BelzecBelzec was established as a work camp in December 1941 and functioned through December 1942. (A. Mayer, Why Did the Heavens not Darken?, pp. 396, 402). It is situated about a hundred miles southeast of Warsaw, it was connected by a feeder track to a main railway line approximately halfway between Lublin and Lvov. Christian Wirth was appointed commandant in the second half of December 1941, his adjutant, Josef Oberhauser, was responsible for all construction work.(Ibid., p. 402). Air photos reveal that Belzec was located on a hillside with moderately sized trees which were cut and removed from the train tracks to the top of the ridge from 1940 to 1944 while villagers had an unobstructed view of the hill. (J. Ball, Air Photo Evidence, p. 97). Holocaust Fundamentalists believe that gassing facilities were installed in three wooden barracks. After using bottled carbon monoxide at the outset, the operatives switched to feeding diesel exhaust fumes from trucks into the chambers. In mid-July 1942, the wooden barracks were replaced by a brick structure. It is alleged that these structures held six gas chambers. According to Arno Mayer, "The dimensions and capacities of these chambers remain as uncertain as those of the original ones." It is alleged that 600,000 Jewish people were gassed and buried at Belzec. The facilities at Belzec were destroyed in December of 1942. It is presumed that mass graves were opened at this time and the corpses were burned in the open. After May 1942, the camp was dismantled and pine trees were planted over it. Air Photo analysis expert, John Ball has pointed out that "to bury the alleged 600,000 would have used an area 460 by 460 meters (1500 by 1500 feet) or 33 times larger than the 120 by 55 meters (390 by 180 feet) described mass grave area. (Ibid., p.111). Much of what is "known" about the Belzec camp comes to us through the "Confessions" of Kurt Gerstein, an SS officer. There are six conflicting versions of the Gerstein "Confessions." For a thorough analysis of Gerstein, see Henri Roques, The 'Confessions' of Kurt Gerstein (Costa Mesa: Institute for Historical Review, 1989). FOR FURTHER STUDY:
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