The interrogations in 1963 and 1964

In the course of the investigations against the leader of Einsatzkommando 8, Heinz Richter, Josef Wendl was questioned in October 1963 about his deployment in the East. During the interrogation, Wendl reported on his activities as a gas van driver. Wendl claimed that he was not involved in the extermination operations, but gave a description of how the gas van worked:

"Inside the car there was a pipe system which was covered with a wooden grate. To the outside there was a connection to the muffler, which could be screwed on or off at any time. To the rear there were two windows. The loading area or room dimensions were about 6 x 2 x 2 metres. The box was completely sealed with rubber tyres. The vehicle was equipped with a petrol engine, 6 cylinders. [...] The entrance door was lockable from the outside [sic!]." [1]

In 1964 Wendl had to testify again, but this time also before German officials. He told the same story as in 1963, but he specified some details, including a statement about the use of the gas vans and his role in the killings:

"I stayed in the driver's cab of the van while the SD escort commando, with the help of Russian civilians, screwed the gas hose from the muffler to the connection pipe under the G-van. After the hose was connected, I let the engine run. [...] After about 8-10 minutes the gassing was complete. Of course, I got out of the car while the engine was running. I heard that terrible scenes must have taken place inside the car. The prisoners naturally realised what was about to happen to them and reacted accordingly, loudly or not so loudly. [...] The doors were then opened by the escort commando. Russian civilians [...] had to drag the corpses out of the wagon and pile them up in the pit." [2]

He also stated that he was present at both shootings and killings by gas.

Sources:

[1] Rennert, p. 78

[2] Rennert, p. 80.

[3] DÖW (Hg.), „Einsatz in Maly Trostinec“, In: Dokumentationsarchiv des österreichischen Widerstandes (Hg.), Deportation und Vernichtung – Maly Trostinec, (Wien 2019).