL INDEED GIVE HIM A DOCUMENT WHICH WE FEEL FAIRLY REPRESENTS THE
MASSIVE COLLECTION OF CONCLUSIVE EVIDENCE THAT THE HOLOCAUST HAPPENED. AND
THEN WE WILL GIVE HIM ANOTHER. AND ANOTHER, AND ANOTHER - BECAUSE THEY
ARE ALL EVIDENCE: STATEMENTS FROM HOESS AND HIMMLER AND BOECK AND BROAD
AND KREMER AND GLOWAKCI AND OTHERS INVOLVED IN THE PROCESS, EYEWITNESS
ACCOUNTS FROM WIESENTHAL AND KOGON AND WIESEL AND BUKI AND THE PAISIKOVICS
AND MUELLER AND DRAGON AND ROSENBLUM AND NYIZLI AND SILBERBERG AND
MANDELBAUM AND THE THOUSANDS UPON TENS OF THOUSANDS OF RELATIVELY-UNKNOWN
OTHERS, PLANS FOR THE CHAMBERS, PLANS FOR THE VEHICLES, ORDERS FOR THE
EQUIPMENT, INVENTORIES OF THE KREMATORIA, LETTERS TO THE GOVERNMENT,
LETTERS FROM THE GOVERNMENT, LETTERS BETWEEN GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS,
MEMORANDUMS, REPORTS, DIAGRAMS, CHARTS, SPEECHES, STATISTICS, DIARIES...
WE ARE QUITE SURE THAT HE WILL ATTEMPT TO EXPLAIN AWAY AS MANY OF THESE AS
HE CAN. BUT THIS IS ONE OF HIS MAIN ERRORS: WHILE ONE OR TWO DIE THROWS
CANNOT CONCLUSIVELY PROVE THAT THE DICE ARE LOADED, ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND
CONSECUTIVE THROWS OF 7 CANNOT POSSIBLY BE ANYTHING BUT. AND EACH TIME HE
MAKES THIS ERROR, OR COMMITS SOME OTHER FALLACY, OR MAKES ANOTHER
UNSUBSTANTIATED ASSERTION, OR CONTRADICTS HIMSELF, WE WILL BE THERE TO
POINT IT OUT.
WE ENCOURAGE HIM TO WASTE AS MUCH TIME AS HE LIKES, BUT WE'LL WARN HIM:
THERE IS TOO MUCH EVIDENCE, AND WE'VE SEEN ALL HIS TRICKS. HE CAN'T WIN.
FOLLOWING ARE DOCUMENTS THAT DEMONSTRATE THAT, IN HIS WORDS, "THE NAZIS HAD
A PLAN TO EXTERMINATE MILLIONS OF JEWS IN HOMICIDAL GAS CHAMBERS." PLEASE
NOTE THAT SEVERAL OF THEM REFER INSTEAD TO THE PLAN ACTUALLY BEING CARRIED
OUT, A TECHNICAL QUIBBLE WHICH WE HOPE MR. RAVEN WILL FORGIVE.
WE ASK MR. RAVEN TO PLEASE APPLY HIMSELF FIRST TO DOCUMENT ONE. WHEN HE
HAS FINISHED ATTEMPTING TO CONVINCE HIS AUDIENCE THAT DOCUMENT ONE DOES
NOT SUIT HIS NEEDS, THEN HE MAY PROCEED ON TO DOCUMENT TWO, AND SO ON
UNTIL HE REACHES THE END OF THE LIST. WE WOULD HOPE THAT MR. RAVEN WOULD
LIMIT HIS ANSWERS TO ONE DOCUMENT PER POSTED ARTICLE, TO FACILITATE ANY
FURTHER DISCUSSION THAT MAY TAKE PLACE, AND THAT HE WOULD ENUMERATE HIS
POINTS, AS WE HAVE DONE HERE. AS WE SAY - WE WELCOME FOCUS.
