This article appeared on the front page of The Spotlight (newspaper of the Liberty Lobby) dated January 11, 1993. Any spelling errors are probably mine. There is a consistent punctuation error in the original article, however, which is reproduced here. Article begins: ---------------------------------------- MAJOR HISTORICAL FACT UNCOVERED. Shocking Auschwitz Testimony. What was the most important historical event of 1992? Don't answer until you've read this story. Exclusive to The Spotlight. By Samuel P. Foner. ---------------------------------------- The director of Auschwitz has been filmed on videotape* [footnote to article follows: * David Cole's video is on VHS for $49; available from Liberty Library, 300 Independence Ave. SE, Washington, D.C. 20003. The Leuchter report, $20, from IHR, P.O. Box 2739, Newport Beach, CA 92659.] admitting that the so-called gas chamber there was constructed after the war. In a dramatic and unprecedented filmed interview, Dr. Franciszek Piper, senior curator and director of archives at the Auschwitz State Museum, admits on camera that "Krema I," the alleged "homicidal gas chamber" shown off to hundreds of thousands of tourists every year at the Auschwitz main camp, is, in fact, a reconstruction, fabricated after the war by the Soviet Union - apparently on the direct orders of dictator Josef Stalin. What Piper said, in effect - and on camera - was that the explosive Leuchter Report was correct: No homicidal gassings took place in the buildings designated "homicidal gas chambers" at Auschwitz. Ironically, for someone to even suggest such a thing could bring a jail sentence in more than one country - including enlightened nations like France, Canada and Germany. (Just ask Ernst Zundel. But more about him later.) 'FACTS' ARE LIES With this admission by none other than the responsible head of the Auschwitz State Museum, one of the most scared "facts" of history has been destroyed. It is the major historical "fact" on which the foreign and domestic policies of all of the Western nations since World War II are based. It is the basis for the $100 billion in foreign aid the United States has poured into the state of Israel since its inception in 1948 - amounting to $16,500 for every man, woman and child in the Jewish state and billions more paid by (West) Germany in "reparations" - not to mention the constructing of Israel's national telephone, electrical and rail systems, gifts of the German people. It is the basis for the $10 billion "loan") read "gift") made to Israel for housing immigrants in occupied territories, while Americans sleep on streets and businesses are bankrupted by the thousands. Germany is paying "reparations" - and the United States is making major contributions - to atone for the "gassings at Auschwitz" and elsewhere. If the "homicidal gas chambers" were postwar creations, in which no one was gassed regardless of race, creed, color or country of national origin, then those "reparations " were unnecessary, and were based on fraud. The videotape on which Piper makes his revelations was taken in mid-1992 by a young Jewish investigator, David Cole. It has just been released, on January 1, 1993, although Cole announced his project at the 11th International Revisionist Conference at Irvine, California last October. Cole's production follows 12 years of intensive investigation by dozens of historians, journalists and scientists who have tried to get to the bottom of what really happened at Auschwitz. In 1979, the Institute for Historical Review (IHR) was founded which coordinated these investigations in an effort to "bring history into accord with the facts." Since then the IHR has published dozens of papers and books, none of which has ever been refuted, concerning various aspects of the "holocaust." A major aspect that has been investigated concerns the gas chamber theory, and the biggest and the biggest [sic] and busiest gas chamber was supposedly at Auschwitz. The activities of the IHR have been so controversial that on the night of July 4, 1984, after two years of harassment and vandalism, it was burnt to the ground by Israeli agents. Miraculously it was able to continue operations after some months of inactivity. INSTRUCTED FROM YOUTH Like most Americans, since his youth Cole had been instructed in the "irrefutable fact" that homicidal gassings had taken place at Auschwitz. The number of those so executed - also declared irrefutable - was 4.1 million. Then came the Leuchter Report in 1988. This was followed by a "re-evaluation" of the total deaths at Auschwitz (down to 1.1 million). As a budding historian - and a Jew - Cole was intrigued. Previous to 1992, anyone who publicly doubted the 4.1 million "gassing" deaths at Auschwitz was labeled an anti-Semite, neo-nazi skinhead (at the very least). Quietly, because of revisionist findings, the official figure was lowered to 1.1 million. No mention of that missing 3 million. In 1988, Ernst Zundel was put on trial in Canada for "publishing false news." He sold a book which questioned the legitimacy of the Auschwitz gas chamber. Helping with the defense were internationally known historians including Robert Faurisson, David Irving and Mark Weber. Zundel went