More on the "holes" in the "gas chamber" roof

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Documents on the allegation about Zyklon B killings of victims in Nazi concentration camps

Controversy: Are or were there ever holes in the roof of the Leichenkeller (Morgue) No. 1 at Krema (crematiorium) II at Auschwitz -- the holes through which SS officers allegedly poured in the Zyklon B crystals?
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Harry Mazal, OBE, has published on his website a photograph of the roof of Krema II at Auschwitz, sowing what he claims are the "hole", at
http://www.mazal.org/Auschwitz%20Aerial/KIIa-Color.htm
As we state, the Mazal image is rather a large file (nearly 1 MB).
We invited visitors to comment on this image. Samuel Crowell has done so (Thursday, November 9, 2000 and we post herewith his edited comments):-
[Click on icons to download further actual images]
(jpg, 214 kB) HOLE #1 -- this is the large hole through which everyone [revisionists and their opponents] enters. It is off center (all of the holes are off center). One cannot argue that the holes moved when the roof shifted, because the photo also clearly shows that the roof did not shift but rather dropped down.
Note that HOLE #1 is part of a large piece that is relatively smooth on the top, this is the section of the roof whose underside is shown in several photos [see below]. Lipstadt expert Professor Van Pelt does not claim HOLE #1 as one of the holes, because Pelt wrote in his report that the Holes were not visible, while this one clearly is visible.
(jpg, 665 kB) HOLE #2, is invisible in this photo, and therefore must be one of the holes the Germans "filled in" before blowing the roof in their retreat.
Slightly below HOLE #2, and to the right, you will see another hole that Mazal does not comment on, this one has reinforcing steel bars in it, and is sometimes considered one of the holes. However this hole is off center, and it is visible, so it cannot match Pelt's speculation.
More important: to its right, you can see a concrete slab that covers the emergency exit from the basement bomb shelter.
[no image] HOLE #3 appears to be a punched-in exploratory hole, the reinforcing steel bar is intact.
(jpg, 176 kB) HOLE #4 constitutes the roof break on the bottom end.
Again, none of these holes was claimed by Van Pelt as being of significance.
Further images of Krema II on Mr Mazal's website are at http://www.mazal.org/Auschwitz%20jpg/AuschwitzText%20Page.htm
See David Irving closing speech, page 31.
Our own website photo of Krema II, Leichenkeller 1, underside of roof
Discussing the more detailed images with icons above, on Friday, November 10, 2000 "Sam Crowell" sends us these comments:
A few comments.
As indicated earlier, Holes #1 and #3 are both quite visible and are not in the proper location according to the aerial photo, or to any possibility of being in line with the supporting pillars. Indeed, as was suggested previously, there are numerous "holes" in the roof if one takes any crack in the concrete as constituting a "gas induction port."
The photos of Hole #2 still cannot be located in the larger photo, but that is easily explained by the presence of a shoe in one of the photos which indicates that the dimensions of this hole -- intact rebar and all -- could scarcely be more than 4"-5" inches square. Since the traditional dimensions of these holes was supposed to be on the order of over two feet square (70 cm), this hole cannot meaningfully be characterized as a "gas induction port."
Finally, to characterize the crack on the Northern end of the roof as "Hole #4" is to use the term "hole" very expansively.
To repeat some well known facts:
There are numerous holes and cracks in the roof of Morgue #1 of Krema II, the vast majority of them quite small. All of them are in the wrong location, either in terms of the aerial photo, or in terms of the location of the supporting concrete pillars. (All narratives insist that the wire mesh cages which were led from the holes were attached to alternate concrete pillars.)
All of these holes were apparently created when the concrete roof cracked into slabs during its attempted demolition, or show signs of being enlarged from such cracks from the outside. It is important to note that the roof itself is still held together by the interstitial web of steel reinforcing rods (rebar).
None of these holes, except the one at the southwestern end, are large enough to be "gas induction port" holes, according to the alleged measurements of over two feet.
That particular hole in the south-west corner was explicitly excluded from consideration by Van Pelt, as it is excluded by any knowledgeable expert of the subject, because of its location.
All of the holes feature intrusions of rebar, which indicates that the roof was poured without any holes being planned, and the interfering rebar would have posed a formidable challenges for use, the necessary gas pellet recovery, and gastightness.
None of the holes bears any indication of attachment points on the topside for chimneys or on the underside for wire mesh columns.
Since the holes were clearly not planned, the wooden blocks in the underside of the roof (supposedly for fake showerheads) would be hard to associate with any hypothetical "gas induction ports." We are left to conclude that the blocks were planned (for some purpose), but the holes were not. This is scarcely believable.
It is amusing to note that Mazal also includes in his gallery a photo captioned as a "perforated pillar," this is a throwback to old stories about the gas coming out of the holes in the pillars of the gas chamber. However this particular pillar is solid concrete, and the holes were almost certainly drilled for dynamite prior to the attempted demolition. One thing is certain: no gas could have come from these holes.
In summary, it appears that Mr. Mazal has gone to a lot of time and expense to identify two holes that are well known, and well known as being in the wrong position, along with several other cracks which he has baptised as "gas induction ports." What makes this truly strange is that neither Pressac nor his epigone Van Pelt consider these holes to be legitimate candidates for "gas induction ports" so that Mazal's labors have had the unintended consequence of contradicting the very experts he seeks to support.
© Focal Point 2000 write to David Irving