DOCUMENT ONE:
WE BEGIN WITH THE DOCUMENT THAT WAS PRESENTED TO THE NAZI ERNST ZUENDEL ON
THE "60 MINUTES" TELEVISION SHOW. IT IS A SPEECH DELIVERED BY HEINRICH
HIMMLER. THE SPEECH WAS BOTH TRANSCRIBED AND RECORDED; WE HAVE THE
RECORDING IN THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES IN WASHINGTON, D.C., AND WE HAVE
HIMMLER'S NOTES FOR THE SPEECH. INDEED, MOST HOLOCAUST-DENIERS ACCEPT
THIS DOCUMENT AS VALID (WITH THE NOTABLE EXCEPTION OF OUR OWN MILTON
"HERMANN" KLEIM).
THE SPEECH IS QUITE FAMOUS AND ITS TEXT MAY BE FOUND IN MANY SOURCES,
FOR EXAMPLE IN THE BOOK _TRIALS OF WAR CRIMINALS BEFORE THE NUERNBERG
MILITARY TRIBUNALS_, PUBLISHED BY THE U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE,
1949-1953.
SPEECHES BY REICHSFUEHRER-SS HIMMLER BEFORE SENIOR SS OFFICERS IN POZNAN.
OCTOBER 4 AND 6, 1943.
I AM REFERRING HERE TO THE EVACUATION OF THE JEWS, THE ELIMINATION
OF THE JEWISH PEOPLE. THIS IS ONE OF THE THINGS THAT IS EASILY SAID:
"THE JEWISH PEOPLE ARE GOING TO BE EXTERMINATED," THAT'S WHAT EVERY
PARTY MEMBER SAYS, "SURE, IT'S IN OUR PROGRAM, ELIMINATION OF THE
JEWS, EXTERMINATION - IT'LL BE DONE." AND THEN THEY ALL COME ALONG,
THE 80 MILLION WORTHY GERMANS, AND EACH ONE HAS HIS ONE DECENT JEW.
OF COURSE, THE OTHERS ARE SWINE, BUT THIS ONE, HE IS A FIRST-RATE
JEW. OF ALL THOSE WHO TALK LIKE THIS, NOT ONE HAS SEEN IT HAPPEN,
NOT ONE HAS HAD TO GO THROUGH WITH IT. MOST OF YOU MEN KNOW WHAT
IT IS LIKE TO SEE 100 CORPSES SIDE BY SIDE, OR 500, OR 1000. TO HAVE
STOOD FAST THROUGH THIS AND - EXCEPT FOR CASES OF HUMAN WEAKNESS - TO
HAVE STAYED DECENT, THAT HAS MADE US HARD.
I ASK OF YOU THAT WHAT I SAY IN THIS CIRCLE YOU REALLY ONLY HEAR AND
NEVER SPEAK ABOUT. WE COME TO THE QUESTION: HOW IS IT WITH THE WOMEN
AND CHILDREN? I HAVE RESOLVED EVEN HERE ON A COMPLETELY CLEAR
SOLUTION. THAT IS TO SAY, I DO NOT CONSIDER MYSELF JUSTIFIED IN
ERADICATING THE MEN - SO TO SPEAK KILLING OR ORDERING THEM KILLED
- AND ALLOWING THE CHILDREN TO GROW UP AND AVENGE OUR SONS AND
GRANDSONS. THE DIFFICULT DECISION HAS TO BE TAKEN, TO CAUSE THIS
RACE TO DISAPPEAR FROM THE EARTH.
DOCUMENT TWO:
>FROM THE BOOK _HITLER AND THE FINAL SOLUTION_ BY G. FLEMING, UNIVERSITY OF
CALIFORNIA PRESS, 1984, P. 142.
REPORT ENTITLED "RESETTLEMENT OF JEWS" WRITTEN BY SS-STURMBANNFUEHRER
GRICKSCH FOR SS-COL. VON HERFF AND REICHSFUEHRER-SS HIMMLER, AFTER
INSPECTION OF THE AUSCHWITZ CAMP ON MAY 14-16, 1943.
