Zyklon B

This cyanide based pesticide was invented in the 1920's and used during the Holocaust as a disinfectent for the clothes worn by the prisoners. Its effectivness against lice and other bugs that infected the clothes did not go unnoticed.

Tests began on finding a more effective killer than slow acting carbon monoxide or engine exhaust that was being used in camps all over to kill Jews and other prisoners. Zyklon B quickly became the favorite.

At the height of its use, over a thousand prisoners were forced into gas chambers at a time. Standing on the roof of the chambers, pellets of Zyklon B were poured onto the prisoners, who largely thought that they would receive showers (a ploy used to keep those destined to die under control and to prevent riots as much as possible). However once the pellets were released, Johann Kremer, an SS doctor, reported that the, "Shouting and screaming could be heard through the opening." When the doors were finally opened, the victims were often found with their skin a pinkish color and dotted with red and green spots in addition to the blood from their ears.

Use of Zyklon B became common in Auschwitz-Birkenau, Majanek, Sachsenhausen and one of the Operation Reinhard camps.