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Transcript: Proving The Truth Behind The Holocaust | Nov 29, 2017 | TVO Today You need to enable JavaScript to run this app.DonateTranscript: Proving The Truth Behind The Holocaust | Nov 29, 2017 (music plays) Fast clips show images of the exterior of the Royal Ontario Museum. Robert stands in "The evidence room" at the Royal Ontario Museum. Robert is in his sixties, bald and clean-shaven and he wears a black coat, black trousers and a black sweater. He says HOLOCAUST DENIAL IS AN ASSAULT ON MEMORY. IT'S AN ASSAULT ON THE MEMORY EMBODIED IN HOLOCAUST SURVIVORS. THERE ARE VERY FEW HOLOCAUST SURVIVORS AND ESPECIALLY AUSCHWITZ SURVIVORS LEFT. WE ARE IN SOME WAY CONSIDERING WHAT WILL BE THE FUTURE OF HOLOCAUST MEMORY WITHOUT THE SURVIVORS. WE'RE HERE AT THE ROYAL ONTARIO MUSEUM AND WE'RE AT THE ENTRANCE OF THE EVIDENCE ROOM. MY NAME IS ROBERT JAN VAN PELT AND I'M A PROFESSOR AT THE SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE AT THE UNIVERSITY OF WATERLOO. THE EVIDENCE ROOM HAS ITS ORIGIN IN A TRIAL THAT WAS HELD IN THE YEAR 2000 IN ENGLAND. IT WAS A LIBEL TRIAL, IN WHICH THE HOLOCAUST DENIER DAVID IRVING SUED A HOLOCAUST HISTORIAN DEBORAH LIPSTADT. Pictures of David and Deborah appear on screen. Robert says DEBORAH LIPSTADT HAD ACCUSED DAVID IRVING OF A BEING A FALSIFIER OF HISTORY, A HOLOCAUST DENIER. IRVING DECIDED, IN 1996, TO SUE HER IN A BRITISH COURT. IRVING HAD CONVERTED TO HOLOCAUST DENIAL IN 1988, HERE IN TORONTO, WHEN HE ATTENDED AS A WITNESS, THE TRIAL OF HOLOCAUST DENIER ERNST ZUNDEL. DURING THIS TRIAL, AN AMERICAN ENGINEER NAMED FRED LEUCHTER PRESENTED EVIDENCE THAT THE GAS CHAMBERS IN AUSCHWITZ COULD NOT HAVE WORKED. A picture of Fred Leuchter appears. Robert says THE TESTIMONY BY LEUCHTER IN THE ERNST ZUNDEL TRIAL HAD CONVINCED DAVID IRVING THAT, INDEED, THE HOLOCAUST WAS A LIE, THAT IF AUSCHWITZ HAD NOT BEEN AN EXTERMINATION CAMP, THAT NONE OF THE EVIDENCE COULD BE TRUSTED ABOUT THE MASS KILLINGS OF JEWS IN GERMAN OCCUPIED EUROPE. AND HE BECAME THE MAIN PROPAGATOR IN EUROPE, BUT ALSO IN NORTH AMERICA OF THE THESIS THAT THE HOLOCAUST WAS, IN FACT, A PLOY, FIRST BY BRITISH INTELLIGENCE AND LATER BY ZIONISTS, TO SWINDLE THE GERMANS OUT OF BILLIONS OF MARKS AND THE PALESTINIANS OUT OF A HOMELAND. A caption reads "Robert Jan Van Pelt. University of Waterloo." Robert says I WAS ASKED TO JOIN THIS TRIAL AND TO TESTIFY ABOUT THE EVIDENCE ABOUT AUSCHWITZ. I HAD TO SHOW THAT THE EVIDENCE PRESENTED BY LEUCHTER WAS BASICALLY NOT