Degesch

Degesch, short for Deutsche Gesellschaft für Schädlingsbekämpfung, was a German chemical company established in 1919 to develop and commercialize pest-control products. It was founded as a subsidiary of Degussa, and its first director was the chemist and Nobel laureate Fritz Haber. The company became particularly associated with Zyklon, a patented fumigant formulation based on hydrogen cyanide and related delivery systems. Zyklon products were originally developed for pest control and disinfection, but Zyklon B, distributed through affiliated companies including Tesch & Stabenow and Heerdt-Lingler, was also supplied to German military and SS institutions during the Nazi period. The history of Degesch is inseparable from the Holocaust. A Zyklon B formulation was used in the gas chambers of Nazi extermination camps to murder large numbers of people. Degesch did not operate the extermination camps, but its patent interests, production and distribution relationships, and the conduct of senior personnel placed the company within the commercial and industrial system that enabled the use of poison gas for mass murder. The company’s director Gerhard Friedrich Peters learned from Kurt Gerstein that Zyklon was being used to kill people and was informed that the German Army required a formulation without the standard odorant intended to warn users of the gas. These facts later became central to criminal proceedings. In the 1930s, Degesch was jointly controlled by major German chemical interests. In 1936, Degussa and IG Farben each held 42.5 percent of the shares, while Th. Goldschmidt AG held the remaining 15 percent. From 1938 through 1943, the company was highly profitable, and IG Farben reportedly received dividends that were approximately twice the value of its shareholding over most of that period. The business therefore illustrates how chemical manufacturing and pest-control commerce could intersect with the economic structures of Nazi Germany and its rearmament and extermination policies. After the Second World War, Degesch continued producing pest-control chemicals. Its wartime history led to investigations and prosecutions involving both Degesch personnel and companies involved in Zyklon B distribution. Peters was convicted in Frankfurt in 1949, had the conviction confirmed and sentence increased on appeal in 1952, and was acquitted after a further appeal in 1953 following a change in the legal interpretation of assistance in murder. Hermann Schlosser, chairman of Degesch’s board from 1939 to 1945, was arrested in 1948 and acquitted later that year. Separate British proceedings resulted in the conviction and execution of Tesch & Stabenow owner Bruno Tesch and director Karl Weinbacher in 1946; employee Joachim Drosihn was acquitted. The postwar company remained part of the German pest-control chemicals sector. In 1979, the postwar successor to Tesch & Stabenow merged with Heerdt-Lingler, with Degesch participating financially. In 1986, Degesch was sold to Detia Freyberg GmbH and subsequently became known as Detia-Degesch GmbH. Its modern corporate identity reflects continuity in pest-control products while also carrying the historical responsibility associated with Zyklon B and the Holocaust.

Degesch was created in 1919 as Deutsche Gesellschaft für Schädlingsbekämpfung, a German company specializing in pest-control chemistry. It began as a subsidiary of Degussa, and Fritz Haber served as its first director. The company’s business focused on chemical methods for fumigation, disinfection and pest control, areas that were commercially important in agriculture, public health and military logistics. Degesch held patent rights connected with Zyklon products. Zyklon was a fumigant based on highly toxic hydrogen cyanide, supplied in a form intended for controlled pest-control and disinfection applications. Through the distribution companies Tesch & Stabenow, commonly known as Testa, and Heerdt-Lingler, commonly known as Heli, Zyklon B was sold to the German Army and the SS. During the Nazi period, a Zyklon B variant was used in the gas chambers of extermination camps. The product’s commercial origin as a pesticide did not prevent it from becoming an instrument of genocide, and Degesch’s patent and commercial relationships made it part of the broader industrial history of the Holocaust. The company was controlled by several major German chemical enterprises. In 1936, Degussa and IG Farben each held 42.5 percent of Degesch, while Th. Goldschmidt AG held 15 percent. Between 1938 and 1943, Degesch was exceptionally profitable. The available historical account states that IG Farben received dividends for most of those years amounting to approximately twice the value of its shares. This profitability formed part of the economic context in which chemical companies benefited from Nazi Germany’s militarization and state-sponsored persecution. Degesch director Gerhard Friedrich Peters became a central figure in postwar legal proceedings. He had received information from Kurt Gerstein about the murder of people using Zyklon and had been told that the German Army wanted gas without the usual warning additives that gave the product a detectable smell. Peters was prosecuted in Frankfurt in 1949 and convicted. An appeal in 1952 confirmed the conviction and increased the sentence to six years, but a later appeal in 1953 ended in acquittal after a change in the applicable legal interpretation. Hermann Schlosser, who chaired Degesch’s board from 1939 to 1945, was arrested in February 1948 and acquitted in April of that year. The distribution network also faced prosecution. Bruno Tesch, owner of Tesch & Stabenow, and Karl Weinbacher, the company’s director, were convicted by a British tribunal and executed at Hamelin Prison on 16 May 1946. Joachim Drosihn, another employee, was acquitted. These proceedings helped establish the legal record concerning commercial suppliers of Zyklon B. Degesch survived the collapse of Nazi Germany and continued manufacturing pest-control chemicals after the war. In 1979, the newly established postwar Testa merged with Heerdt-Lingler, with Degesch providing financial participation. In 1986, Detia Freyberg GmbH acquired Degesch. The company subsequently became known as Detia-Degesch GmbH. Thus, while the Degesch name belongs to the history of German chemical manufacturing, its modern corporate succession is linked to a continuing pest-control business under a different name and ownership structure.

