What is Zyklon B?
'''Zyklon B''' was the trade name of a [[pesticide]] invented in [[Germany]] in the early 1920s. It contains [[Cyanide|hydrogen cyanide]] as well as other chemicals. The product was used in [[Nazi Germany]] in [[Gas chamber|gas chambers]] to kill [[Jew|Jews]] as part of the [[The Holocaust|Holocaust]], such as at [[Auschwitz concentration camp|Auschwitz]] and other [[Extermination camp|extermination camps]]. Hydrogen cyanide, present in Zyklon B, is a [[Poison|poisonous]] gas that interferes with [[respiration]] in cells. The cyanide [[ion]] stops the cell from making [[Adenosine triphosphate|ATP]] by binding into a [[protein]] involved in the reaction. == History == Hydrogen cyanide had been discovered in the late 18th century and was usually used in [[California]] for the fumigation of [[Citrus|citrus trees]]. In 1919, the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Schädlingsbekämpfung mbH ([[Degesch]]) was founded in Germany. This was a state-controlled group to investigate [[Chemical warfare|military uses of the chemical]]. The new product was marketed as a pesticide, Zyklon, but was soon banned as being similar to a mixture used in [[World War I]] as a weapon.<ref>Hayes, Peter 2004. ''From cooperation to complicity: Degussa in the Third Reich''. Cambridge; New York; Melbourne: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-78227-9''</ref> Zyklon B was recreated by Degesch, after Degesch came under new management, and eventually after achieving a patent, [[Walter Heerdt]] was named as its inventor. It was used at U.S [[Customs]] facilities along the Mexican border to [[fumigation|fumigate]] the clothes of border crossers.<ref>Burnett, John 2006. ''The Bath Riots: indignity along the Mexican border''</ref> == References == {{reflist}} {{Chemical agents}} [[Category:Poisons]] [[Category:Chemical warfare]] [[Category:The Holocaust]] [[Category:Pesticides]]