Jewish deaths
Sir: I note with interest David Irving's letter (25 November), drawing attention to the Tass report that the Auschwitz Death Books reveal that only 74,000 people died in that camp. As for Arno Mayer's claim that most deaths in Auschwitz were from natural causes, I think it may be treated with the respect that much of American scholarship has recently earned. Masters of disinformation and misin- formation such as Tass cannot really expect to be taken seriously. I for one would regretfully prefer to accept the estimates given by Otto Ohlendorf and Franz Hoess at the Nuremberg trials. After all, Hoess himself was at least present; he would assuredly know what he had done and would attempt to put as good a face on it as possible. Other and more credible evi- dence inclines one to the belief that at least 21/2 million people were murdered in what was after all one of the premier 'Vernich- tungslager' under the control of the RSHA. An interesting point: if, as it would appear, some six million Jews disappeared during Hitler's reign and if a mere 74,000 died of natural causes in Auschwitz, what happened to the rest? Would Mr Irving suggest direct bodily assumption into heaven or have they joined the Pied Piper's children in Hamelin?
P.J. van Aswegan
P 0 Box 3206, Harare, Zimbabwe
Previous page
