This article is about the cyanide-based insecticide used during the Holocaust. For the Norwegian black metal band see Zyklon-B (band). Zyklon-B was a Norwegian Black metal band founded in 1995 The band’s members were Tomas "Samoth" Thormodsæter Haugen ( guitar

Empty poison gas canisters, found by the Allies at the end of World War II

Zyklon B (IPA: [tsykloːn ˈbeː], also spelled Cyclon B) was the tradename of a cyanide-based insecticide notorious for its use by Nazi Germany against civilians in the gas chambers of Auschwitz and Majdanek during the Holocaust. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including A cyanide is any Chemical compound that contains the cyano group (C≡N which consists of a Carbon Atom triple-bonded to a An insecticide is a Pesticide used against Insects in all developmental forms Nazi Germany and the Third Reich are the common English names for Germany under the regime of Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist German Workers A gas chamber is an apparatus for killing consisting of a sealed chamber into which a Poisonous or Asphyxiant gas is introduced "Auschwitz" redirects here For the town see Oświęcim Auschwitz-Birkenau () was the largest of Nazi Germany Majdanek was a Nazi Concentration camp on the outskirts of Lublin, Poland. The Holocaust (from the Greek el ''ὁλόκαυστον'' (el-Latn holókauston holos, "completely" and kaustos, "burnt" also known as It consisted of hydrogen cyanide (prussic acid, Blausäure in German, hence B), a stabilizer, and a warning odorant that were impregnated onto various substrates, typically small absorbent pellets, fibre discs, or diatomaceous earth. Hydrogen cyanide is a Chemical compound with Chemical formula HCN In Chemistry a stabilizer is a chemical which tends to inhibit the reaction between two or more other chemicals Diatomaceous earth (ˌdaɪətəˈmeɪʃəs ˈɝθ also known as DE, TSS, diatomite, diahydro, kieselguhr, kieselgur and It was stored in airtight containers; when exposed to air, the material released gaseous hydrogen cyanide (HCN). Hydrogen cyanide is a Chemical compound with Chemical formula HCN

History and production

Zyklon B was originally developed as a pesticide by Fritz Haber, a German Jew who emigrated in 1933. Fritz Haber (9 December 1868 &ndash 29 January 1934 was a German chemist, who received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1918 for his development for It was first produced in World War I by TASCH (Technischer Ausschuss für Schädlingsbekämpfung, or Technical Committee for Pest Control) as a delousing agent. Out of TASCH emerged DEGESCH (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Schädlingsbekämpfung mbH, or German Corporation for Pest Control), which played a key role in the manufacturing of Zyklon B in World War II. Many German companies had a stake in DEGESCH, but all eventually sold their shares to the chemical giant Degussa (Now known as Evonik) in the early 1920s. Degussa developed the process to manufacture Zyklon B in "crystals" (actually silicagel absorbent chunks), as it was used during World War II. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including To raise capital, Degussa split its controlling interest of DEGESCH with IG Farben in 1930: both companies held a 42. IG Farben (short for Interessen-Gemeinschaft Farbenindustrie AG, "syndicate of dyestuff corporations" and also called I 5% share in DEGESCH, with the remaining 15% held by the Th. Goldschmidt AG of Essen. Essen (ˈɛsən is a City in the center of the Ruhr Area in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.

DEGESCH's role at this point was limited to acquiring patents and intellectual properties: it did not itself produce Zyklon B. A patent is a set of Exclusive rights granted by a State to an inventor or his assignee for a fixed period of time in exchange for a disclosure of an Intellectual property ( IP) is a legal field that refers to creations of the mind such as musical literary and artistic works inventions and symbols names The manufacture of Zyklon B was handled by the Dessauer Werke für Zucker and Chemische Werke, which acquired the stabilizer from IG Farben, the warning agent from Schering AG and the prussic acid from Dessauer Schlempe and assembled them into the final product. This company extracted prussic acid from the waste products of the sugar beet refining process. Sugar beet ( Beta vulgaris L a member of the Chenopodiaceae family is a plant whose root contains a high concentration of Sucrose. From 1943 to 1945, the Kaliwerke, from the Czech town of Kolin, also supplied prussic acid to the Dessauer Werke. When Zyklon B became used in the gas chambers, the Nazis ordered the warning agent removed. The, officially National Socialist German Workers' Party, ( abbreviated NSDAP) was a Political party in Germany between 1919 and 1945

