Gas van

The gas van was an extermination method devised by the Nazis to kill their victims during World War II.

It was a vehicle with an air-tight compartment for victims into which exhaust fumes were transmitted while the engine was running. As a result the victims were gassed with carbon monoxide, resulting in death by the combined effects of carbon monoxide poisoning and suffocation.

Gas vans were used, particularly at Chełmno extermination camp, until gas chambers were developed as a more efficient method for killing large numbers of people. The gas vans are extensively discussed in some of the interviews in Claude Lanzmann's film, Shoah.