Why Didn’t Hitler Use 12,000 Tons of Weapons Of Mass Destruction?
Luckily, he didn’t, because 12,000 tons of tabun and 10 tons of sarin nerve gases could have potentially shifted the tide of the war in favor of the Nazis
In 1943, Adolf Hitler declared total war and hoped for a miraculous wonder weapon to prevent the Nazis from losing the war.
At the same time, Hitler was in possession of vast quantities of tabun and sarin lethal gasses — some of the most poisonous nerve agents ever developed by humanity.
Mustard gas used during WWI was child’s play in comparison to the deadliness of the Nazi-developed tabun or sarin gas.
Tabun and sarin gases can kill you in 1 minute by making breathing impossible. They can enter your body through lungs, eyes, or skin.
Why didn’t Hitler use two of the most poisonous gasses ever developed?
Adolf Hitler’s situation in 1943
By 1943, it was clear that Adolf Hitler’s Nazi Germany would lose yet another major war. Hitler declared total war, being willing to make any sacrifice in life or resources to win the war.
The Nazis conscripted even children and the elderly to fight against the advancing Allied forces. Hitler wanted all of Germany to fight to the last man, to total destruction.
Hitler asked his scientists to develop Wunderwaffen, the wonder weapons that would change the course of the war. The Nazis partially succeeded with V1 and V2 rockets, which later played a role in the moon landing.
However, despite many brilliant ideas from German engineers, such as electric submarines or jet fighter planes, the Germans lacked the necessary resources, like metals, to develop these ideas into significant factors on the battlefield.
Additionally, Hitler’s scientists purposely delayed the development of the atomic bomb, fully aware that Hitler would use it without hesitation.
Tabun and sarin gas were discovered while working on pesticides
Tabun and sarin are nerve gases that interfere with the human nervous system.
Gerhard Schrader (1903-1990) discovered lethal nerve gas in 1936 while working on improving a pesticide. Playing with the German word for taboo (which is ‘tabu’), he named it tabun.
Two years later, in 1938, Schrader and his colleagues at IG Farben created an even more lethal nerve agent called sarin. Again, while working on improving pesticides.
The Nazis manufactured between around 12,000 metric tons (13,200 tons)of tabun and between 500 kilograms (1100 pounds) and 10 metric tons (11 tons) of sarin.
Delivery systems for tabun and sarin included 105-millimeter (4.1 inches) and 150-millimeter (5.9 inches) artillery shells, a 250-kilogram bomb (550 pounds), and a 150-millimeter (5.9 inches) rocket.
Once tabun or sarin is inhaled, the victim is done
Sarin can enter the body through inhalation, the skin, or the eyes. After direct inhalation, a victim dies within one to 10 minutes due to suffocation. Sarin causes paralysis of the respiratory system.
If the victim survives an attack with sarin, they will have lasting brain damage.
Tabun and sarin are weapons of mass destruction (WMD).
Producing and stockpiling tabun and sarin has been outlawed since 1993 Chemical Weapons Convention.
The 4 theories why Hitler didn’t use lethal gas against Allied soldiers
The Allies were not aware of the existence of tabun and sarin gases, and they didn’t have protection against these two gases. The lethal gas could have changed the course of the war.
Especially interesting is why Hitler didn’t use lethal gas in the last stages of the war, knowing clearly that he would lose the war and deciding to completely destroy Germany.
In addition, we should consider that Hitler didn’t have any reservations about using Zyklon-B, a cyanide lethal gas, against the millions of prisoners in the concentration camps.
There are four theories as to why the Nazis never deployed the lethal tabun and sarin gases.
1. Hitler experienced the attack of lethal gas during WWI
Adolf Hitler served as a soldier on the Western Front during World War I (1914-1918). In 1918, his unit was attacked by mustard gas, and he was temporarily blinded by it. He and his fellow soldiers were led by a comrade who could still, but barely, see them to safety.
The theory goes that, remembering the horrors of the lethal gas, Hitler was reluctant to use it against soldiers, who weren’t considered “subhuman”,e.g. English or Americans.
2. Hitler was afraid of Allied counterattack with lethal gas
Otto Ambros (1901-1990), one of the chemists who discovered sarin, convinced Adolf Hitler that the Allies had also discovered tabun.
Hitler knew that the Allies would retaliate with gas attacks if he used tabun or sarin against them.
In fact, Winston Churchill was an avid proponent of the use of lethal gas in warfare. He reasoned that lethal gases were a more humane way to win a war compared to explosive shells.
The Allied forces agreed that they would use lethal gas only in response to Nazi use of the gas.
In reality, the Allies had no clue about tabun or sarin. For example, the British stockpiled chlorine and phosgene, while the Americans worked on cyanogen chloride gas.
3. Hitler didn’t possess the technology to deploy a large quantity of lethal gas
In order for the lethal gas to work, it needs to be delivered to the victim.
During WWI, lethal gas was delivered in the form of shells from guns. During WWII, the Nazis lacked effective technology to spray the Allies with a large enough quantity of lethal gas to cause serious damage.
4. Hitler was led to believe that the Allies possessed protection against tabun and sarin
General Wilhelm Canaris (1887-1945), the head of the German intelligence service, soon realized that the Nazis would cause Germany to lose yet another war. Therefore, he began to sabotage the German war effort by feeding Hitler false information.
Among other things, he falsified information that the Allies possessed gas masks resistant to tabun and sarin gas. This was, in fact, untrue, as the Allies had gas masks that protected against WWI lethal gases such as chlorine and phosgene.
Actually, the Nazis themselves had issues developing protecting equipment against tabun and sarin.
Conclusion
Whatever the reason for Hitler not authorizing the use of lethal tabun and sarin against soldiers and civilians during WWII will remain known only to him.
One thing is clear — For humanity, it is definitely better that Hitler, the man who caused immense suffering and atrocities, didn’t use neither tabun nor sarin.
