Hitler Used Chemical Weapons During the Holocaust
The Claim
Adolf Hitler did not use chemical weapons.
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Emerging story
A claim that compares Vladimir Putin to Adolf Hitler is circulating on social media. The claim says that Hitler did not use chemical weapons, while Putin did. A prominent tweet of the claim comes from Lloyd Craig Blankfein, former senior chairman of Goldman Sachs, a global multinational investment bank and financial service provider.
Misbar’s Analysis
Misbar investigated the claim and found it to be fake. According to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), the definition of chemical weapons includes three different categories, as can be seen in the excerpt below.
The OPCW adds that the definition of toxic chemicals includes any substance that, through its chemical reaction, can cause “death, temporary incapacitation or permanent harm to humans or animals,” regardless of its method of production, origin, or application.
Nazi Germans produced and stockpiled chemical filled munitions, including lethal nerve agents such as Tabun, Soman, and Sarin. Hitler did not use these on ground of his personal exposure to chemical weapons in WWI. He also did not want to contaminate the same area his troops marched on, out of fear of retaliation. However, the Nazis did have a Euthanasia Programme, where six gassing installations were developed in “Bernburg, Brandenburg, Grafeneck, Hadamar, Hartheim, and Sonnenstein.” These gas chambers and gas vans used Zyklon-B which produced quick-killing hydrogen cyanide fumes and carbon monoxide gas. This way, the chemical weapons were used in a more controlled environment.
Based on the findings, Hitler did, in fact, use chemical weapons during the Holocaust. This claim is therefore fake.
