Was Hitler poisened by Gas in WW1? and could this be a reason for him not using biological weapons?

Question

in WW2 America, Britain and Japan all had biological weapons programmes, but Germany did not. if Hitler had been poisoned by gas in WW1, could this be the reason why Hitler decided that n**i Germany would not to have a biological weapons programme?

Answer 1

Gas comes under the heading of chemical (not biological) weapons, n**i Germany did have chemical weapons programmes, Sarin (perhaps the best-known nerve agent) was developed by IG Farben* in 1938. German-Soviet collaboration on the development of gas weapons continued throughout the 20s, but gas, although terrifying for those affected, is not effective in causing casualties, is unpredictable (it relies on wind for ultimate delivery), is dangerous to produce and deliver, and can affect your own forces.

*IG Farben also held the patent for Zyklon B

Answer 2

Yes he received a mild case of Mustard Gas poisoning and spent several months in the hospital recovering from it. Maybe that was the one of the reasons he didn't allow these kinds of weapons to be used again. As to them using gas in the concentration camps, do you really think that the ones running them even bothered to tell him what methods they were using. Hitler had more important things to worry about then that. Besides if he was against using biological weapons they would risk pissing him off and getting shot or being spent to the Eastern Front, Russia, for disobeying his orders, I don't think so.

Good Luck and have a nice day.

Answer 3

Yes Hitler was Gassed in World War I and was temporarily blinded.

Nevertheless during WW II he did not order using gas against its enemies because he knew that if he did, German cities would be devastated by Allied poisonous gas and German fatalities would be disastrous.

This did not stop him from gassing Poles, Jews,Slavs, Russians  and Gypsies in Concentration Camps.  

Answer 4

tyler not to be disrespectful to you but..I was more intrigued by your name symbol.And with the question being about Hitler it kinda worries me.But to answer your question Yes he was gassed .And he did use it during WW2.Ask some remaining Jews about their family.

Answer 5

http://www.secondworldwar.co.uk/ahitler....

At the outbreak of the First World War, in 1914, he volunteered for service in the German army and was accepted into the 16th Bavarian Reserve Infantry Regiment . Hitler fought bravely in the war and was promoted to corporal and decorated with both the Iron Cross Second Class and First Class, the latter of which he wore until his dying day [ironically the regimental captain who recommended him for the award was Jewish]. The day of the announcement of the armistice in 1918, Hitler was in hospital recovering from temporary blindness caused by a British GAS attack in the Ypres Salient. In December 1918 he returned to his regiment back in Munich.  

   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zyklon_B

   However, the n***s DID use gas in their prison camps, most notably at Auschwitz. The gas was Zyklon B (also spelled Cyclon B), a cyanide-based insecticide notable for its use by n**i Germany against civilians in the gas chambers of the Extermination camps during the Holocaust. It consisted of hydrogen cyanide (prussic acid, Blausäure in German, hence B), a stabilizer, and a warning odorant that were impregnated onto various substrates, typically small absorbent pellets, fibre discs, or diatomaceous earth. It was stored in airtight containers; when exposed to air, the material released gaseous hydrogen cyanide (HCN).  

   Zyklon B was originally developed 1922 as a pesticide by Dr. Walter Heerdt,  for the DEGESCH or German Corporation for Pest Control.

  Degussa , the chemical giant now known as Evonik, developed the process to manufacture Zyklon B in "crystals" (actually silicagel absorbent chunks), as it was used during World War II. The company who ultimately manufactured the gas extracted prussic acid from the waste products of the SUGAR BEET refining process (which, to me, is a biological process), but the  pesticide was used by n**i Germany as a CHEMICAL  weapon to poison prisoners in the gas chambers of the largest extermination camp, Auschwitz Birkenau, and also at Majdanek, one of the Operation Reinhard camps. At the other extermination camps, engine exhaust was used in the gas chambers. Many of the victims were Jews and the Zyklon B gas became a central symbol of the Holocaust.

  Zyklon B was used in the concentration camps initially for delousing to control typhus. The chemical used in the gas chambers was deliberately made without the warning odorant. In January or February 1940, 250 Gypsy children from Brno (2nd largest city in the Czech Republic) in the Buchenwald concentration camp were used as guinea pigs for testing the Zyklon B gas. On September 3, 1941, around 600 Soviet prisoners of war and 250 sick Polish prisoners were gassed with Zyklon B at Auschwitz camp I; this was the first experiment with the gas at Auschwitz. The experiments lasted more than 20 hours. According to Rudolph Hess, commandant of Auschwitz, bunker 1 held 800 people, and bunker 2 held 1,200.  Once the chamber was full, the doors were screwed shut and solid pellets of Zyklon B were dropped into the chambers through vents in the side walls, releasing a toxic gas. Those inside died within 20 minutes; the speed of death depended on how close the inmate was standing to a gas vent, according to Hessöß, who estimated that about one third of the victims died immediately. Joann Kremer, an SS doctor who oversaw the gassings, testified that: "Shouting and screaming of the victims could be heard through the opening and it was clear that they fought for their lives."  When they were removed, if the chamber had been very congested, as they often were, the victims were found half-squatting, their skin colored pink with red and green spots, some foaming at the mouth or bleeding from the ears

http://www.holocaust-history.org/auschwi...  

  A picture of the canister and crystals of Zyklon-B is shown here. It contained 500g of prussic acid.  

Answer 6

It didn't stop him in Auschwitz.  

Answer 7

Very interesting question.

Hitler was gassed in WWI.

Yet he had no qualms about gassing prisoners to death in his concentration camps.  

I doubt he would have minded using gas warfare again in WWII - especially on the Russians.  

I suspect his generals did not want to open that up again for fear of retaliation from the Allies, but I don't know for certain.  That's why this is a good question.  I look forward to a more definitive answer if someone has one.

Answer 8

Britain and Japan did have this technology, but using chemical warfare puts pedestrians in danger. Despite what many beleive hitler was very concerned about inocent pedestrians. Hitler was very respectfull of women and chilren.... unlike the american idea of warfare in the same time period... Infact the aericans are beleived to be responsible for the deaths of as close to the same number of cicilian deaths durring the nuke-bombing in japan, as Hitlers leaders were responsible for jewish deaths..... But You won't learn that in american history class ;-)

Answer 9

Hitler was briefly exposed to mustard gas, accidentally, while fighting in the trenches for Austria-Hungary during world war one. this is part of the reason he did not use such weapons during world war 2, chemicals are vary hard to control when weaponised and have a chance to harm your own troops (as Hitler found out first hand).

however n**i Germany did have biological weapons programs which it tested and used at concentration camps.

Answer 10

Tyler, I won't try to answer your question as others have done so much better than I could.

Hitler4president, I am so glad you have corrected my impression of Hitler.  I never knew he was ‘very concerned about innocent pedestrians’ and ‘very respectful of women and children’.  I only wish my mother, who lived through the blitz in the East End of London, were still alive so that I could put her right on this!

Answer 11

he used gas to kill Jews

Answer 12

yes, and no.

Hitler, you will remember, had no compunctions about using gas (both hydrogen cyanide and aut exhaust gas) to murder large numbers of Jews and others.

Neither side in WWII used poison gas mostly because WWI showed that it was not terribly efficient as a weapon.

Answer 13

no gas is unstable and is considered a war crime if used