THE UNFIT GO TO CELLARS IN A LARGE HOUSE WHICH ARE ENTERED FROM
OUTSIDE. THEY GO DOWN FIVE OR SIX STEPS INTO A FAIRLY LONG,
WELL-CONSTRUCTED AND WELL-VENTILATED CELLAR AREA, WHICH IS LINED WITH
BENCHES TO THE LEFT AND RIGHT. IT IS BRIGHTLY LIT, AND THE BENCHES
ARE NUMBERED. THE PRISONERS ARE TOLD THAT THEY ARE TO BE CLEANSED
AND DISINFECTED FOR THEIR NEW ASSIGNMENTS. THEY MUST THEREFORE
COMPLETELY UNDRESS TO BE BATHED. TO AVOID PANIC AND TO PREVENT
DISTURBANCES OF ANY KIND, THEY ARE INSTRUCTED TO ARRANGE THEIR
CLOTHING NEATLY UNDER THEIR RESPECTIVE NUMBERS, SO THAT THEY WILL
BE ABLE TO FIND THEIR THINGS AGAIN AFTER THEIR BATH. EVERYTHING
PROCEEDS IN A PERFECTLY ORDERLY FASHION. THEN THEY PASS THROUGH
A SMALL CORRIDOR AND ENTER A LARGE CELLAR ROOM WHICH RESEMBLES A
SHOWER BATH. IN THIS ROOM ARE THREE LARGE PILLARS, INTO WHICH
CERTAIN MATERIALS CAN BE LOWERED FROM OUTSIDE THE CELLAR ROOM. WHEN
THREE- TO FOUR-HUNDRED PEOPLE HAVE BEEN HERDED INTO THIS ROOM, THE
DOORS ARE SHUT, AND CONTAINERS FILLED WITH THE SUBSTANCES ARE DROPPED
DOWN INTO THE PILLARS. AS SOON AS THE CONTAINERS TOUCH THE BASE
OF THE PILLARS, THEY RELEASE PARTICULAR SUBSTANCES THAT PUT THE
PEOPLE TO SLEEP IN ONE MINUTE. A FEW MINUTES LATER, THE DOOR OPENS ON
THE OTHER SIDE, WHERE THE ELEVATOR IS LOCATED.... THEN THE CORPSES
ARE LOADED INTO ELEVATORS AND BROUGHT UP TO THE FIRST FLOOR, WHERE
TEN LARGE CREMATORIA ARE LOCATED. (BECAUSE FRESH CORPSES BURN
PARTICULARLY WELL, ONLY 50-100 LBS. OF COKE ARE NEEDED FOR THE WHOLE
PROCESS.) THE JOB ITSELF IS PERFORMED BY JEWISH PRISONERS, WHO NEVER
STEP OUTSIDE THIS CAMP AGAIN.
DOCUMENT THREE:
>FROM THE BOOK _THE GOEBBELS DIARIES 1942-1943_, EDITED BY L.P. LOCHNER,
DOUBLEDAY & CO., 1948, P. 86.
GOEBBELS' DIARY, FEBRUARY 14, 1942.
WORLD JEWRY WILL SUFFER A GREAT CATASTROPHE AT THE SAME TIME AS
BOLSHEVISM. THE FUEHRER ONCE MORE EXPRESSED HIS DETERMINATION TO
CLEAN UP THE JEWS IN EUROPE PITILESSLY. THERE MUST BE NO SQUEAMISH
SENTIMENTALISM ABOUT IT. THE JEWS HAVE DESERVED THE CATASTROPHE THAT
HAS NOW OVERTAKEN THEM. THEIR DESTRUCTION WILL NOW GO HAND IN HAND
WITH THE DESTRUCTION OF OUR ENEMIES. WE MUST HASTEN THIS PROCESS
WITH COLD RUTHLESSNESS.
MARCH 26, 1942.
BEGINNING WITH LUBLIN, THE JEWS IN THE GENERAL GOVERNMENT [POLAND] ARE
NOW BEING EVACUATED EASTWARD. THE PROCEDURE IS A PRETTY BARBARIC ONE
AND NOT TO BE DESCRIBED HERE MORE DEFINITELY. NOT MUCH WILL REMAIN
OF THE JEWS. ON THE WHOLE IT CAN BE SAID THAT ABOUT 60 PER CENT
OF THEM WILL HAVE TO BE LIQUIDATED WHEREAS ONLY 40 PER CENT CAN
BE USED FOR FORCED LABOR.