Upon production, Zyklon B was sold by Degesch to Degussa. To cut costs, Degussa sold the marketing rights of Zyklon B to two intermediaries: the Heerdt and Linger GmbH (Heli) and Tesch and Stabenow (Tesch und Stabenow, Internationale Gesellschaft für Schädlingsbekämpfung m. b. H. , or Testa) of Hamburg. Hamburg (English, German: ˈhambʊɐk local pronunciation Low German / Low Saxon: Hamborg) is the second-largest city in Germany Both suppliers split their territory along the Elbe river, with Heli handling the clients to the west and Testa doing the same in the east. The Elbe ( die Elbe Low German: de Ilv) is one of the major Rivers of Central Europe.

Zyklon B is still in production in the Czech Republic in the factory Draslovka Kolín a. The Czech Republic ( ˈt͡ʃɛskaː ˈrɛpuˌblɪka short form in Česko ˈt͡ʃɛskɔ also called Czechia, s. in the city Kolín under the tradename Uragan D2, sold for eradicating insects and small animals. Kolín (ˈkoliːn is a Town in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic some 55 kilometres east from Prague lying on the Elbe river A trade name, also known as a trading name or a business name, is the name which a Business trades under for commercial purposes although its registered Uragan D2 is a cyanide-based pesticide identical to Zyklon B. ^[1]

Use on humans

A Soviet soldier posed at Majdanek holding the cover of the vents through which Zyklon B was poured. Majdanek was a Nazi Concentration camp on the outskirts of Lublin, Poland. London press, October 1944.

From 1929 onwards the U.S. used Zyklon B to disinfect the freight trains and clothes of Mexican immigrants entering the US. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Disinfectants are Antimicrobial agents that are applied to non-living objects to destroy Microorganisms, the process of which is known as disinfection. The United Mexican States ( or commonly Mexico (ˈmɛksɪkoʊ () is a federal constitutional Republic in North America. ^[2] Farm Securities Administration photographer Marion Post Wolcott recorded the use of cyanide gas and zyklon by the Public Health Service at the New Orleans Quarantine Station during the 1930s. ^[3]

Use by Nazi Germany

See also: The Holocaust

The pesticide was used by Nazi Germany as a chemical weapon to poison prisoners in the gas chambers of the largest extermination camp, Auschwitz Birkenau, and also at Majdanek, one of the Operation Reinhard camps. The Holocaust (from the Greek el ''ὁλόκαυστον'' (el-Latn holókauston holos, "completely" and kaustos, "burnt" also known as Nazi Germany and the Third Reich are the common English names for Germany under the regime of Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist German Workers Chemical warfare involves using the toxic properties of Chemical substances to kill injure or incapacitate an enemy. A gas chamber is an apparatus for killing consisting of a sealed chamber into which a Poisonous or Asphyxiant gas is introduced Extermination camps were two types of facilities that Nazi Germany built during World War II for the systematic killing of millions of people in what has become "Auschwitz" redirects here For the town see Oświęcim Auschwitz-Birkenau () was the largest of Nazi Germany Majdanek was a Nazi Concentration camp on the outskirts of Lublin, Poland. Operation Reinhard ( Aktion Reinhard or Einsatz Reinhard in German) was the code name given to the Nazi plan to murder Polish Jews At the other extermination camps, engine exhaust was used in the gas chambers. Exhaust gas is Flue gas which occurs as a result of the Combustion of fuels such as Natural gas, Gasoline /petrol Diesel, Fuel Many of the victims were Jews and the Zyklon B gas became a central symbol of the Holocaust. PLEASE TAKE NOTE************ The Holocaust (from the Greek el ''ὁλόκαυστον'' (el-Latn holókauston holos, "completely" and kaustos, "burnt" also known as

