Former Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz-Birkenau with the lettering ‘Arbeit macht frei’ (‘Work makes you free’) in Oswiecim, Poland. File.
| Photo Credit: AFP
Q: Zyklon B was originally ‘Cyclone B’. While the ‘B’ distinguished the product from Zyklon A, it was also the first letter of the German name for the substance. How did this German name translate to English?
A: Prussic acid
Q: While Zyklon B became notorious during World War II, ______ in 1916 and Italy and the United States in 1918 also used it during World War I. Fill in the blank.
A: France
Q: At the Nazi concentration camp in Majdanek, Poland, camp officials used Zyklon B in two buildings: barracks 41 and 42. In barrack 41, they killed the prisoners. What purpose did Zyklon B serve in barrack 42? This was also Zyklon B’s original purpose.
A: Disinfecting clothing
Q: In 1946, X and Y became the only two businessmen to be executed for Nazi war crimes in Western Europe. They had sold Zyklon B to the Nazis knowing the sordid purpose for which it was intended. Name X and Y.
A: Bruno Tesch and Karl Weinbacher
Q: The primary constituent of Zyklon B is deadly because it inhibits the action of an enzyme called __________ _ _______ in mitochondria and chokes cells. Fill in the blanks.
A: Cytochrome c oxidase