DOCUMENT FOUR:
HOESS' MEMOIRS DESCRIBE THE GASSING PROCESS CLEARLY AND UNAMBIGUOUSLY IN
MANY PLACES. HERE IS ONE EXAMPLE. THE MEMOIRS WERE PUBLISHED, AMONG
OTHER PLACES, IN THE BOOK _KOMMANDANT IN AUSCHWITZ_, BY RUDOLF HOESS,
DEUTSCHE VERLAGSANSTALT, STUTTGART, 1958. ENGLISH TRANSLATION _COMMANDANT
OF AUSCHWITZ: THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF RUDOLF HOESS_, WORLD PRESS, CLEVELAND,
1959, P. 123F.
ON THE RAILROAD RAMP THE JEWS, WHO UP TILL THEN HAD BEEN UNDER THE
SUPERVISION OF THE STATE POLICE, WERE TAKEN OVER BY A SQUAD FROM THE
CAMP. THEY WERE LED BY THE HEAD OF THE DETENTION CAMP, IN TWO
DETACHMENTS, TO THE BUNKER. THAT WAS WHAT WE CALLED THE EXTERMINATION
INSTALLATIONS. THE LUGGAGE STAYED ON THE RAMP, FROM WHERE IT WAS
CARRIED TO THE SORTING AREA - CALLED KANADA - BETWEEN THE BUILDINGS
OF THE DAW [WEAPONS FACTORY] AND THE COURTYARD. THE JEWS HAD TO
UNDRESS NEAR THE BUNKER. THEY WERE TOLD THAT THEY HAD TO GO INTO
WHAT WERE CALLED DELOUSING ROOMS. ALL THESE ROOMS, FIVE IN ALL, WERE
FILLED SIMULTANEOUSLY. THE DOORS WERE HERMETICALLY SEALED, AND THE
CONTENTS OF THE CANS OF GAS WERE DROPPED IN THROUGH THE HOLES IN THE
CEILING PROVIDED FOR THIS PURPOSE.
HALF AN HOUR LATER THE DOORS WERE OPENED; THERE WERE TWO IN EACH
ROOM. THE CORPSES WERE REMOVED AND TAKEN TO THE DITCHES ON TIP WAGONS
THAT RAN ON RAILS. TRUCKS CARRIED THE CLOTHES TO THE SORTING AREA.
ALL THE WORK, INCLUDING HELP IN UNDRESSING, FILLING THE BUNKER,
EMPTYING THE BUNKER, BURYING THE CORPSES, AS WELL AS DIGGING AND
FILLING UP THE MASS GRAVES, WAS DONE BY A SPECIAL DETAIL OF JEWS WHO
WERE HOUSED SEPARATELY AND WHO, IN ACCORDANCE WITH EICHMANN'S
INSTRUCTIONS, WERE ALSO EXTERMINATED AFTER EACH BIG OPERATION.
DOCUMENT FIVE:
HOESS NOT ONLY WROTE MANY PAGES DETAILING THE EXTERMINATION EFFORT, HE
TESTIFIED ABOUT IT UNDER OATH. THIS SEGMENT OF THAT TESTIMONY IS QUOTED
IN _DOCUMENTS ON NAZISM, 1919-1945_, EDITED BY JEREMY NOAKES AND G.
PRIDHAM, VIKING PRESS, NEW YORK, 1974, PP. 490-1.
