Arizona prepares for death row executions with gas once used by Nazis

After nearly seven years, Arizona will begin to execute death row inmates again – and has purchased the ingredients to make hydrogen cyanide, or HCN, a lethal gas once used by Nazis.

Zyklon B, a powerful insecticide, is a carrier for hydrogen cyanide, which was used to kill Jews at Auschwitz, according to the Jewish Virtual Library. HCN, which is extremely poisonous to humans, is the cause of death following the application of Zyklon B. An average 6,000 Jews were killed each day using Zyklon B at the Auschwitz II killing center, according to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.