Zyklon B was used in the concentration camps initially for delousing to control typhus. Internment is the imprisonment or confinement of people commonly in large groups without trial Lice (singular louse) ( order Phthiraptera) are an order of over 3000 Species of wingless Insects three of which are classified Typhus is any of several similar diseases caused by Louse -borne bacteria The chemical used in the gas chambers was deliberately made without the warning odorant. ^[4]

In January or February 1940, 250 Gypsy children from Brno in the Buchenwald concentration camp were used as guinea pigs for testing the Zyklon B gas. The Romani people (singular Rom, plural Roma as a Noun; also known as Romanies or Roma people) are an ethnic group with origins Brno ( IPA:; Brünn is the second-largest City in the Czech Republic. Buchenwald concentration camp (German Konzentrationslager or 'KZ' Buchenwald) was a Nazi concentration camp established on the Ettersberg (Etter Mountain near Human subject research (HSR or human subject use (HSU involves the use of human beings as research subjects ^[5] On September 3, 1941, 600 Soviet prisoners of war and 250 sick Polish prisoners were gassed with Zyklon B at Auschwitz camp I; this was the first experiment with the gas at Auschwitz. Events 36 BC - In the Battle of Naulochus, Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, Admiral of Octavian, defeats Sextus Pompeius Year 1941 ( MCMXLI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (the link will display 1941 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. A soviet (сове́т, "council" originally was a workers' local council in late Imperial Russia. The experiments lasted more than 20 hours.

According to Rudolf Höß, commandant of Auschwitz, bunker 1 held 800 people, and bunker 2 held 1,200. Rudolf Franz Ferdinand Höß (in English commonly Hoess or Höss; November 25 1900 - April 16 1947 was an SS- Obersturmbannführer and ^[6] Once the chamber was full, the doors were screwed shut and solid pellets of Zyklon-B were dropped into the chambers through vents in the side walls, releasing a toxic gas. Zyklon B (tsykloːn ˈbeː also spelled Cyclon B or Those inside died within 20 minutes; the speed of death depended on how close the inmate was standing to a gas vent, according to Höß, who estimated that about one third of the victims died immediately. ^[7] Joann Kremer, an SS doctor who oversaw the gassings, testified that: "Shouting and screaming of the victims could be heard through the opening and it was clear that they fought for their lives. "^[8] When they were removed, if the chamber had been very congested, as they often were, the victims were found half-squatting, their skin colored pink with red and green spots, some foaming at the mouth or bleeding from the ears. ^[7]

Post-Holocaust legacy

After the war, two directors of Testa – Bruno Tesch and Karl Weinbacher – were tried by a British military court and were executed for their part in supplying the chemical. Bruno Emil Tesch ( 14 August 1890 - 16 May 1946 in Hameln) was a German chemist and entrepreneur condemned and executed on 16

The use of the word Zyklon (German for cyclone) continues to prompt angry reactions from Jewish groups. In Meteorology, a cyclone refers to an area of closed circular fluid motion rotating in the same direction as the Earth. In 2002, both Bosch Siemens Hausgeräte and Umbro were forced to withdraw from attempts to use or trademark the term for their products. Umbro ( is a British sportswear and equipment supplier based in Cheadle, Greater Manchester, England. ^[9]

Modern Holocaust deniers assert that Zyklon B gas was not used in the gas chambers, relying as evidence on the low levels of Prussian blue residue in samples of the purported gas chambers found by Fred A. Leuchter, which Leuchter dismissed as the results of general delousing of buildings. Holocaust denial is the claim that the Genocide of Jews during World War II —usually referred to as The Holocaust —did not occur in the Prussian blue is a very dark blue colorfast non-toxic Pigment – one of the first synthetic Dyes – which was discovered accidentally in Berlin in 1704 Frederick A (Fred Leuchter Jr (born 1943 is an American execution technician who rose to controversy for his Testimony in defense of Holocaust Lice (singular louse) ( order Phthiraptera) are an order of over 3000 Species of wingless Insects three of which are classified However, Leuchter's negative control, a sample of gasket material taken from a different building in the camp, registered as having no such cyanide residue. Scientific controls allow Experiments to study one Variable at a time and are a vital part of the Scientific method. A gasket is a mechanical seal that fills the space between two objects generally to prevent leakage between the two objects while under compression. ^[10] The manager of the analytical laboratory hired by Leuchter states in an interview in Errol Morris' film Mr. Death: The Rise and Fall of Fred A. Leuchter, Jr., that Leuchter's thick samples of brick would have greatly diluted the cyanide residue, which forms only an extremely fine layer on the walls and cannot penetrate. Analytical chemistry is the study of the Chemical composition of natural and artificial Materials. Errol Morris (born February 5, 1948) is an American Academy Award winning Documentary film director Mr Death The Rise and Fall of Fred A Leuchter Jr is a 1999 Documentary film by Errol Morris about Execution technician