THE 'FINAL SOLUTION' OF THE JEWISH QUESTION MEANT THE COMPLETE
EXTERMINATION OF ALL JEWS IN EUROPE. I WAS ORDERED TO ESTABLISH
EXTERMINATION FACILITIES AT AUSCHWITZ IN JUNE 1942. AT THAT TIME,
THERE WERE ALREADY IN THE GENERALGOUVERNEMENT [THE AREA OF POLAND NOT
INCORPORATED INTO GERMANY OR RUSSIA] THREE OTHER EXTERMINATION CAMPS
- BELZEC, TREBLINKA, AND WOLZEK. THESE CAMPS WERE UNDER THE COMMAND
OF THE TASK FORCES OF THE SECURITY POLICE AND SD. I VISITED
TREBLINKA TO FIND OUT HOW THEY CARRIED OUT THEIR EXTERMINATION. THE
CAMP COMMANDANT AT TREBLINKA TOLD ME THAT HE HAD LIQUIDATED 80,000 IN
THE COURSE OF SIX MONTHS. HE WAS PRINCIPALLY CONCERNED WITH
LIQUIDATING ALL THE JEWS FROM THE WARSAW GHETTO. HE USED MONOXIDE
GAS AND I DID NOT THINK THAT HIS METHODS WERE VERY EFFICIENT. SO
WHEN I SET UP THE EXTERMINATION BUILDING AT AUSCHWITZ, I USED CYCLON
B, WHICH WAS A CRYSTALLIZED PRUSSIC ACID WHICH WE DROPPED INTO THE
DEATH CHAMBER FROM A SMALL OPENING. IT TOOK FROM THREE TO FIFTEEN
MINUTES TO KILL THE PEOPLE IN THE DEATH CHAMBER, DEPENDING UPON
CLIMATIC CONDITIONS. WE KNEW WHEN THE PEOPLE WERE DEAD BECAUSE THEIR
SCREAMING STOPPED. WE USUALLY WAITED ABOUT HALF AN HOUR BEFORE WE
OPENED THE DOORS AND REMOVED THE BODIES. AFTER THE BODIES WERE
REMOVED OUR SPECIAL SQUADS TOOK OFF THE RINGS AND EXTRACTED THE GOLD
FROM THE TEETH OF THE CORPSES.
ANOTHER IMPROVEMENT ON TREBLINKA THAT WE MADE WAS BUILDING OUR GAS
CHAMBERS TO ACCOMODATE 2000 PEOPLE AT A TIME, WHEREAS AT TREBLINKA
THEIR TEN GAS CHAMBERS ONLY ACCOMODATED 200 PEOPLE EACH. THE WAY WE
SELECTED OUR VICTIMS WAS AS FOLLOWS: WE HAD TWO SS DOCTORS ON DUTY AT
AUSCHWITZ TO EXAMINE THE INCOMING TRANSPORTS OF PRISONERS. THE
PRISONERS WOULD BE MARCHED PAST ONE OF THE DOCTORS WHO WOULD MAKE
SPOT DECISIONS AS THEY WALKED BY. THOSE WHO WERE FIT TO WORK WERE
SENT INTO THE CAMP. OTHERS WERE SENT IMMEDIATELY TO THE
EXTERMINATION PLANTS. CHILDREN OF TENDER YEARS WERE INVARIABLY
EXTERMINATED SINCE BY REASON OF THEIR YOUTH THEY WERE UNABLE TO WORK.
STILL ANOTHER IMPROVEMENT MADE ON TREBLINKA WAS THAT AT TREBLINKA THE
VICTIMS ALMOST ALWAYS KNEW THAT THEY WERE ABOUT TO BE EXTERMINATED
WHEREAS AT AUSCHWITZ WE ENDEAVOURED TO FOOL THE VICTIMS INTO THINKING
THAT THEY WERE TO GO THROUGH A DELOUSING PROCESS. OF COURSE, THEY
OFTEN REALIZED OUR TRUE INTENTIONS AND OWING TO THAT WE SOMETIMES HAD
RIOTS AND DIFFICULTIES. VERY OFTEN WOMEN WOULD HIDE THEIR CHILDREN
UNDER THE CLOTHES BUT OF COURSE WHEN WE FOUND THEM WE WOULD SEND THE
CHILDREN IN TO BE EXTERMINATED. WE WERE REQUIRED TO CARRY OUT THESE
EXTERMINATIONS IN SECRECY BUT OF COURSE THE FOUL AND NAUSEATING
STENCH FROM THE CONTINUOUS BURNING OF BODIES PERMEATED THE ENTIRE
AREA AND ALL THE PEOPLE LIVING IN THE SURROUNDING COMMUNITIES KNEW
THAT EXTERMINATIONS WERE GOING ON AT AUSCHWITZ.
DOCUMENT SIX:
>FROM THE BOOK _THE GOOD OLD DAYS_, BY ERNST KLEE, W. DRESSEN, AND V. RIESS,
THE FREE PRESS, NY, 1988, P. 68.
EREIGNISMLRDUNG UDSSR NO. 128 [OPERATIONAL SITUATION REPORT FROM THE USSR
NO. 128], NOVEMBER 3, 1941.
