(Various citations dealing with existing air photo evidence, snipped from Usenet articles.) === "In photographs taken by a further United States photographic reconnaisance on December 21, the sole aim of which was to show the extent of the damage at Monowitz during the bombing raids three days before, many of the electrified fences and guard towers of Birkenau can now be seen to have been dismantled. At Crematorium II the undressing room roof adjacent to the gas chamber had been removed, and the roof and chimney of the Crematorium itself was in the process of being dismantled. The fences around the Crematorium can also be seen to have been removed. Around Crematorium III the fences are also gone, and the whole building surrounded by debris.... "On January 14 the United States Air Force flew its twelfth photographic reconnaisance flight over Monowitz. Once more, all of Auschwitz and all of Birkenau were included. Studying the photographs today, the continuing dismantling of the gas chambers and crematoria is evident...."(Gilbert, Auschwitz and the Allies, p. 332, 334-337) === "The first bombing raid on the synthetic oil and rubber plant at Monowitz took place on August 20 [1944]. The raid was flown by the 15th United States Air Force, from their base at Foggia, in southern Italy. During the raid, which began at 10.32 in the evening, and lasted for twenty-eight minuted, 127 Flying Fortresss dropped a total of 1,336 five hundred pound high explosive bombs, from an altitude of between 26,00 and 29,000 feet. "Only one of the bombers was shot down. Against nineteen German fighters that rose to intercept them, the Americans had been able to send an escort of a hundred Mustangs. "The intelligence reports on the Monowitz raid of August 20 were completed three days later, following a scrutiny of aerial photographs taken immediately after the raid. The 'main weight of the attack' it appeared, had fallen on the central and eastern part of the works, 'where there is very considerable damage to installations and buildings'. Owing to the dispersed nature of the various plants, however, 'many hits have been scored on the open ground between buildings and damage is therefore not so spectacular as it might otherwise be'. It seemed 'probable' that the blast from these hits on open ground 'must have caused a considerable amount of damage to installations' not visible on the photographs. Several buildings in the synthetic oil plant were seen to have been 'severely damaged', and there was 'probably also some blast damage' to one of the three active hydrogenation stalls. "Heavy damage was recorded by the aerial photgraphs in the aluminum production plant, as well as 'considerable damage to stores, buildings, contractors sheds and offices, and to huts and buildings in the various labour camps adjoining the works'. [...] "The sole purpose of the photographic reconnaissance over Auschwitz on August 25 was to look yet again at the damage done during the raid of August 20, and to see what further repairs were being made. Once more, both Auschwitz I and Birkenau appear in part five of the photographs. But the intelligence assessment made no reference to these exposures, nor did it have any reason to do so. Over Monowitz it noted, 'some slight clearance and repairs seem', but as to the six 'primary objectives', at the first, the boiler house and generator hall, 'no damage seen'; at the second, the water gas plant, 'no damage seen'; at the third, the H2S removal plant, 'no damage seen'; at the Co2 and CO removal plant 'small installation partly wrecked'; at the gas conversion plant, and at the injector houses, 'no damage seen'. "This was a dissapointing result. 'The damage received,' the report concluded, 'is not sufficient to interfere seriously with synthetic fuel production, and should not greatly delay completion of this part of the plant.' "A photograph attached to this report showed one of the aerial shots taken over Monowitz on August 25. In it, hundreds of bomb craters are clearly visible. The photograph was accompanied by a plan on which all damaged and destroyed buildings were marked. Also identified were 151 different buildings, including a group of buildings at the southern edge of Monowitz listed as 'Concentration Camp'. This was, in fact, the slave labour camp at Auschwitz III, with 30,000 Jews who had been brought from Birkenau. But this was not known to the interpreters. More than seventy huts and other buildings were visible, but not specifically identified, inside this particular complex, recognized as a camp, but not commented on further in any way. [...] "The Monowitz raid of September 13 [1944] had lasted for only thirteen minutes, from 11.17 a.m. to 11.30 a.m. Ninety-six heavy bombers took part, dropping