Bruno Tesch (Chemist)
Encyclopedia
Bruno Emil Tesch was a German chemist and entrepreneur. He was the co-inventor of the insecticide Zyklon B
with Gerhard Peters and Walter Heerdt. He was the owner of Tesch & Stabenow
a pest control company he cofounded in 1924 with Paul Stabenow in Hamburg
, Germany, which was a major supplier of Zyklon B to the Nazi extermination camps during World War II.
Tesch studied mathematics and physics for one semester in 1910 at the University of Göttingen before studying chemistry at the University of Berlin, receiving his degree in 1914. He attained a position at Kaiser Wilhelm Institute
.
Tesch along with fellow chemists Gerhard Peters and Walter Heerdt, with the support of I.G. Farben, began research into the use of hydrogen cyanide as a fumigating agent. They discovered a process in which the hydrogen cyanide could be manufactured and used in a solid form.
The patent was assigned to Degesch
, "Deutsche Gesellschaft fuer Schaedlingsbekaempfung GmbH" (German Limited Company for Pest Control), with Walter Heerdt being the only one of the inventors to receive patent rights, a portion of the proceeds from the manufacture and sale. Peters joined DEGESCH and would become managing director during World War II. Degesch was designated by the German Government to set the safety rules and standards for the use of Zyklon B, and was given the authority to authorize shipments from the manufacturer to the customer after the strict criteria was met.
Tesch & Stabenow did not manufacture Zyklon B nor any other chemicals. It was primarily a pest control company specializing in fumigation
of commercial properties such as the warehouses and freighters
in the Port of Hamburg.
In 1925 Tesch & Stabenow - partly due to the largesse of Paul Haber of Degesch - received the exclusive rights to distribute the insecticide
Zyklon B
east of the Elbe
river. In 1927 Stabenow departed from the firm. Tesch held a 45% share of the company and Degesch 55%. He would assume sole ownership of the company in 1942.
Captain Walter Freud, a chemist and the grandson of Sigmund Freud
. Freud was accompanied by Emil Sehm, a former TESTA bookkeeper. Sehm had claimed to see a memorandum concerning correspondence between Tesch and a Wehrmacht officer about the use of Zyklon B to gas humans. He was arrested by the British occupation authorities on September 3, 1945 and released on October 1, 1945 only to be re-arrested a few days later on October 6.
Tesch was tried by a British military tribunal in the Curiohaus in Hamburg March 1–8, 1946. His two codefendants were procurist (registered general representative) Karl Weinbacher and Joachim Drosihn, the firm’s first gassing technician.
The Prosecution case stated that Zyklon B
was used for "systematically exterminating human beings to an estimated total of six million, of whom four and a half million were exterminated by the use of Zyklon B in one camp alone, known as Auschwitz/Birkenau."
The charge was at Hamburg, Germany, between 1st January, 1941, and 31st March, 1945, in violation of the laws and usages of war did supply poison gas used for the extermination of allied nationals interned in concentration camps well knowing that the said gas was to be so used in violation of Article 46 of the Hague Convention of 1907
. One of the witnesses called by the prosecution was SS Rottenfuehrer Perry Broad
who had worked in the political department in Auschwitz. Tesch and Weinbacher were condemned to death. Drosihn was acquitted. Tesch was executed by hanging
on May 16, 1946 by Albert Pierrepoint
in Hamelin
Prison.
Zyklon B
Zyklon B was the trade name of a cyanide-based pesticide infamous for its use by Nazi Germany to kill human beings in gas chambers of extermination camps during the Holocaust. The "B" designation indicates one of two types of Zyklon...
with Gerhard Peters and Walter Heerdt. He was the owner of Tesch & Stabenow
Tesch & Stabenow
The corporation Tesch & Stabenow was a market leader in pest control chemicals between 1924 and 1945 in Germany east of the Elbe....
a pest control company he cofounded in 1924 with Paul Stabenow in Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
, Germany, which was a major supplier of Zyklon B to the Nazi extermination camps during World War II.
Tesch studied mathematics and physics for one semester in 1910 at the University of Göttingen before studying chemistry at the University of Berlin, receiving his degree in 1914. He attained a position at Kaiser Wilhelm Institute
Kaiser Wilhelm Institute
The Kaiser Wilhelm Society for the Advancement of Science was a German scientific institution established in 1911. It was implicated in Nazi science, and after the Second World War was wound up and its functions replaced by the Max Planck Society...
.
Tesch along with fellow chemists Gerhard Peters and Walter Heerdt, with the support of I.G. Farben, began research into the use of hydrogen cyanide as a fumigating agent. They discovered a process in which the hydrogen cyanide could be manufactured and used in a solid form.
The patent was assigned to Degesch
Degesch
The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Schädlingsbekämpfung mbH , in short Degesch, was a German chemical corporation during World War II. Degesch produced pesticides used against weeds and insects...