looking for an expert on executions, particularly gassings. He found Leuchter, who specializes in the design and fabrication of execution hardware used in prisons throughout the United States. Leuchter was commissioned to visit Poland and conduct a scientific examination of the so-called homicidal gas chambers. On February 25, 1988, Leuchter left for Poland together with his wife Carolyn, his draftsman Howard Miller, cinematographer Jurgen Neumann and Polish interpreter Theodor Rudolph. They returned on March 3. Then he wrote his controversial report. NO GAS CHAMBERS His conclusion were clear: The evidence was overwhelming that there were no execution chambers at Auschwitz, Birkenau and Majdanek and that the alleged gas chambers at these sites could not have been, then or now, utilized or seriously considered to function as execution gas chambers. In the words of Dr. Wilhelm Staglich, another internationally known historian, "the extermination thesis stands or falls with the allegation that Auschwitz was a 'death factory'." Leuchter says: The purpose [of the investigation and subsequent report] does not include a determination of any numbers of persons who died or were killed by means other than gassing or as to whether an actual Holocaust occurred. It, further, is not the intent of this author to redefine Holocaust in historical terms, but simply to supply scientific evidence and information obtained at the actual sites and to render an opinion based on all available scientific evidence, engineering and quantitative data as to the purpose and usages of the alleged execution gas chambers and crematory facilities at the investigated locations. With this in mind, Cole took his video equipment to Auschwitz and interviewed official personnel there. Piper was the most important of these interviewees. Following his comment that the "homicidal gas chambers" were fabrications, Piper reveals, on camera, how walls were knocked down, holes made in the ceiling and "Zyklon B induction chimneys" installed on the roof so that the building could be exhibited to tourists from all over the world as a proof of the "final solution." And Piper doesn't stop there. He describes other "proofs" of the "final solution," which are also "reconstructions." He discusses the routine use of Zyklon B to delouse buildings and the personal effects of internees, and he admits, on camera, that the Leuchter Report's findings concerning Zyklon B residues at Auschwitz are right. PARADOXICAL BELIEFS He then, paradoxically, affirms his belief, not only in homicidal "gassing chambers," but also in the "human soap" tales and the stories about "human skin" lampshades, both of which allegations have been totally debunked. And the revelations go on. In the video, you tour Auschwitz with Cole and hear him being told that the main camp "gas chamber" (Krema I) is in its "original state." You will see the undaunted Cole ask so many questions about the obviously ridiculous nature of this "gas chamber" that the guide feels it necessary to call her supervisor over to answer the young historian. Cole says: When I went to Europe in the autumn of 1992 to conduct my own investigations of the sites of the alleged "gassings" of Jews during World War II, two ideas were paramount in my mind. The first was that the trip be recorded on videotape so that, rather than bringing back a bunch of colorful anecdotes to bore my friends, I would bring back an objective record of what I found. What I expected to be a great learning experience for me could be one for others too. My discoveries could become your discoveries. Hopefully, I would ask the questions that you would ask if you were to make the journey yourself. The second idea was that I would go as a Jew. No two peoples have been affected more by the Holocaust story than the Germans and the Jews. We know how difficult is [sic] has been for Germans themselves to expose the deceptions of the Holocaust Lobby. Germans are forbidden by law, in their own country, to state publicly that they do not believe in the orthodox gas chamber stories; forbidden from discussing their own history. Jewish organizations have decided that they must have a monopoly on the Holocaust issue. I reasoned that if I went to Auschwitz as a Jew rather than as a "revisionist," that I would have a better chance to cut through the misinformation and lies that so distort what really happened in the German camps during the war. Perhaps, I thought, if I were to approach the Auschwitz officials as a Jew, my pointed questions, tactfully put, would be interpreted not as the debunking questions of a revisionist, but rather the sincere questions of a righteous Jew wanting to get the real facts to answer those back home who say there were no gas chambers. (I remember at one point standing in Krema I telling the supervisor of tour guides at Auschwitz that "you must tell me the whole truth so that when I get back home I can speak with authority against those who say 'all this' never happened.") So donning my yarmulke, and not letting anybody in Poland know where my sympathies were, I began my journey. The Cole videotape proves that the people who run the Auschwitz State Museum had made a practice of fabricating "proofs" of homicidal gassings. Keep in mind that over the years, millions of tourists have been told that Krema I is in its original state, while the officials knew that this "original state" is a lie. The political, religious, financial and historical ramifications of this proof of no gas chambers at Auschwitz cannot be measured. Coupled with the Leuchter Report, the Cole videotape proves that what every Western government has taught since World War II is a lie. It proves that televangelists such as Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson have been telling their flocks is simply not true. No one, regardless of race, creed, color or country of national origin, was gassed to death in any building so designated at Auschwitz. And without "homicidal gas chambers" at Auschwitz, where is the reasoning for the special treatment afforded the secular state of Israel. =30= A rebuttal: Sender: dzk@cs.brown.edu (Danny Keren) Subject: Re: Spotlight article re Auschwitz Since two people requested, and others might be interested, I will post some responses to the claims made in the "Spotlight" article. First, I wish to remind that the "Spotlight" is the periodical of the "Liberty Lobby", which is the major antisemitic and neo-Nazi organization in the US; it was founded by Nazi apologist and admirer Willis Carto, and specilizes in Jew-baiting, as well as in spreading loony conspiracy theories. In 1984, the "Liberty Lobby" sued the "Wall Street Journal" for describing it as antisemitic; the suit was kicked out of court, and judge Bork wrote in his verdict that "if antisemitism has a core, factual meaning, it was demonstrated here". The "Liberty Lobby" was a co-defendant in the Mermelstein trial, in which various neo-Nazis and Holocaust deniers were sued when they refused to pay a Holocaust survivor the prize they promised to "anyone who can prove gassing took place in Auschwitz". BTW, the distribution of the "Spotlight" is down from about 300,000 in the early 1980's to about 100,000 today. And now - some comments on the article itself. Material from it is preceded by "#". # In a dramatic and unprecedented filmed interview, Dr. # Franciszek Piper, senior curator and director of archives at the # Auschwitz State Museum, admits on camera that "Krema I," the # alleged "homicidal gas chamber" shown off to hundreds of # thousands of tourists every year at the Auschwitz main camp, is, # in fact, a reconstruction Not accurate. The small gas chamber of Krema I was used for gassing for a short time, and then converted into an air-raid shelter; after the war, it was reconstructed to look as it did when it was used for gassing. This is one of the testimonies about gassing in Krema I: Testimony of SS-Unterscharfuehrer Pery Broad, describing gassing in Krema I in Auschwitz ["KL Auschwitz as Seen by the SS", p. 176] ------------------------------------------------------------- .... The "disinfectors" were at work. One of them was SS-Unterscharfuehrer Teuer, decorated with the Cross of War Merit. With a chisel and a hammer they opened a few innocuously looking tins which bore the inscription "Cyclon, to be used against vermin. Attention, poison! to be opened by trained personnel only!". The tins were filled to the brim with blue granules the size of peas. Immediately after opening the tins, their contents was thrown into the holes which were then quickly covered. Meanwhile Grabner gave a sign to the driver of a lorry, which had stopped close to the crematorium. The driver started the motor and its deafening noise was louder than the death cries of the hundreds of people inside, being gassed to death. # What Piper said, in effect - and on camera - was that the # explosive Leuchter Report was correct: No homicidal gassings # took place in the buildings designated "homicidal gas chambers" # at Auschwitz. Rubbish. He explicitly said that gassing did take place in it. As for the "Leuchter report", see later. Also, somehow the author of this article forgot the larger gas chambers of Kremas II-V, in which over a million people were murdered, and numerous gas chambers in other camps. According to the most authorative German sources, gassing took place in 13 camps, and in addition "gassing vans" were used in various places (article available upon request). # The activities of the IHR have been so controversial that on # the night of July 4, 1984, after two years of harassment and # vandalism, it was burnt to the ground by Israeli agents. Nobody was caught or accused of burning the place. There is no prove whatsoever that Israel was involved. # Previous to 1992, anyone who publicly doubted the 4.1 million # "gassing" deaths at Auschwitz was labeled an anti-Semite, # neo-nazi skinhead (at the very least). Quietly, because of # revisionist findings, the official figure was lowered to 1.1 # million. No mention of that missing 3 million. Total rubbish. It is true that the Polish government used to claim that 4 million people were killed in Auschwitz. Serious historians - Reitlinger, Hilberg and the rest - never supported that figure. The influence of "revisionists" on the historical community is zero. Historians regard them as Nazi crackpots and nothing more. # Helping with the