Jean-Claude Pressac (3 March 1944 – 23 July 2003)[1] was a French pharmacist by profession, who became a published authority on the Auschwitz concentration camp homicidal gas chambers deployed during the Holocaust in World War II.
However, upon visiting Auschwitz in 1979 and 1980, Pressac was able to view first-hand the extensive archive of original German documents thanks to the courtesy of the museum staff and administration unaware of the true purpose of his research[citation needed], and quickly realized that Faurisson and other Holocaust deniers were wrong.
Pressac used only authentic documents concerning the construction of crematoria and the gas chambers, which originated from the Nazi German office of Zentral Bauleitung der Waffen SS.
He described his experience dramatically in the 'Postface' of Auschwitz: Technique and operation of the gas chambers, saying that he "nearly did away with [himself] one evening in October 1979 in the main camp, the Stammlager, overwhelmed by the evidence and by despair".
I had admittedly been able to take many photographs, which I thought would help Faurisson form a more concrete picture of the site, but I had not been able to bring back any documents ... verification meant trips to Poland and therefore extended over a period of months ...
[8] Pressac's first 1989 book featuring the totality of his original research was a soft cover limited print already translated from French, sponsored financially by the Klarsfeld Foundation.
[9] The broader impact of his research was achieved only with the translated version of his second book titled The machinery of mass murder at Auschwitz : design, construction, use, modifications, and destruction of the crematoria and gas chambers which was published in 1993.