Excursus 1 Poisoning or Suffocation

Because eyewitness statements about the amount of Zyklon B are rare, and since humans are more sensitive to HCN than insects (see chapter 7.1.), some scholars opine that only small amounts of Zyklon B were used for the alleged mass murders in Auschwitz, for example J. Bailer,54 W. Wegner,49 and G. Wellers,55 who assume an applied concentration of 1 g per m3 (0.083 Vol.%) or less. 

The few witnesses statements we have, however, claim that several kilograms of Zyklon B were used.469 In his book, Pressac frequently refers to a HCN concentration of 12 g per m3 or 1 vol.% used for executions 470 He backs this up with many witness accounts, according to which four to six 1-kg cans of Zyklon B were allegedly poured into the gas chambers (morgues) of crematorium II and III, which indeed corresponds to a concentration of 1 vol.%.302 

Pressac, on the other hand, assumes that 95 to 98% of the entire Zyklon B delivered to the camp were used for the original purpose, i.e., for delousing clothes and rooms 471 for which he relies on statements from the Nuremberg tribunal.472 Pressac justifies this with the fact that, in relation to other concentration camps, where doubtlessly no exter- 

Buszko (ed.), op. cit. (note 465), p. 118 6 to 12 kg Leon Poliakov, Harvest of Hate, Greenwood Press, Westport, Conn., 1971, p. 205 5-7 kg an analysis of the eyewitness statements has been undertaken by D. D. Desjardin Kenneth Stem s Critique of The Leuchter Report A Critical Analysis , online codoh.com/newrevoices/nddd/ndddstem.html. The analysis does not, however, take account of the slow release of hydrogen cyanide by the carrier material. See also Desjardin s interview with F. Piper, op. cit. (note 164), where Piper talks about 6 kg per 1,400 victims. 

The supply figures of the Auschwitz camp can be found in the protocols of the International Military Tribunal Nuremberg. In total, they reached some 19,000 kg during the years 1942 and 1943.157 The total supplied amount during the entire existence of the camp from late 1940 to early 1945 will hardly have exceeded 40 tons. According to Pressac s statement that not 2-5% of this was used for killings, 800 to 2,000 kg of the total delivery was used for extermination of humans. 

---