Bruno Tesch | |
|---|---|
 Tesch in British custody, 1945 | |
| Born | Bruno Emil Tesch 14 August 1890 |
| Died | 16 May 1946 (aged 55) |
| Cause of death | Execution by hanging |
| Occupation(s) | Chemist and entrepreneur |
| Known for | Co-inventor of Zyklon B |
| Political party | Nazi Party |
| Criminal status | Executed |
| Motive | Financial gain |
| Conviction(s) | War crimes |
| Criminal penalty | Death |
| Details | |
| Victims | ~1.1 million (as an accomplice) |
Span of crimes | 1 January 1941 – 31 March 1945 |
| Country | Germany and Poland |
| Location(s) | Auschwitz concentration camp Sachsenhausen concentration camp Neuengamme concentration camp Majdanek concentration camp Ravensbrück concentration camp |
| Weapons | Zyklon B |
Bruno Emil Tesch (14 August 1890 – 16 May 1946) was a German chemist and entrepreneur. Together with Gerhard Peters and Walter Heerdt, he invented the insecticide Zyklon B. He was the owner of Tesch & Stabenow (called Testa), a pest control company he co-founded in 1924 with Paul Stabenow in Hamburg, Germany. During the Holocaust, Tesch sold vast quantities of Zyklon B, utilizing his pesticide as a way to commit genocide. Over 1.1 million people were murdered by the Nazis using Zyklon B.[1]
Following the end of World War II, he was arrested by the British as a war criminal, tried, and executed. Tesch and his deputy executive, Karl Weinbacher, were the only businessmen to be executed for their role in Nazi war crimes in Western Europe.
- ^ Archives, The National. "The National Archives - Homepage". The National Archives. Retrieved 11 March 2022.