The implication of the German chemical industry in the Shoah: The matter of Zyklon-B gas

Zyklon B, an anti-parasite product derived from prussic acid, had been mark eted and sold throughout the world by the German firm Degesch from 1925 onw ards. In the late thirties, the fall in exports was compensated by a dramat ic increase in domestic consumption linked to the development of the Nazi m ilitary and concentration system. Its misuse by the S.S. from the fall of 1 941 onwards to implement the Shoah represented a secondary market economica lly speaking, but it brought a heavy burden of responsibility to bear on th ese firms.