just over a thousand 500-pound bombs from 24,000 feet. "Like the raid of August 20, this one was a part of the continuing Allied efforts to destroy Germany's synthetic oil production. According to the interpretation of aerial photographs taken during the raid, 'only slight damage' was done, mostly to the 'small stores, buildings and labour barracks'. Two buildings in the 'concentration camp' were seen also to have been hit. Normal motor transport movement was seen. So too were repairs to 'previous damage' in the raid of August 20, 'and new construction continuing'. "As part of the air attack on September 13, yet another photographic mission had flown over both Auschwitz and Birkenau, as well as over Monowitz. Its camera even recorded, twice, the falling bombs. Also visible in the Birkenau photographs of September 13 are the gas chambers and Crematoria IV and V: the latter being hidden from the inmates of the camp by the birchwood. [...] "On September 16 two pilots from 680 Squadron, FLight Lieutenant Tasker and Flight Sergeant Murphy, left Foggia to photgraphs eight of the recently attacked oil plants and stores. Their sortie took them over Ravenna, Bologna, Auschwitz, Vrutky, Diosgyor and Vienna. Passing over Monowitz at five minutes after midday, the photographs which they took covered only the western third of the plant, the section least affected by the attack three days before. But they did show that the cooling tower serving the main distallation had been destroyed, and a purified gas-holder burned out. "Two days later, On September 18, a second reconnaissance sortie by Major Allam and Lieutenant Roth of 683 Squadron was more successful in photgraphing the areas hit during the September 13 air-raid on Monowitz, but noted that owiong to the dispersed nature of the buildings, 'fresh damage is not as heavy as it might otherwise be'. In addition to the damage noted by the camera two days before, the new photographs, when analysed, showed slight blast damge to the water gas plant, but found no other primary or even secondary objectives to have been 'visibly affected'. There was however some clear 'fresh' damage to stores, workshops, an 'in the labour camps to the south and south-west of the plant'. The camera also photgraphed clearance of bomb damage and roof repairs, 'in progress around several points of earlier damage'. "Further photographs were taken over Monowitz on September 18 by 60 Squadron. Air intelligence confirmed the findings of Allam and Roth, but noted that there were 'no signs' of operative activity in any part of the plant, apart from a wisp of smoke or steam issuing from the southern end of the blower-house for the water gas plant', and the presence of gas in five gas holders. The only other activity recorded was 'the usual movement' of trucks, personnel, 'cranes and hopper wagons and presence of rail cars'. The fresh damage, the intelligence analysts concluded, 'is not likely greatly to delay the work of completion of the synthetic oil plant'. [...] "On November 11 [1944] the Allied Combined Intelligence Unit prepared a Top Secret report on the principal sites of German synthetic oil production. At Auschwitz-Monowitz, it was clear, 'progress has been made with construction' of the Buna plant. Two of the lime kilns 'are now complete and the third in nearing completion'. As a result of the bombing attacks on August 20 and September 13, it now appeared, there had been 'a cessation of production for two or three months', and the production recently restored was at only two-thirds its earlier capacity. The probable annual production of synthetic oil was estimated at between 24,000 and 33,000 tons. "In the intelligence report that followed the reconnaissance, no mention is made of the crematoria area at Birkenau. But for the first time there is a direct reference to the number and nature of the trains in the Auschwitz-Birkenau 'marshalling yard'. Although the photographs themselves were of 'dark quality', they revealed, in the 'North Yard', approximately 220 to 240 'mixed wagons', five locomotives 'in steam', and two other locomotives, while in the 'South Yard' the the Allied analysts noted 160 160 mixed wagons, one locomotive 'in steam', and twenty-three box cars on the railway sidings 'in industrial plant West of South Yards', as well as two locomotives 'in steam in an unidentified area' to the southwest. "It is clear from this analysis that nothing was known by those who made it of the purpose or role of Birkenau and its sidings. In the same report, the scrutiny of Monowitz was as detailed, and specific as always. Smoke and steam issuing from several smoke stacks and installations indicated 'the plant to be active'. Five small work trains, two small locomotives, and several