Ett av de största problemen som ortodoxa förintelsehistoriker tampats med de senaste 40 åren är hur krematorierna i Auschwitz-Birkenau kunde kremera hundratusentals kroppar utan att det eldfasta teglet i ugnarna behövde bytas, en mödosam process som innebar att krematoriet behövde stängas ned, ugnarna nedkylas, och tegelverket kring ugnarna läggas om.
Kremeringsugnarna i Auschwitz var, precis som moderna 2000-talskrematorier, byggda med ett enormt murverk i eldfast tegel, vars syfte var att absorbera den värme som genererades vid förbränningen av koks, och utstråla denna värme till kremeringskammaren i önskad temperatur. I slutet på 30-talet var eldfast tegel certifierat för ca. 2000-3000 kremeringar, varefter ett serviceunderhåll behövde genomföras och teglet bytas. Inte mycket har hänt sedan 30-talet, och även idag är eldfast tegel certifierat för ca. 2000-3000 kremeringar. Skälet till detta är att den värmestress som teglet utsätts för leder till sprickbildning och flagningar, vilket sänker absorberingsförmågan och gör teglet obrukbart.
Det nordamerikanska kremeringsförbundet frågade sina medlemmar hur ofta deras moderna krematorier behövde genomföra tegelbyten, och fick till svar att byten genomfördes efter i genomsnitt 1250-2500 kremeringar:
Even the most sophisticated refractory materials will wear out over time and need to be replaced since the refractory floor or hearth is subject not only to the intense heat of cremation, but to the abrasion of sweeping and cleaning out cremated remains after every cremation. It’s typical for the floor to be the first, and most common, area that is replaced in a cremator. Because refractory repairs are such a necessary (and expensive) part of operating a crematory, we went to the experts.
We asked all CANA member crematory equipment manufacturers questions regarding the replacement of the hearth or floor of a cremator, seeking their insight and wisdom as well as any tips on how to increase the longevity of the refractory hearth.
HOW OFTEN SHOULD A CREMATORY OPERATOR EXPECT TO REPLACE THE REFRACTORY FLOOR IN THEIR CREMATOR?
This question got quite a range of answers – anywhere from one thousand to five thousand cremations! Our experts agreed that so much of the lifespan depended on the design of the units and the materials that are used. Determining the longevity of the floor (or hearth) is based on frequency of use, load volume, and remember that loading the case and removing the cremated remains causes abrasions. The average of the companies’ responses ranged from 1,250 to 2,500.
IS THERE A SPECIFIC OR PARTICULAR TYPE OF REFRACTORY MATERIAL THAT YOU USE? WHAT ARE ITS ADVANTAGES? DISADVANTAGES?
To a one, this was proprietary – no one wanted to say what was in the secret sauce – but all have tried and tested many materials until they found ones that could withstand very high heat, held up with heavy use, and created a smooth surface.
https://www.cremationassociation.org/blogpost/776820/303153/Refractory-Rules-Five-Tips-to-Maximize-Cremator-Efficiency
Denna gäckande fråga har tagits upp av förintelserevisionister så tidigt som på 80-talet, och redan vid Zündelrättegången i Kanada år 1988 så diskuterades frågan. Försvaret hade kallat expertvittnet Ivan Lagacé, som var en certifierad kremeringstekniker och föreståndare för ett krematorium i Alberta. Lagacé vittnade bland annat om följande i relation till det eldfasta tegelverket i krematoriet:
To repair the unit in such circumstances the operator had to cease operation of the retort, allow the machine 48 hours of cooling down time with the door fully open, and preferably with a fan flowing through the machine. The bricks or tiling then had to be removed and new ones cemented. The average life expectancy of floor refractory was 1,500 cremations. The bricks of the retort's walls and ceilings were rated for 3,000 cremations while the bricks of the afterburn chamber were rated for roughly 2,000 cremations.
The time to cremate a human being (the cremation cycle) took an average of two hours. After the first cremation of the day was completed, the operator must let the retort cool-down for a minimum of one hour before beginning the second case. After the second cremation, a cool- down period of at least two hours was required. Even with cool-down times, Lagacé testified that cremations could not be done "24 hours a day, round the clock, day after day the refractory will not tolerate it." Factory recommendation for normal operation was a maximum of three cases per day in a normal eight hour work day. No more than 50 -- 60 cases should be processed in any month so that the refractory life was prolonged. That was an average of 2 cases a day.
There was no way to speed up this process, Lagacé testified, without effecting the refractory brick and endangering the life of the operator. If no cool-down period was allowed between cremations, the temperature would go out of control and probably exceed the 2,200 degrees Fahrenheit rated for the bricks. This would cause excessive spalling, or flaking, of the bricks. Secondly, the operator could not safely open a retort having an internal temperature of 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit. "I have to allow for cool-down time, for my safety," said Lagacé, "and to bring the temperature in the retort to a point where there is safe loading of the next case."
Lagacé introduced a sample brick into evidence which the jury was allowed to handle. The brick was extremely light and brittle making it an extremely good insulator, but also very delicate: "I could take an ordinary handsaw and cut it in half." The brick was able to withstand 2,600 degrees Fahrenheit, and was therefore a little better than the average firebrick.
In a new crematory, the new refractory brick had to be cured or dried out during a break-in cycle of one cremation per day for 25 days. If this number was exceeded, refractory failure would certainly be caused.
During normal cremations, there was some flaking of brick, wearing it from the inside to the outside. If the brick was overheated, however, it would simply crack along its length to about one half of its depth, thereby causing premature failure. In such a case, the fire would not be contained within the retort and the metal superstructure, which supported the retort, would buckle. Eventually, testified Lagacé, the retort would collapse and a fire would occur outside the cremation chamber.
Trots att frågan är helt avgörande för den påstådda kremeringskapaciteten i lägret, som i övrigt inte kunnat beläggas med empiriska data, så har problemet avhandlats ytterst sparsamt i den befintliga förintelseortodoxa litteraturen, och tekniska studier på frågan har istället lagts på revisionisternas axlar, som avhandlat frågan i flertalet primärstudier.
En av de försvårande omständigheterna för det officiella förintelsenarrativet är att ett annat tyskt koncentrationsläger, Gusen i Österrike, genomförde ett dokumenterat tegelbyte efter 3200 kremeringar, vilket tog en ingenjör ca. 1 månad att genomföra. Skälet till det omfattande tegelbytet var den höga belastning som krematoriet utsatts för. För Auschwitz finns dock ingen som helst dokumentation om några tegelbyten, trots att hela det enorma arkivet från det centrala byggnadskontoret i Auschwitz,
Zentralbauleitung, finns bevarat i Moskva och studerats uttömmande av förintelseforskare sedan 90-talet. Föreställningen att Auschwitz-ugnarna genomgick hundratusentals kremeringar utan omfattande tegelbyten är tekniskt absurt.
