Henrik Dräger did not approve of the deal. The Dräger representative refused to fulfill the order, claiming that company CEO Dr. Among the items were also gas masks for civilians," Gazit wrote. "The difficulty was in getting gas masks and filtration systems for the larger shelters and equipment for the NBC protection system at the IDF high commander's bunker, where Chief of Staff Yitzhak Rabin was situated. At another table at the back of the room waited a representative from Dräger-Mr. A man with a codename handed Gazit a long "shopping list" during breakfast at the hotel and explained to him the importance of acquiring the items on it. Gazit changed his travel plans and arrived in Lübeck the next day. This is a sensitive matter we don't want to fall into any traps." On Tuesday, you will be joined by someone at breakfast who will identify himself using a codename.
Within 48 hours, you will receive a list of equipment we need immediately. He writes in his book that he received a phone call from a senior official in Israel's Defense Ministry who told him, "Drop everything and go immediately to the Dräger factory in Lübeck. Four days before Israel's Independence Day in 1967, as tensions were mounting in the country in the months that preceded the Six-Day War, Gazit was in Copenhagen. began importing gas masks and other HazMat gear from Germany back in the 1950s. The Israel Police, meanwhile, issued a bid for "the maintenance of HazMat self-contained breathing apparatus equipment manufactured by Auer," "maintenance of self-contained breathing apparatus by Dräger," and "maintenance of HazMat gear, protective suits, self-contained breathing apparatus masks from Dräger."Ī book by Amos Gazit, whose company distributes Dräger's products in Israel, reveals more details about Israeli acquisitions from the two companies.įactory to manufacture gas masks (Photo: EPA/File)Īmos Gazit Ltd. The Israel Railways, for example, issued a tender for the "maintenance and routine inspection of self-contained breathing apparatuses manufactured by MSA." The Firefighting and Rescue Commission issued a tender for "kits and parts for audio and speaking for self-contained breathing apparatus masks manufactured by MSA." Some of these government and public bodies also issued tenders for the maintenance and inspection of the equipment that indicate it was manufactured by the two companies. The Israel Police, for example, purchased the breathalyzers from Dräger. Should gas seep through the mask, leave the building immediately and change filters after also checking the mask and its fit to see whether they are tight."īusiness with IsraelThe dark chapter in the two companies' history did not stop government and public institutions in Israel from acquiring masks and filters from them for dozens of years. the filter insert 'J' (blue brown) of the Auergesellschaft Berlin or of the Draegewerke, Luebeck. The mask's J type filter was used to protect the Nazi soldiers from Zyklon-B, the gas used for the extermination of the Jews.Ī German document found in the book, titled "Directives for the use of prussic acid (Zyklon) for the destruction of vermin (disinfestations)," provides safety instruction to the Nazi soldiers: "When fumigating with Zyklon use only special filters, e.g. Some of the masks were also used by Nazi pilots. The masks were produced in different colors-for example, sand-colored for the troops stationed in Africa-and were very advanced for the time, as they were also equipped with microphones.
The GM 38 masks were used by the Nazi army starting in 1938 to protect the soldiers from chemicals on the battlefield. The Nazi army used type GM 38 masks manufactured by Dräger, while the filter for the mask was manufactured at the Auergesellschaft (Auer) factory in Berlin. The book describes in great detail how the SS soldiers operated the gas chambers and what substances and equipment they used.Īccording to Pressac, every Nazi soldier who was involved in the extermination of the Jews was equipped with a gas mask.
Who researched the gas chambers in Auschwitz. The companies' involvement with the Nazi regime was revealed in a study by the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem, which is based on a book by French scholar Jean-Claude Pressac, Among their clients are the Defense Ministry, the Firefighting and Rescue Commission, Israel Railways, the Israel Police and the Israel Prison Service.
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