defense were internationally known historians # including Robert Faurisson, David Irving and Mark Weber. Faurisson used to teach French literature before he became a Holocaust denier. Weber has an MA in history from the University of Indiana. Both have zero reputation as historians, except in the neo-Nazi community. Weber has been associated for many years with the neo-Nazi organization "The National Front". Irving authored some best-selling "history for the masses" books about the third Reich. He has been a long time Hitler apologist, and recently shifted to the more hard-core "revisionist" side. # In the words of Dr. Wilhelm Staglich, another internationally # known historian, "the extermination thesis stands or falls with # the allegation that Auschwitz was a 'death factory'." Same here. Staglich, who is German, has zero reputation as a historian. He used to be a judge. [About Piper] # He then, paradoxically, affirms his belief, not only in # homicidal "gassing chambers," Well what do you know! Another Zionist stooge! # The political, religious, financial and historical # ramifications of this proof of no gas chambers at Auschwitz # cannot be measured. Coupled with the Leuchter Report.. Here are some short comments about the "Leuchter report". I have a longer file if anyone is interested. ******************************************************************* The "Leuchter report" has become the most widely quoted piece of Holocaust denial, and is supposed to prove that no gassing took place in Auschwitz, or that only a small number of people were gassed there. It might be confusing to people who don't know too much about cyanide gas, Auschwitz etc; but the report has no scientific value and is a poorly written collection of inaccuracies and blatant lies, of which the most outstanding are the following: 1) Leuchter claims that since there are more cyanide traces in the delousing chambers (in which clothes were deloused) than in the remains of the homicidal gas chambers (in which people were gassed), it means that they were used for gassing for a short time, or never at all. However, he doesn't even know that to kill people a much smaller concentration of the gas is needed (300 ppm = "parts per million") vs. up to 16,600 ppm for killing lice, bugs etc, and that the exposure time is much smaller (people die in minutes, but it takes up to a day for lice etc to die - see, for instance, "The Merck Index" or any textbook on toxicology). Hence, it is obvious that the delousing chambers were exposed to a larger concentration of the gas, and for a much greater duration of time. The delousing chambers were used extensively, as the belongings of the victims were deloused before being sent to Germany, as were the clothes of inmates who were selected for force labor and kept alive. In his cross-examination at the Zundel trial in Canada, Leuchter admitted to his complete lack of knowledge on this issue, answering the general attorney Pearson: "I've never killed beetles. I, you know, I don't know. I haven't made computations for killing beetles". This does not stop him, or other deniers, from continuing to spread false statements about Auschwitz, and from defaming and insulting the memory of Jews, Poles, Gypsies, Soviet POW's and others that were exterminated in the Auschwitz gas chambers. 2) Leuchter claims the gas would explode in contact with the cremation furnaces. That is absurd, as the lower combustion limit is 60,000 ppm, about 200 times greater than the lethal one. See any textbook on this (i.e. "The CRC Handbook", etc). He had no answer when confronted with this fact during the Zundel trial. 3) Leuchter claims that the men dropping the Zyklon-B down the shafts into the gas chambers would die from poisoning. Obviously, these men (just like the men who worked in the delousing chambers) had gas masks on. It is a testimony to Leuchter's intelligence that he could not think of such an obvious fact. 4) Leuchter claims that only about 1,700 people could be gassed in Auschwitz in one week. He arrives at this ridiculous figure by making two absurd assumptions: one, that gassings took place only once a week (!?). Second, that the people were crowded into the gas chambers at the density of one person per 9 square feet (!?!?). Of course, gassings took place more often, and the people were crowded in much greater a density in the chambers. 5) Leuchter makes various conjectures about the structure of the gas chambers. All are false, since four of them were completely destroyed and lay in ruins, as he himself admits in his report. The fifth (the gas chamber in the main camp) was used for a short time and then converted into an air-raid shelter. After the war, it was reconstructed to look approximately as it did when it was used for gassing. There are still cyanide traces on its walls. 6) Holocaust deniers describe Leuchter and his helpers on the "Auschwitz mission" as a "team of scientists and engineers". In reality, the team consisted of Leuchter (education: a BA in the humanities, 1964), a draftsman, a cinematographer, and an interpreter. ******************************************************************* -Danny Keren.
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