Case reopens of scholar who claimed Jews were not killed in gas chambers

A regional court in Opole has reopened the case of former Opole University scholar Dariusz Ratajczak, who stands accused of the so-called "Auschwitz lie". In 1999 Ratajczak published a book entitled "Dangerous Subjects", in which he claimed that no Jews had been killed in gas chambers during World War II. "Cyclon B was used for disinfection, not to murder people, and the stories told by the surviving prisoners who claim they saw people being killed in the gas chambers are valueless," Ratajczak wrote. The prosecution sought a retrial, after the original case was dismissed because the evidence pointed to "minimal damage to society". (Gazeta Wyborcza, p. 9) A.Z.