Degesch, the company that produced the Zyklon B, which was used in the gas chambers in Auschwitz/Birkenau, has an American unit, where they produce... fumigants.
[Thanks to my good friend Harry Mazal, the moving force behind the Holocaust History Project, for alerting me to this.]
Their website boasts that:
Degesch employees continue to make important contributions in fumigant research, development and application techniquesDo those previous "important contributions," which they continue to make, include their work at Auschwitz?
2 comments:
Hi Professor Lipstadt, my name is Leslie Patterson, and I'm in your Holocaust class. I just wanted to comment on this with a little tidbit of information. When I visited the Jewish Memorial in Berlin, my guide told us (the group) that in order to prevent
graffiti and desecration of the huge cement blocks that make up the memorial, there is a special coating that the designers used over the blocks that makes them impervious to paint/spray paint and forever "washable". Well, a man soon discovered that the company who produced this coating was the same company that produced Zyklon B, Degesch. In order to "make up for" this, I believe that they donated money and/or the coating was free...i don't quite remember, but whatever they did they took measures to in a way morally account for their previous actions. You probably already knew this, but I wasn't sure and thought it was an interesting fact that related to this blog posting.
Professor Lipstadt, I appreciate the information you've given here, which in fact I was looking for. But does the Degesch site put the single word "continue" in bold italics? I wouldn't have thought that a scholar of your caliber, and recognition of the importance of such details, would have omitted the obligatory "emphasis added." Best wishes.
Post a Comment