Editing Nerve agent (section)

===During World War II===
In 1939, a pilot [[factory|plant]] for Tabun production was set up at [[Munster Training Area#Munsterlager|Munster-Lager]], on [[Lüneburg Heath]] near the German Army proving grounds at {{ill|Raubkammer|de}}. In January 1940, construction began on a secret plant, code named "[[Hochwerk]]" (''High factory''), for the production of Tabun at ''Dyhernfurth an der Oder'' (now [[Brzeg Dolny]] in [[Poland]]), on the [[Oder River]] {{convert|40|km|mi|abbr=on}} from [[Breslau]] (now [[Wrocław]]) in [[Silesia]].

The plant was large, covering an area of {{convert|2.4|by|0.8|km|mi|abbr=on}} and was completely self-contained, synthesizing all intermediates as well as the final product, Tabun. The factory even had an underground plant for filling munitions, which were then stored at Krappitz (now [[Krapkowice]]) in Upper Silesia. The plant was operated by {{ill|Anorgana GmbH|de|Anorgana}}, a subsidiary of [[IG Farben]], as were all other [[chemical weapon agent]] production plants in Germany at the time.

Because of the plant's deep secrecy and the difficult nature of the production process, it took from January 1940 until June 1942 for the plant to become fully operational. Many of Tabun's chemical precursors were so corrosive that reaction chambers not lined with quartz or silver soon became useless. Tabun itself was so hazardous that the final processes had to be performed while enclosed in double glass-lined chambers with a stream of pressurized air circulating between the walls.

Three thousand German nationals were employed at Hochwerk, all equipped with [[respirators]] and [[clothing]] constructed of a poly-layered rubber/cloth/rubber sandwich that was destroyed after the tenth wearing. Despite all precautions, there were over 300 accidents before production even began and at least ten workers died during the two and a half years of operation. Some incidents cited in ''A Higher Form of Killing: The Secret History of Chemical and Biological Warfare'' are as follows:<ref>{{cite book|title=A higher form of killing : the secret history of chemical and biological warfare|last=Harris|first=Robert|name-list-style=vanc|date=2002|publisher=Random House Trade Paperbacks|others=Paxman, Jeremy, 1950–|isbn=9780812966534|location=New York|oclc=49356080|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780812966534}}</ref>
*Four pipe fitters had liquid Tabun drain onto them and died before their rubber suits could be removed.
*A worker had two liters of Tabun pour down the neck of his rubber suit. He died within two minutes.
*Seven workers were hit in the face with a stream of Tabun of such force that the liquid was forced behind their respirators. Only two survived despite [[resuscitation]] measures.

{{Citation needed span|text=The plant produced between 10 000 and 30 000 tons of Tabun before its capture by the Soviet Army|date=March 2018|reason=}} and moved, probably to [[Dzerzhinsk, Russia|Dzerzhinsk]], [[Soviet Union|USSR]].<ref>{{cite book | title = Corona: America's first satellite program | date=1995 | publisher=Morgan James |last=Ruffner |first=Kevin Conley |name-list-style=vanc |isbn=978-0-9758570-4-5 |location=New York |pages=185 |oclc=772235331 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7AlgLBVWPV0C&pg=PA185 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Suspect CW Agent Production Plants, Dzerzhinsk, USSR, Changes Since 1962 |publisher=CIA/NPIC |year=1963 }}</ref>

In 1940 the [[German Army Weapons Office]] ordered the mass production of Sarin for wartime use. A number of pilot plants were built and a high-production facility was under construction (but was not finished) by the end of [[World War II]]. Estimates for total Sarin production by Nazi Germany range from 500&nbsp;[[Kilogram|kg]] to 10 [[ton]]s.

During that time, German [[intelligence (information gathering)|intelligence]] believed that the [[Allies of World War II|Allies]] also knew of these compounds, assuming that because these compounds were not discussed in the Allies' scientific journals information about them was being suppressed. Though Sarin, Tabun and Soman were incorporated into [[artillery]] shells, the German government ultimately decided not to use nerve agents against Allied targets. The Allies did not learn of these agents until shells filled with them were captured towards the end of the war. German forces used chemical warfare against partisans during the [[Battle of the Kerch Peninsula]] in 1942, but did not use any nerve agent.<ref>Bellamy, Chris (2008). Absolute War: Soviet Russia in the Second World War. Knopf.</ref>

This is detailed in Joseph Borkin's book ''The Crime and Punishment of IG Farben'':<ref>{{cite book | title=The crime and punishment of I.G. Farben | url=https://archive.org/details/crimepunishmento0000bork | url-access=registration | first = Joseph | last = Borkin | name-list-style = vanc | date=1978|publisher=Free Press| series = Mazal Holocaust Collection.|isbn=978-0-02-904630-2|location=New York|oclc=3845685}}</ref>

{{Quotation|[[Albert Speer|Speer]], who was strongly opposed to the introduction of [[Tabun (nerve gas)|Tabun]], flew [[Otto Ambros]], [[IG Farben|I.G.'s]] authority on poison gas as well as synthetic rubber, to the meeting. Hitler asked Ambros, "What is the other side doing about poison gas?" Ambros explained that the enemy, because of its greater access to [[ethylene]], probably had a greater capacity to produce [[mustard gas]] than Germany did. Hitler interrupted to explain that he was not referring to traditional poison gases: "I understand that the countries with petroleum are in a position to make more [mustard gas], but Germany has a special gas, Tabun. In this we have a monopoly in Germany." He specifically wanted to know whether the enemy had access to such a gas and what it was doing in this area. To Hitler's disappointment Ambros replied, "I have justified reasons to assume that Tabun, too, is known abroad. I know that Tabun was publicized as early as 1902, that Sarin was patented and that these substances appeared in patents. " (...)Ambros was informing Hitler of an extraordinary fact about one of Germany's most secret weapons. The essential nature of Tabun and Sarin had already been disclosed in the technical journals as far back as 1902 and [[IG Farben|I.G.]] had [[patent]]ed both products in 1937 and 1938. Ambros then warned Hitler that if Germany used Tabun, it must face the possibility that the Allies could produce this gas in much larger quantities. Upon receiving this discouraging report, Hitler abruptly left the meeting. The nerve gases would not be used, for the time being at least, although they would continue to be produced and tested.|[[Joseph Borkin]]|The Crime and Punishment of IG Farben}}