SOBIBÓR - Holocaust Handbooks

J. GRAF, T. KUES, C. MATTOGNO, SOBIBÓR 133
Assuming an average weight of 70 kg for a normal adult, we thus
come to a weighted average of 63 kg 386 (4 adults of 70 kg and one child
of 35 kg) for the deportees to Sobibór.
When dealing with the alleged gas chambers of Auschwitz, Robert
Jan van Pelt accepted an average weight of 60 kg for the victims, 387 a
figure we will use in our calculations, rounding off the above value
where applicable.
For the deportees, especially those coming from Poland, a weight
loss due to second degree malnutrition may certainly apply (loss of 10%
to 25% of their normal weight), 388 bringing down the average weight to
(65×0.75=) 45 kilograms. However, as we shall see below, this will not
result in a significant reduction in the fuel requirements for the incineration,
quite the opposite. We shall therefore stay with the average weight
as set out above, giving more detailed explanations in section 5.3.5.
5.3.3. Fuel Requirements for the Cremation of One Body
Valuable information concerning the wood requirements for the
cremation of human bodies in the open can be gathered from three systems
developed in India.
The Teri apparatus is a true cremation oven, equipped with a closed
chamber and an external gasifier in which wood is gasified, with the
combustible gases thus generated fed into the cremation chamber by
means of a blower. The result is a powerful flame. 389
An official document explains: 390
“It was observed that each cremation using the gasifier took approximately
60-80 minutes consuming 100-150 kg of wood as
against 400-600 kg in the traditional system and about 250-300 in
improved open fire system using a metal grate. After carrying out
386
An official publication by the Ontario Ministry of the Environment states: “The average
weight of a corpse is assumed to be 65 kg. This assumption is based on the average
weight of adults, children and emaciated corpses (from terminal illnesses).” “Cemeteries
and Groundwater: An Examination of the Potential Contamination of Groundwater by
Preservatives Containing Formaldehyde,”
www.archive.org/stream/cemeteriesground00chanuoft/cemeteriesground00chanuoft_djv
u.txt
387
Robert J. van Pelt, The Case for Auschwitz. Evidence from the Irving Trial. Indiana University
Press, Bloomington and Indianapolis 2002, pp. 470, 472.
388
A weight loss of 35-40% is normally fatal. S. McPhee, M. Papadakis, L. Tierney, Current
Medical Diagnosis and Treatment, McGraw-Hill Professional, 2008, p. 1085.
389
See www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRjsUh_bpcw
390
Teri Development of gasifier based crematorium, TERI Project Report No.1999BE63,
New Delhi, 2003.