, "Deutsche Gesellschaft fuer Schaedlingsbekaempfung GmbH" (German Limited Company for Pest Control), with Walter Heerdt being the only one of the inventors to receive patent rights, a portion of the proceeds from the manufacture and sale. Peters joined DEGESCH and would become managing director during World War II. Degesch was designated by the German Government to set the safety rules and standards for the use of Zyklon B, and was given the authority to authorize shipments from the manufacturer to the customer after the strict criteria was met.
Tesch & Stabenow did not manufacture Zyklon B nor any other chemicals. It was primarily a pest control company specializing in fumigation
Fumigation
Fumigation is a method of pest control that completely fills an area with gaseous pesticides—or fumigants—to suffocate or poison the pests within. It is utilized for control of pests in buildings , soil, grain, and produce, and is also used during processing of goods to be imported or...
of commercial properties such as the warehouses and freighters
Cargo ship
A cargo ship or freighter is any sort of ship or vessel that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year; they handle the bulk of international trade...
in the Port of Hamburg.
In 1925 Tesch & Stabenow - partly due to the largesse of Paul Haber of Degesch - received the exclusive rights to distribute the insecticide
Insecticide
An insecticide is a pesticide used against insects. They include ovicides and larvicides used against the eggs and larvae of insects respectively. Insecticides are used in agriculture, medicine, industry and the household. The use of insecticides is believed to be one of the major factors behind...
Zyklon B
Zyklon B
Zyklon B was the trade name of a cyanide-based pesticide infamous for its use by Nazi Germany to kill human beings in gas chambers of extermination camps during the Holocaust. The "B" designation indicates one of two types of Zyklon...
east of the Elbe
Elbe
The Elbe is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Krkonoše Mountains of the northwestern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia , then Germany and flowing into the North Sea at Cuxhaven, 110 km northwest of Hamburg...
river. In 1927 Stabenow departed from the firm. Tesch held a 45% share of the company and Degesch 55%. He would assume sole ownership of the company in 1942.
Arrest, trial and execution
Tesch was first interrogated in Hamburg by BritishBritish Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
Captain Walter Freud, a chemist and the grandson of Sigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud , born Sigismund Schlomo Freud , was an Austrian neurologist who founded the discipline of psychoanalysis...
. Freud was accompanied by Emil Sehm, a former TESTA bookkeeper. Sehm had claimed to see a memorandum concerning correspondence between Tesch and a Wehrmacht officer about the use of Zyklon B to gas humans. He was arrested by the British occupation authorities on September 3, 1945 and released on October 1, 1945 only to be re-arrested a few days later on October 6.
Tesch was tried by a British military tribunal in the Curiohaus in Hamburg March 1–8, 1946. His two codefendants were procurist (registered general representative) Karl Weinbacher and Joachim Drosihn, the firm’s first gassing technician.
The Prosecution case stated that Zyklon B
Zyklon B
Zyklon B was the trade name of a cyanide-based pesticide infamous for its use by Nazi Germany to kill human beings in gas chambers of extermination camps during the Holocaust. The "B" designation indicates one of two types of Zyklon...
was used for "systematically exterminating human beings to an estimated total of six million, of whom four and a half million were exterminated by the use of Zyklon B in one camp alone, known as Auschwitz/Birkenau."
The charge was at Hamburg, Germany, between 1st January, 1941, and 31st March, 1945, in violation of the laws and usages of war did supply poison gas used for the extermination of allied nationals interned in concentration camps well knowing that the said gas was to be so used in violation of Article 46 of the Hague Convention of 1907
Hague Conventions (1899 and 1907)
The Hague Conventions were two international treaties negotiated at international peace conferences at The Hague in the Netherlands: The First Hague Conference in 1899 and the Second Hague Conference in 1907...
. One of the witnesses called by the prosecution was SS Rottenfuehrer Perry Broad
Perry Broad
Perry Broad, also Pery Broad was a Brazilian Non-commissioned officer SS-Unterscharführer, active at Auschwitz from April 1942 - 1945 as a translator and stenographer at the Auschwitz headquarters....
who had worked in the political department in Auschwitz. Tesch and Weinbacher were condemned to death. Drosihn was acquitted. Tesch was executed by hanging
Hanging
Hanging is the lethal suspension of a person by a ligature. The Oxford English Dictionary states that hanging in this sense is "specifically to put to death by suspension by the neck", though it formerly also referred to crucifixion and death by impalement in which the body would remain...
on May 16, 1946 by Albert Pierrepoint
Albert Pierrepoint
Albert Pierrepoint is the most famous member of the family which provided three of the United Kingdom's official hangmen in the first half of the 20th century...
in Hamelin
Hamelin
Hamelin is a town on the river Weser in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Hamelin-Pyrmont and has a population of 58,696 ....
Prison.