Leuchter reports

The Leuchter reports are a series of reports by Fred A. Leuchter.

The Leuchter reports

Leuchter had for decades before the first Leuchter report been a leading technical expert on the execution methods used for capital punishment in the United States. In 1988, shortly before the second of Ernst Zundel's Holocaust trials, and after having been shown Holocaust revisionist evidence by Robert Faurisson, Leuchter, as an expert on American gas chamber executions, agreed to examine the alleged homicidal gas chambers of several Holocaust camps. He traveled to Poland with his wife (who was also his secretary), his draftsman, a video cameraman and a translator, to make a technical examination. He returned to the United States and wrote a 192-page report (including appendices).

Faurisson was the first person to point out that a blue discoloration ("Prussian blue") caused by the delousing agent/alleged homicidal agent Zyklon B was present in delousing gas chambers, but not in alleged homicidal gas chambers. Leuchter therefore brought back 32 test samples taken from the masonry of the alleged homicidal gas chambers, as well as from a delousing gas chamber. When chemically analyzed, all samples taken from the gas chambers supposedly used for mass human extermination exhibited either no or only negligible traces of Zyklon B derivatives, while the sample from the delousing chambers taken as a control exhibited very high amounts.

However, during the trial the judge prohibited the defense from using or even mentioning to the jury the report and severely limited what Leuchter was allowed to state as a defense witness. This was motivated by claiming that Leuchter was an expert only on a very limited area. See also Ernst Zundel's Holocaust trials: The judge at the 1988 trial.

The report was published after the trial as The Leuchter Report.

Much less well-known is that three later Leuchter reports were also published and that the Leuchter reports did not discuss just Zyklon B derivatives, but also many other aspects of the camps and that were argued to support Holocaust revisionism.

Examples include stating that there had been no gastight doors in the gassing rooms as well as no ventilation facilities for the drawing off of the poison, that the capacity of the crematories had been much too small, and similar other technical arguments.

Criticisms and counter-criticisms

The first report received enormous attention and was followed by various attempts to discredit it, as well as by support by Holocaust revisionists, answering criticisms and adding further argued evidence such as the Rudolf report and the Lüftl report.

Rudolf has stated that "Because Fred Leuchter had only two weeks to prepare his expert report focusing on the Auschwitz and Majdanek camps and because he had no in-depth knowledge of the historical issues at hand, his report could not possibly have the scientific depth the topic deserves. It was therefore to be expected that it would be subject to detailed criticism."

See also Missing Zyklon B derivatives in claimed homicidal gas chamber walls argument and Holocaust material evidence.

Persecutions

"Leuchter was blacklisted in the U.S. and hounded by the Holocaust lobby and the world's lapdog media. He was arrested and jailed in Germany while visiting there to appear on a television show, and he was denied entry to the UK due to his forensic research. As a result of intense Jewish pressure, Leuchter lost his livelihood. Since making known his findings, he also has been libelled, slandered, and financially ruined."

The Leuchter Reports: Critical Edition

Germar Rudolf: "Considering the fact that the Leuchter Report remains popular, I decided to put it back in print. But since historical research on Auschwitz and Majdanek has made huge progress since 1988 – not least because many archives in eastern Europe became accessible after the collapse of the Soviet Union – it would be irresponsible to simply reprint it. It was therefore decided to publish a commented version of it. The text of the original Leuchter Report was left intact, since it has also become a historical document in its own right. The reader will find many footnotes throughout the report, however, which were all added by the author of these lines. They either cite references to sources and further explanations that back up Leuchter’s claims, or they correct or comment on Leuchter’s statements where necessary."

See also

• Missing Zyklon B derivatives in claimed homicidal gas chamber walls argument
• Holocaust material evidence
• Rudolf report
• Lüftl report

External links

• The Leuchter Reports: Critical Edition - All four Leuchter Reports + updates
• The 20th Anniversary of the Leuchter Report: Interview: Fred A. Leuchter

Mr. Death: The Rise and Fall of Fred A. Leuchter Jr.

• Mr. Death: The Rise and Fall of Fred A. Leuchter Jr.: A Review
• Flawed Documentary of Execution Expert: Movie Review

Article archives

• Codoh: Leuchter, Fred A.