Bruno Tesch

Bruno Tesch

Bruno Emil Tesch (14 August 1890 in Hamelin – 16 May 1946 in Hamelin) was a German chemist and entrepreneur. He was the co-inventor of the insecticide Zyklon B with Gerhard Peters and Walter Heerdt. He was the owner of Tesch & Stabenow a pest control company he cofounded in 1924 with Paul Stabenow in Hamburg, Germany, which was a major supplier of Zyklon B to the Nazi extermination camps.

Tesch studied mathematics and physics for one semester in 1910 at the University of Göttingen before studying chemistry at the University of Berlin, receiving his degree in 1914. He attained a position at Kaiser Wilhelm Institute.

Tesch along with fellow chemists Gerhard Peters and Walter Heerdt, with the support of I.G. Farben, began research into the use of hydrogen cyanide as a fumigating agent. They discovered a process in which the hydrogen cyanide could be manufactured and used in a solid form.

The patent was assigned to Degesch, "Deutsche Gesellschaft fuer Schaedlingsbekaempfung GmbH" (German Limited Company for Pest Control), with Walter Heerdt being the only one of the inventors to receive patent rights, a portion of the proceeds from the manufacture and sale. Peters joined DEGESCH and would become managing director during World War II. Degesch was designated by the German Government to set the safety rules and standards for the use of Zyklon B, and was given the authority to authorize shipments from the manufacturer to the customer after the strict criteria were met.

Tesch & Stabenow did not manufacture Zyklon B nor any other chemicals. It was primarily a pest control company specializing in fumigation of commercial properties such as the warehouses and freighters in the Port of Hamburg.

In 1925 Tesch & Stabenow - partly due to the largesse of Paul Haber of Degesch - received the exclusive rights to distribute the insecticide Zyklon B east of the Elbe River. In 1927 Stabenow departed from the firm. Tesch held a 45% share of the company and Degesch 55%. He would assume sole ownership of the company in 1942.