WORTH THE PAPER IT WAS WRITTEN ON. A model of the Auschwitz camp appears on screen. Robert says AND SO, HERE WE HAVE A MODEL OF CREMATORIUM NUMBER THREE. THIS IS ONE OF THE FOUR GAS CHAMBER EQUIPPED CREMATORIA. IT CONSISTED OF AN UNDERGROUND UNDRESSING ROOM, WITH THE VICTIMS ENTERING AT THE FAR END. An illustration shows children and adults in the gas chamber undressing room. Robert says THIS WAS A VERY LARGE ROOM. IT WAS OVER 250 SQUARE METRES LARGE. ONCE THE VICTIMS WERE UNDRESSED, THERE WERE HERDED INTO A UNDERGROUND GAS CHAMBER. THE UNDERGROUND GAS CHAMBERS HAVE GAS COLUMNS, THROUGH WHICH THE GAS WAS INTRODUCED IN THE SPACE. AND AFTER EVERYONE WAS KILLED, THEIR CORPSES WERE BROUGHT INTO A LITTLE ELEVATOR, WHICH BROUGHT THE CORPSES UP TO THE MAIN FLOOR. AND THERE WERE 15 OVENS IN FIVE TRIPLE ARRANGEMENTS THAT COULD INCINERATE THE CORPSES IN 24 HOURS. An illustration shows soldiers putting corpses in the ovens. Robert says NOW, WHAT HOLOCAUST DENIERS SAY IS THAT THESE BUILDINGS WERE NOT REALLY KILLING MACHINES. THAT, YES, THERE A LOT OF OVENS, BUT THAT THESE OVENS HAD THE CAPACITY, THE LATCH CAPACITY, THEY SAY, THEY HAD OF 1500 CORPSES PER DAY TO DEAL WITH THE VICTIMS OF TYPHUS EPIDEMICS. Robert stands next to a metal grid column and says THE GAS COLUMN BECAME IN THE TRIAL THE KEY PIECE OF EVIDENCE THAT WAS CHALLENGED BY IRVING. WHAT WERE THESE GAS COLUMNS? THE GAS CAME IN TINS. THE TINS WERE COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE TINS OF DELOUSING AGENCY CALLED ZYKLON OR CYCLONE. NOW, WHEN THE GERMANS STARTED USING THIS PRODUCT, THIS TOXIN ON HUMAN BEINGS, THEY DISCOVERED VERY QUICKLY THAT WHEN PEOPLE WERE EXPOSED TO A CONCENTRATION OF AROUND 300 PARTS PER MILLION, THEY WOULD DIE WITHIN FIVE-TEN MINUTES. HOWEVER, THE DEGASSING OF THE CYANIDE WOULD CONTINUE FOR ANOTHER 23 AND A HALF HOURS. THIS WAS NOT A PROBLEM WHEN YOU WERE INVOLVED IN... IN OCCASIONAL KILLING, LET'S SAY EVERY WEEK OR SO. BUT WHEN TRAINS STARTING ARRIVING ON A 24 HOUR BASIS AT AUSCHWITZ AND THE GERMANS WANTED TO KILL PEOPLE ON A 24 HOUR CYCLE, IN WHICH WITHIN 24 HOURS, PEOPLE ARRIVE, ARE SELECTED, BROUGHT TO THE UNDRESSING ROOM, INTO THE GAS CHAMBER, KILLED AND THEN THEIR CORPSE ARE BEING INCINERATED BEFORE THE NEXT TRANSPORT ARRIVES, THE CONTINUOUS DEGASSING OF THE PALLETS OF ZYKLON WAS A REAL PROBLEM. A black and white picture shows people boarding a train. Robert says SO, THIS IS WHY THEY CREATED THIS GAS COLUMN. SO, THIS GAS COLUMN HAS THE PURPOSE NOT SO MUCH OF INTRODUCING THE GAS, INTRODUCING THE