In 1994, the Institute for Forensic Research in Kraków re-examined this claim on the grounds that formation of Prussian blue by exposure of bricks to cyanide is not a highly probable reaction (Amoklauf gegen die Wirklichkeit. Kraków, in English also spelled Krakow or Cracow (ˈkrækaʊ M-W: krăk'ou krāk'ō is one of the largest and oldest cities in Poland Praca zbiorowa; B. Gallanda, J. Bailer, F. Freund, T. Geisler, W. Lasek, N. Neugebauer, G. Spenn, W. Wegner; Bundesministerium fuer Unterricht und Kultur Wien, 1991). Using more sophisticated microdiffusion techniques, they tested 22 samples from the gas chambers, delousing chambers (as positive controls), and living quarters (as negative controls), finding cyanide residue in both the delousing chambers and the ruins of the gas chambers but none in the ruins of the living quarters, thus refuting the Holocaust deniers' claims. ^[11]

References

1. ^ Producer of Uragan D2 homepage.
2. ^ How America inspired the Third Reich
3. ^ Photographs are retained in the National Library of Medicine. WA 234AL6 no. 2
4. ^ Van Husen, William H. Zyklon B. World War II in Europe: An Encyclopedia. 1999.
5. ^ Emil Proester, Vraždeni čs. cikanu v Buchenwaldu (The murder of Czech Gypsies in Buchenwald). Document No. UV CSPB K-135 on deposit in the Archives of the Museum of the Fighters Against Nazism, Prague. Prague (ˈprɑːg Praha (ˈpraɦa see also other names) is the Capital and Largest city of the Czech Republic. 1940. (Quoted in: Miriam Novitch, Le génocide des Tziganes sous le régime nazi (Genocide of Gypsies by the Nazi Regime), Paris, AMIF, 1968)
6. ^ Piper, Franciszek. Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city Franciszek Piper (born 1941 is a Polish scholar historian and author "Gas chambers and Crematoria," in Berenbaum, Michael & Gutman, Yisrael (eds). Anatomy of the Auschwitz Death Camp, Indiana University Press and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, 1994, p. 162.
7. ^ ^{a b} Piper, Franciszek. Franciszek Piper (born 1941 is a Polish scholar historian and author "Gas chambers and Crematoria," in Berenbaum, Michael & Gutman, Yisrael (eds). Anatomy of the Auschwitz Death Camp, Indiana University Press and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, 1994, p. 170.
8. ^ Piper, Franciszek. Franciszek Piper (born 1941 is a Polish scholar historian and author "Gas chambers and Crematoria," in Berenbaum, Michael & Gutman, Yisrael (eds). Anatomy of the Auschwitz Death Camp, Indiana University Press and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, 1994, p. 163.
9. ^ BBC NEWS | Business | Siemens retreats over Nazi name
10. ^ Shofar FTP Archive File: cyanide.002 The Nizkor Project
11. ^ A Study of the Cyanide Compounds Content in the Walls of the Gas Chambers in the Former Auschwitz and Birkenau Concentration Camps

External links

• Chemistry is Not the Science - a critique of the arguments of Holocaust deniers regarding the use of Zyklon B in gas chambers. The Nizkor Project ( Hebrew: נִזְכּוֹר we will remember) is an ongoing Internet -based project run by Ken McVay which is dedicated Holocaust denial is the claim that the Genocide of Jews during World War II —usually referred to as The Holocaust —did not occur in the
• A summary of Degussa's role in the production of Zyklon B during the National Socialist era
• URAGAN D2 (Czech)