The Holes in the Roofs of the Gas Chambers at Auschwitz-Birkenau: A forensic investigation proves their existence

"No holes, no Holocaust" has long been one of the denier community's favorite slogans. It refers to the holes in the roof of Kremas (crematoria) II and III at the Auschwitz-Birkenau extermination camp. Now a report at The Holocaust History Project entitled The Ruins of the Gas Chambers: A Forensic Investigation of Crematoriums at Auschwitz I and Auschwitz-Birkenau by Daniel Keren, Harry W. Mazal and Jamie McCarthy proves not only that the holes existed but shows where they are. This report first appeared in Holocaust and Genocide Studies, Oxford University Press, Volume 18, Number 1, Spring 2004, pages 68-103. and is reproduced with permission.

February 2008

February 25, 2008. Added Crematorium capacity to Quick Facts on the Holocaust page

February 12, 2008. Added The Reconstruction of Belzec , an aerial photographic reconstruction of the Belzec Death Camp by Alex Bay.

December 2004

December 23, 2004. Added the complete text of Jean-Claude Pressac's famous book Auschwitz: Technique and Operation of the Gas Chambers, courtesy of the Beate Klarsfeld Foundation and Harry W. Mazal OBE.


December 16, 2004. Added a document dated September 8, 1942 by Topf engineer Karl Prüfer stating that, even though the Auschwitz cremation capacity could be quickly increased to 2650 a day, that was still not enough and Topf had to "deliver more ovens as quickly as possible".

August 2004

August 28, 2004. Added an article from Die Welt newspaper, along with English translation, on the report by three THHP contributors dealing with the holes in the roofs of Crematoriums II and III at Auschwitz-Birkenau that was published in the journal Holocaust and Genocide Studies.

September 2000

September 24, 2000. Updated questions and answers.
September 9, 2000.Added John Zimmerman's essay My Response to Carlo Mattogno and a supporting document Cremation at Gusen: A Timesheet.