ZYKLON INTO THE SPACE, BUT EVEN MORE IMPORTANT TO TAKE IT OUT AFTER 15 MINUTES, SO THAT THIS 24 HOUR CYCLE OF KILLING AND INCINERATION COULD BE MAINTAINED. THEN, AFTER THAT, THE VENTILATORS COULD BE TURNED ON AND THE SONDERKOMMANDOS... THE SLAVE WORKERS WHO HAD TO CLEAN THE GAS CHAMBER-- WOULD, AFTER 10-15 MINUTES, BE ABLE TO ENTER THE GAS CHAMBER AND START THE GRUESOME WORK OF REMOVING THE CORPSES, RETRIEVING DENTAL GOLD AND SO ON, AND THEN BRING UP TO THE INCINERATORS. NOW, HOLOCAUST DENIERS AND ALSO IRVING HAVE MADE THE EXISTENCE OR NONEXISTENCE OF THE COLUMNS, IN SOME WAY, THE KEY TO THEIR ARGUMENT. THEY SAY "NO HOLES, NO HOLOCAUST." AND THE HOLE THEY'RE REFERRING TO ARE THE HOLES THAT EXISTED IN THE CONCRETE ROOF OF THE GAS CHAMBER THROUGH WHICH THE CENTRAL COLUMN CONNECTED TO THE OUTSIDE WORLD. WHEN THE SS LEFT AUSCHWITZ IN JANUARY 1945, THEY DYNAMITED THE GAS CHAMBERS. AND THIS MEANT THAT THE ROOF COLLAPSED ON THE FLOOR OF THE GAS CHAMBER. Pictures show the remains of the collapsed gas chambers. Robert says AND WE WERE, IN THE TRIAL, ABLE TO PROVE TO THE SATISFACTION OF THE JUDGE THAT, INDEED, THESE HOLES HAD EXISTED, THESE PURPOSEFULLY MADE HOLES HAD EXISTED IN THE RUINED SLAB OF THE... THAT COVERED THE GAS CHAMBER. He stands next to a wooden door and says ONE OF THE PIECES WE SEE IN THIS ROOM IS A DOOR, A GAS DOOR. THIS DOOR, BASICALLY, HAS TWO SIDES. THIS IS THE PLACE THAT WE CALL IT THE PERPETRATOR'S SIDE. AND WE SEE HERE TWO LATCHES THAT ARE USED TO CLOSE THE DOOR WHEN THE GAS CHAMBER WILL BE BROUGHT IN OPERATION, TO CLOSE THE DOOR AFTER ALL THE VICTIMS HAVE BEEN BROUGHT IN. ONE OF THE LATCHES MOVES. (SLAMMING) Robert says CAN BE CLOSED. AND THIS IS THE LAST THING THAT 2000 PEOPLE WOULD HAVE HEARD BEFORE THE GAS WOULD BE INTRODUCED. NOW, HOLOCAUST DENIERS SAY THAT THIS GAS DOOR ACTUALLY HAD NOT A GENOCIDAL FUNCTION. THAT AIR RAID SHELTERS HAVE GAS DOORS BECAUSE DURING AN AIR RAID, ONE COULD ALSO HAVE ALL KIND OF TOXIC GASSES THAT ARE BEING PRODUCED BY THE BOMBING. AND SO, A NORMAL PIECE OF EQUIPMENT IN A GAS... IN AN AIR RAID SHELTER IS A GAS TIGHT DOOR. NOW, WHY IS THIS NOT A DOOR FOR AN AIR RAID SHELTER? FIRST OF ALL, THE QUESTION IS IF YOU WALK INTO THIS SPACE THAT IS PROTECTED BY THE DOOR, YOU WOULDN'T WANT TO BE INSIDE WITH SOMEBODY ON THE OUTSIDE BEING ABLE TO CLOSE THE DOOR LIKE THIS. YOU WOULD HAVE NO MEANS FROM THE INSIDE TO OPEN THE DOOR AGAIN. YOU ARE GOING TO BE LOCKED IN. ALWAYS SOMEBODY ON THE OUTSIDE WILL HAVE TO OPEN THE LATCHES TO ALLOW THE DOOR TO OPEN AGAIN. BUT WHEN