lorries were seen 'moving in the plant area'. In addition the report noted that 'numerous personnel can also be seen moving about', that further repairs had been carried out to damaged installations, and that 'new construction' had continued. Some thirty railway wagons were seen on the Monowitz sidings, and approximately a hundred wagons 'on the railway sidings east of the plant area'. "From this it was clear that Monowitz was still operational, and on December 18 the Allied bomber attacked again, some bombs hitting the plant, and others the labour camp, the latter to such an extent that the first intelligence revealed that five huts had 'suffered partial destruction from direct hits'. Bit there was also wastage, a cluster of twelve bombs having fallen in the 'open area'. A second intelligence report five days after the raid was to reveal 'particularly heavy damage' to the injector house, compressor house and north workshop, but at the same time reported substantial 'repairs and construction' in the distillation plant, cooling plant, lime kiln, and railway shed. In addition, the 'concentration camp', that is to say, Monowitz's own slave labour camp, 'three heavily damaged buildings have been repaired'."(Gilbert, Auschwitz and the Allies, pp. 307-308, 310, 317-318, 330-332) === "Thanks to Dr. Nevin Bryant, supervisor of cartographic applications and image processing applications at Caltech/NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, I was able to get the CIA photographs properly analyzed by people who know what they are looking at from the air. Nevin and I analyzed the photographs using digital enhancements techniques not available to the CIA in 1979. We were able to prove that the photographs had not been tampered with, and we indeed found evidence of extermination activity. The aerial photographs were shot in sequence as the plane flew over the camp (on a bombing run toward its ultimate target - the IG Farben Industrial works). Since the photographs of the camp were taken a few seconds apart, stereoscopic viewing of two consecutive photographs show movement of people and vehicles and provides better depth perception. The aerial photograph in figure 23 [1] shows the distinctive features of Krema II. Note the long shadow from the crematorium chimney and, on the roof of the adjacent gas chamber at right angles to the crematorium building, note the four staggered shadows. Ball claims these shadows were drawn in, but four small structures that match the shadows are visible on the roof of the gas chamber in figure 24 [2] taken by an SS photographer of the back of Krema II (if you look directly below the chimney of krema II, you will see two sides of the rectangular underground gas chamber structure protruding a few feet above the ground.) "The photgraphic evidence converges quite nicely with eyewitness accounts describing SS men pouring Zyklon-B pellets through the opening in the roof of the gas chamber. the aerial photograph in figure 25 [3] shows a group of prisoners being marched to Krema V for gassing. The gas chamber is at the end of the building, and the crematorium has double chimneys. From the camp's daily logs, it is clear that these are Hungarian Jews from an RSHA transport, some of whom where selected for work and the rest sent for extermination. (Additional photographs and detailed discussion appear in Shermer and Grobman 1977.)" (Shermer, Michael. Why People Believe Weird Things: Pseudoscience, superstition, and other confusions of our time, pp. 233-234, 235) === "Photo Evidence: a 10x enlargement of imagery aquired on August 25 covers only the southern third of Birkenau and is of very high quality for its day (Photo 4). The imagery illustrates eyewitness accounts of the death process at Birkenau. A rail transport of 33 cars is at the Birkenau railhead and debarkation point. Prisoners can be seen beside the train. The selection process is either underway or completed. One group of prisoners is apparantly being marched to gas chamber and Crematorium II. "Groups of prisoners can be seen marching about the compound, standing formation, undergoing disinfection and performing tasks which cannot be identified soley from imagery. A detailed view of the Women's Camp and individual barrack blocks was obtained. (Many of the so-called "barracks" provided as living quarters were originally prefabricated stables intended for use in Africa with the Arfika Korps.) We can also identify details of the camp security system - the electrified fences, guard towers, the camp main gate and guardhouse, as well as the special security arrangements around the gas chambers and crematoria." (Brugioni and Poirier, The Holocaust Revisted, p. 7-8)
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