IN KIEV, DIFFICULTIES THAT AROSE DURING THE EXECUTION OF A MAJOR
ACTION OF THIS TYPE - PARTICULARLY WITH REGARD TO REGISTRATION - WERE
OVERCOME BY THE USE OF POSTERS ANNONCING THAT ALL JEWS WERE TO REPORT
FOR RESETTLEMENT. ALTHOUGH IT WAS INITIALLY THOUGHT THAT THE ACTION
WOULD ONLY INVOLVE 5,000 TO 6,000 JEWS, MORE THAN 30,000 JEWS
REPORTED, WHO AS A RESULT OF EXTREMELY EFFICIENT ORGANIZATION STILL
BELIEVED THEY WERE GOING TO BE RESETTLED RIGHT UP UNTILL THE TIME
THEY WERE EXECUTED.
DESPITE THAT FACT THAT UP TO NOW A TOTAL OF SOME 75,000 JEWS HAVE BEEN
LIQUIDATED IN THIS WAY, IT HAS NEVERTHELESS BECOME APPARENT THAT THIS
METHOD WILL NOT PROVIDE A SOLUTION TO THE JEWISH PROBLEM.
DOCUMENT SEVEN:
>FROM THE BOOK _THE FINAL SOLUTION: THE ATTEMPT TO EXTERMINATE THE JEWS OF
EUROPE, 1939-1945_, BY G. REITLINGER AND T. YOSELLOF, SOUTH BRUNSWICK,
1968.
LETTER FROM SS MAJOR-GENERAL STAHLECKER TO SS GENERAL HEYDRICH,
JANUARY 31, 1942.
THE COMPLETE REMOVAL OF JEWRY FROM THE EASTERN TERRITORIES HAS BEEN
SUBSTANTIALLY ATTAINED, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF WHITE RUSSIA, AS A
RESULT OF THE EXECUTION UP TO THE PRESENT TIME OF 229,052 JEWS.
DOCUMENT EIGHT:
>FROM THE BOOK _TRENTE-QUATRE MOIS DANS LES CAMPS DE CONCENTRATION_
(THIRTY-FOUR MONTHS IN THE CONCENTRATION CAMPS), BY DR. ANDRE' LETTICH,
L'UNION COOPERATIVE, TOURS, 1946. TRANSLATION APPEARS IN _NAZI MASS
MURDER_, BY EUGEN KOGON, H. LANGBEIN, AND A. RUECKERL,
YALE UNIVERSITY PRESS, NEW HAVEN AND LONDON, 1993, PP. 150-151.
UP TO THE END OF JANUARY 1943 THERE WERE NO CREMATORY OVENS AT
BIRKENAU. IN THE MIDDLE OF A LITTLE BIRCH WOOD, ABOUT TWO
KILOMETERS FROM THE CAMP, WAS A PEACEFUL-LOOKING COTTAGE IN WHICH
A POLISH FAMILY, EXPELLED OR MURDERED, HAD LIVED. FOR A LONG TIME
THIS COTTAGE HAD BEEN USED AS A GAS CHAMBER.
MORE THAN FIVE HUNDRED METERS FROM IT WERE TWO BARRACKS: THE MEN
WERE GROUPED ON ONE SIDE, THE WOMEN ON THE OTHER. VERY POLITELY,
VERY AMIABLY, A LITTLE SPEECH WAS MADE TO THEM. "YOU'VE ARRIVED
AFTER A TRIP; YOU'RE DIRTY; YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE A BATH. UNDRESS
QUICKLY!" TOWELS AND SOAP WERE DISTRIBUTED, AND THEN THE BRUTES
REVEALED THEMSELVES IN THEIR TRUE COLORS: WITH HEAVY BLOWS THIS
HUMAN HERD, THESE MEN AND WOMEN, WERE DRIVEN NAKED, WINTER OR
SUMMER, ACROSS THE HUNDRED OR SO METERS THAT SEPARATED THEM FROM
THE "SHOWER ROOM." ABOVE THE ENTRANCE DOOR WAS WRITTEN "BRAUSEBAD"
[SHOWERS]. SHOWER HEADS COULD EVEN BE SEEN ON THE CEILING; THEY
WERE CEMENTED IN, BUT WATER NEVER FLOWED FROM THEM.