WE GO TO THE OTHER SIDE OF THE DOOR, AND WE LOOK NOW AT THE DOOR AS IT WOULD BE FROM THE INSIDE, WE SEE ALSO THAT FOR AN AIR RAID SHELTER, THIS DOOR WOULD REALLY NOT HAVE WORKED. THE FIRST THING, WHICH IS VERY CLEAR, IS THAT THERE IS-- THAT THERE'S NO WAY, ON THE INSIDE, TO ACTUALLY MANIPULATE THIS DOOR. THERE'S NO WAY TO OPEN IT. THERE'S NO HANDLE. SO, ONCE YOU'RE INSIDE AND SOMEBODY HAS CLOSED THE DOOR ON THE OUTSIDE, YOU'RE LOCKED IN. THIS WE CALL THE VICTIM'S SIDE OF THE DOOR. PEOPLE WERE PUSHED IN THIS ROOM, TEN PEOPLE PER SQUARE METRE, AND WHEN THE GAS WAS INTRODUCED, A PANIC WOULD HAPPEN. THE PANIC WAS SUCH THAT WE HAVE EYEWITNESS REPORTS THAT THE VICTIMS TRIED TO BREAK THE GAS OF THE PEEPHOLE. THAT WAS THE ONLY AGENCY THEY STILL HAD LEFT IN THIS PANIC. AND THEREFORE, THE GERMANS CREATED THIS PROTECTIVE HALF SPHERE MADE OUT OF STEEL OVER THE PEEPHOLE. AND, IN SOME WAY, IT IS THIS PROTECTIVE DEVICE THAT IN SOME WAY GIVES AN INDICATION OF THE TERRIBLE CONDITIONS THAT WERE INSIDE THAT GAS CHAMBER. IF THE ONLY THING THAT YOU CAN STILL DO IS TRY TO BREAK THE GLASS IN THAT PEEPHOLE, AS THE GAS ENTERS, IT REALLY MEANS THAT YOU HAVE NO AGENCY, NO OPTIONS WHATSOEVER. A newspaper article appears with a picture of Irving and the headline "Racist historian faces 2 million pound bill for libel defeat." Robert says AFTER A TRIAL THAT LASTED 33 DAYS IN COURT, IRVING WAS DECLARED THE LOSER BY THE JUDGE. THIS CASE WAS VERY IMPORTANT BECAUSE, FOR THE FIRST TIME, BOTH HOLOCAUST DENIAL AND THE THEORIES THAT SUPPORT HOLOCAUST DENIAL, AS WELL AS THE EVIDENCE... IN THIS CASE, FOR THE KILLINGS IN AUSCHWITZ... HAD BEEN SUBJECTED TO A JUDICIAL REVIEW, AND A JUDGE WHO PRESIDED OVER THE CASE WITHOUT A JURY HAD COME TO THE CONCLUSION THAT THE HOLOCAUST, INDEED, HAD TAKEN PLACE, AND THAT THE KEY PLACE IN THE HOLOCAUST, AUSCHWITZ, HAD BEEN AN EXTERMINATION CAMP IN WHICH MORE THAN A MILLION PEOPLE HAD BEEN KILLED IN GAS CHAMBERS. A picture shows a pile of victims’ clothing items. Music plays as the end credits roll. Producer, Wodek Szemberg. @wodekszemberg. Editor, Ian Partridge.Episode: Proving The Truth Behind The HolocaustTVO Today is the immersive home for quality current affairs journalism, award-winning documentaries and podcasts that explore important issues and inspiring solutions.Connect with TVOExplore TVOWork with TVODonatePrivacy NoticeSponsorship GuidelinesTerms of UseTVO is a registered charity #85985 0232 RR0001 - Copyright © 2023 The Ontario Educational Communications Authority (TVO) Other TVO Websites