SOBIBÓR - Holocaust Handbooks

254 J. GRAF, T. KUES, C. MATTOGNO, SOBIBÓR
In the following chapter we will examine the conclusions which may
be drawn from this state of affairs.
8.3.3. Construction of the Alleged Gas Chambers: General
Problems
According to the official theses the alleged gas chambers at Sobibór
were built on the model of those at Be��ec, and the latter were modelled
on those of the euthanasia institutions. This alleged sequence has no
backing in reality, though.
First of all there is no documentary evidence that the euthanasia institutions
were equipped with gas chambers operating with carbon monoxide
nor that carbon monoxide cylinders were ever used for homicidal
purposes in the euthanasia centers.
There is furthermore no solid proof that the first alleged gassing
building at Be��ec contained three gas chambers. In the course of his
archeological investigations of that camp between 1997 and 1999, Prof.
Andrzej Kola found traces neither of the first nor of the second alleged
gassing building. 749
In his statements made on 14 October 1945 mentioned above, the
witness Stanis�aw Kozak expressed himself as follows on the subject of
the alleged first extermination site of Be��ec: 750
“In each of the three sections of this barrack there were water
pipes at a level 10 cm above the floor. In addition, on the western
side of each part of this barrack, water pipes branched off to a level
of 1 m above the floor, ending in an opening directed towards the
center of the barrack. The elbow pipes were connected to those running
along the walls of the barrack beneath the floor. In each of the
three parts of the barrack we mounted ovens each one weighing
some 250 kg. It is to be assumed that the elbowed pipes were later
connected to the ovens. The ovens had a height of 1 m 10 cm, a
width of 55 cm, and a length of 55 cm. Out of curiosity I looked into
the inside of one of the ovens. I could not detect any hearths. The inside
– as far as I could make out – was lined with refractory bricks. I
could not detect any other openings. The oven door was oval, with a
749 C. Mattogno, op. cit. (note 11, Engl. ed.), pp. 93-96.
750 ZStL, 252/59, vol. I, pp. 1129f. (Translation from Polish text); published in: Y. Arad,
“Die ‘Aktion Reinhard,’” in: E. Kogon, H. Langbein, A. Rückerl et al. (eds.), op. cit.
(note 45), pp. 152f.