• 1986

  Acquisition by Detia Freyberg

  [1]Degeschen.wikipedia.org

  Degesch was sold to Detia Freyberg GmbH and later took the name Detia-Degesch GmbH.

• 1979

  Testa merges with Heerdt-Lingler

  [1]Degeschen.wikipedia.org

  The postwar successor to Tesch & Stabenow merged with Heerdt-Lingler, with Degesch participating financially.

• 1953

  Peters acquitted after renewed appeal

  [1]Degeschen.wikipedia.org

  Peters was acquitted in a later appeal after a legal change affecting responsibility for assisting in murder.

• 1949

  Peters convicted

  [1]Degeschen.wikipedia.org

  Degesch director Gerhard Friedrich Peters was convicted in Frankfurt in proceedings concerning his knowledge of Zyklon’s use to murder people.

• 1946

  Tesch and Weinbacher executed

  [1]Degeschen.wikipedia.org

  A British tribunal convicted Bruno Tesch and Karl Weinbacher in connection with Zyklon B supplies; both were executed on 16 May 1946.

• 1938

  Period of exceptional profitability begins

  [1]Degeschen.wikipedia.org

  Degesch entered a period of very high profitability that continued through 1943, during the Nazi era.

• 1936

  Major chemical companies hold Degesch shares

  [1]Degeschen.wikipedia.org

  Degussa and IG Farben each held 42.5 percent of the company, while Th. Goldschmidt AG held the remaining 15 percent.

• 1919

  Degesch founded

  [1]Degeschen.wikipedia.org

  Deutsche Gesellschaft für Schädlingsbekämpfung was established as a subsidiary of Degussa, with Fritz Haber as its first director.

Historically positioned as a German industrial supplier of pest-control and fumigation chemicals; its historical identity is now strongly defined by the documented use of Zyklon B in Nazi extermination camps and the resulting legal and ethical legacy.

• Fumigant pesticide

  Zyklon

  A patented family of fumigation products associated with Degesch. Zyklon formulations were developed for pest control and disinfection, but the product line became historically notorious because Zyklon B was used by Nazi authorities in gas chambers to murder people during the Holocaust.

• Fumigant pesticide

  Zyklon B

  A Zyklon formulation distributed through Tesch & Stabenow and Heerdt-Lingler. It was marketed for pest-control and disinfection purposes, while a variant without the usual odor warning was supplied to military authorities. Nazi Germany used Zyklon B in extermination camps as a murder weapon.

• 1949

  Prosecution of Gerhard Friedrich Peters

  Degesch director Gerhard Friedrich Peters was prosecuted and convicted in Frankfurt after evidence showed that he had knowledge of Zyklon’s use in killing and of requests for a formulation without warning additives. His conviction was later overturned after further appeals.

  Source

• 1946

  Tesch and Weinbacher war-crimes-era prosecution

  Bruno Tesch and Karl Weinbacher of Tesch & Stabenow were convicted by a British tribunal and executed for their roles in the supply of Zyklon B; another employee was acquitted.

  Source

• 1940

  Zyklon B used in Nazi extermination camps

  A Zyklon B formulation associated with Degesch’s patent and distribution network was used in gas chambers to murder people in Nazi extermination camps during the Holocaust.

  Source

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• 1986

  Sale to Detia FreybergM&A

  Background

  After continuing in the pest-control chemicals sector following the Second World War, Degesch was sold to Detia Freyberg GmbH.

  Action taken

  The company changed ownership and subsequently operated under the name Detia-Degesch GmbH.

  Aftermath

  The Degesch name became part of a successor business associated with modern pest-control products.

  Source

1. 1Degeschen.wikipedia.org