THESE POOR INNOCENTS WERE PILED UP, PACKED AGAINST ONE ANOTHER,
AND IT WAS THEN THAT PANIC BEGAN: THEY FINALLY UNDERSTOOD WHAT
FATE AWAITED THEM. BUT BLOWS WITH CLUBS AND REVOLVER SHOTS QUICKLY
CALMED THINGS DOWN, AND ALL FINALLY PENETRATED THIS MORTAL CHAMBER.
THE DOORS WERE CLOSED AND, TEN MINUTES LATER, THE TEMPERATURE HAD
RISEN HIGH ENOUGH FOR THE HYDROCYANIC ACID TO VOLATIZE--IT WAS WITH
HYDROCYANIC ACID THAT THE CONDEMNED WERE GASSED. IT WAS ZYKLON B,
DIATOMITE IMPREGNATED WITH A 20 PERCENT SOLUTION OF HYDROCYANIC
ACID, THAT THE GERMAN BARBARIANS USED.
THEN SS-UNTERSCHARDFUEHRER MOLL DROPPED THE GAS THROUGH A LITTLE
WINDOW. THE CRIES THAT COULD BE HEARD WERE FRIGHTENING, BUT AFTER
A FEW MOMENTS COMPLETE SILENCE REIGNED. TWENTY TO TWENTY-FIVE
MINUTES LATER THE WINDOWS AND DOORS WERE OPENED TO AIR THE ROOM, AND
THE CORPSES WERE IMMEDIATELY THROWN INTO DITCHES, WHERE THEY WERE
BURNED.
DOCUMENT NINE:
>FROM DR. JOHANN KREMER'S DIARY, PUBLISHED IN _KL AUSCHWITZ IN DEN AUGEN
DER SS_ (AUSCHWITZ IN THE EYES OF THE SS), AUSCHWITZ STATE MUSEUM,
1973, PP. 215-217. TRANSLATION APPEARS IN _NAZI MASS MURDER_, BY EUGEN
KOGON, H. LANGBEIN, AND A. RUECKERL, YALE UNIVERSITY PRESS,
NEW HAVEN AND LONDON, 1993, PP. 149-150.
ON 2 SEPTEMBER 1942, AT THREE O'CLOCK IN THE MORNING, I WAS ORDERED
TO TAKE PART IN A GASSING, AND I WATCHED IT. THIS MASS MURDER TOOK
PLACE OUTSIDE THE BIRKENAU CAMP, IN LITTLE HOUSES LOCATED IN THE
FOREST. THE SS MEN CALLED THEM "BUNKERS" IN THEIR SLANG. ALL THE
SS DOCTORS IN THE CAMP HEALTH SERVICE TOOK PART IN THESE GASSINGS,
EACH IN HIS TURN. AS A DOCTOR, MY PARTICIPATION IN THESE GASSINGS,
CALLED "SPECIAL OPERATIONS," CONSISTED OF STANDING AT A SPOT NEAR
THE BUNKER, READY TO INTERVENE SHOULD MY ASSISTANCE BE NECESSARY.
I WAS TAKEN THERE BY CAR. I SAT NEXT TO THE DRIVER, AND BEHIND ME
WAS AN SS HOSPITAL ORDERLY (A NONCOMMISSIONED OFFICER), PROVIDED
WITH AN OXYGEN TANK SO AS TO BE ABLE TO GIVE FIRST AID TO THE SS
MEN TAKING PART IN THE GASSINGS IN CASE ANY OF THEM SHOULD BE
VICTIMS OF ASPHYXIATION....
I FOLLOWED ONE CONVOY TO THE BUNKER. THE PRISONERS WERE FIRST TAKEN
TO BARRACKS WHERE THEY UNDRESSED; FROM THERE THEY WENT, NAKED, TO
THE GAS CHAMBERS. MOST OF THE TIME THINGS PROCEEDED CALMLY, FOR THE
SS MEN REASSURED THE PEOPLE BY TELLING THEM THEY WERE GOING TO HAVE
A BATH AND BE DELOUSED. WHEN ALL HAD BEEN PUSHED INTO A GAS
CHAMBER, THE DOOR WAS CLOSED AND AN SS MAN WEARING A GAS MARK THREW
THE CONTENTS OF A CAN OF GAS THROUGH AN OPENING IN THE SIDE WALL.
