Auschwitz: The First Gassing. Rumor and Reality

The first gassing of human beings in Auschwitz is claimed to have occurred on Sept. 3, 1941. The accounts reporting it are the archetypes for all later gassing accounts. This study exhibits the sources about this alleged event and analyzes them critically. It shows that these sources contradict each other in every essential point, rendering it impossible to extract a consistent story. Original wartime documents inflict a final blow to the tale of the first homicidal gassing.