THROUGH THIS OPENING WE COULD HEAR THE CRIES AND WAILING OF THE
VICTIMS; WE COULD HEAR THEIR DEATH THROES.
DOCUMENT TEN:
>FROM DR. KREMER'S TESTIMONY REGARDING HIS DIARY, PUBLISHED IN _THE GOOD
OLD DAYS_, BY ERNST KLEE, W. DRESSEN, AND V. RIESS, THE FREE PRESS, NEW
YORK, 1988, P. 258.
I REMEMBER I ONCE TOOK PART IN THE GASSING OF ONE OF THESE GROUPS
OF WOMEN [FROM THE WOMEN'S CAMP IN AUSCHWITZ]. I CANNOT SAY HOW BIG
THE GROUP WAS. WHEN I GOT CLOSE TO THE BUNKER I SAW THEM SITTING
ON THE GROUND. THEY WERE STILL CLOTHED. AS THEY WERE WEARING
WORN-OUT CAMP CLOTHING THEY WERE NOT LEFT IN THE UNDRESSING HUT BUT
MADE TO UNDRESS IN THE OPEN AIR. I CONCLUDED FROM THE BEHAVIOR OF
THESE WOMEN THAT THEY HAD NO DOUBT WHAT FATE AWAITED THEM, AS THEY
BEGGED AND SOBBED TO THE SS MEN TO SPARE THEM THEIR LIVES. HOWEVER,
THEY WERE HERDED INTO THE GAS CHAMBERS AND GASSED. AS AN ANATOMIST I
HAVE SEEN A LOT OF TERRIBLE THINGS: I HAD HAD A LOT OF EXPERIENCE
WITH DEAD BODIES, AND YET WHAT I SAW THAT DAY WAS LIKE NOTHING I HAD
EVER SEEN BEFORE. STILL COMPLETELY SHOCKED BY WHAT I HAD SEEN I WROTE
ON MY DIARY ON 5 SEPTEMBER 1942: "THE MOST DREADFUL OF HORRORS.
HAUPTSCHARFUEHRER THILO WAS RIGHT WHEN HE SAID TO ME TODAY THAT THIS
IS THE 'ANUS MUNDI', THE ANAL ORIFICE OF THE WORLD". I USED THIS
IMAGE BECAUSE I COULD NOT IMAGINE ANYTHING MORE DISGUSTING AND
HORRIFIC.
AGAIN - AND MOST IMPORTANTLY - WE ASK MR. RAVEN TO PROVIDE US WITH WHAT HE
THINKS ARE THE ONE OR TWO BEST PIECES OF EVIDENCE THAT THE NAZIS DID _NOT_
EXTERMINATE MILLIONS OF PEOPLE IN HOMICIDAL GAS CHAMBERS.
BRIAN HARMON (BPHARMON@MIAVX1.ACS.MUOHIO.EDU)
DANNY KEREN (DZK@CS.BROWN.EDU)
JAMIE MCCARTHY (K044477@KZOO.EDU)
KEN MCVAY (KMCVAY@ONEB.ALMANAC.BC.CA)
MICHAEL STEIN (MSTEIN@ACCESS.DIGEX.NET)
--
JAMIE MCCARTHY INTERNET: K044477@HOBBES.KZOO.EDU APPLELINK: J.MCCARTHY
IF YOUR EMAIL IS RELATED TO MY JOB, PLEASE SEND IT TO MCCARTHY@LPI.COM.
I SPEAK FOR NO ONE BUT MYSELF.
Home ·
Funding ·
Site Map ·
What's New? · © The Nizkor Project, 1991-2009
This site is intended for educational purposes to teach about the Holocaust and to combat hatred.
Any
statements or excerpts found on this site are for educational purposes only.
As part of these educational purposes, Nizkor may include on this website materials, such as excerpts
from the writings of racists and antisemites. Far from approving these writings, Nizkor condemns them and provides
them so that its readers can learn the nature and extent of hate and antisemitic discourse. Nizkor urges the readers
of these pages to condemn racist and hate speech in all of its forms and manifestations.
Make Nizkor your
home page