Technologies for Killing People - Essay Example

TECHNOLOGIES FOR KILLING PEOPLE The modern warfare has been utilizing chemicals and technologies extensively to kill people. The use of technology or chemical weapons was accelerated during the two world wars, but the most lethal usage of such killing armories was observed during the second world war when the allied forces and the Germans too, used different gadgets and gases to kill thousands of humans. Besides the world wars, killing technology has been used during other major wars during the last century which increased the mortality rates during these wars. During the last century, and especially during the world war days, there has been a major development made by mankind to use technology instead of armory to kill people on opponent’s side. Gas weapons, small arms, large guns and weapons of mass destruction are reported to be used more these days. The most lethal and most enigmatic use of technology or biological weaponries is considered to be the use of Zyklon B and other gases in concentration camps of Auschwitz by Germans during the World War II. Zyklon B is actually the German name for a gas called Cyclone B which is a cyanide based pesticide. The Nazi Germans used this gas to kill Jews in the concentration camps of Auschwitz during the holocaust which took 6 million lives of German, Polish and Russian Jews. The chambers in which the Jews were held to be killed by the insertion of Zyklon gas were of two, i.e. the first type of chambers was used for delousing clothes and the other one was utilized for killing Jews on a large scale. The later chambers were also called extermination chambers. Zyklon B is prepared from the extraction of hydrogen cyanide which is also called prussic acid. Before the usage of Zyklon B by Germans, it was used for fumigation purposes in farms where vegetables, fruits and grains are cultivated. Zyklon B is an effective pesticide, which is considered to be carry9ing clouds of Hydrocyanic Acid within each granule1. Germans used Zyklon B in a pallet or diskette form which was thrown into the sealed chambers where hundreds of human beings were held to kill at a time. The pallets were inserted into the room from small windows after which the windows were sealed and a team of physicians used to wait outside the chambers for 20 minutes, in order to ensure that every living organism inside the room is dead. While describing the gassing of Jews from Zyklon B, Hans Stark, the then leader of Western Infantry of German Army, described that when Zyklon B granules were poured into a gas chamber where around 225 Jews were held, the prisoners first started to cry out loud from the fear of death. After 20 to 25 minutes, the voices inside the gas chamber were vanished; this was a hint that every living organism inside the chamber is dead2. Beside Zyklon B, other gases were also utilized by Germans to kill their enemies. When the Great War broke up, poison gases were use as an alternative to machine guns and tanks. It is estimated that the largest number of fatalities took place during the World War II were caused by poison gases such as Phosgene and Chlorine. The first world in particular, has been popular as “The Chemists’ War”. Germans were of the view that gases and chemicals are a better weapon as compare to guns, crafts and tanks, as they kill those enemies as well who are hiding in corners and hinges. Although the process of killing a human being with the help of gases was slow but Germans were persistent that these gases will give more pain to human and will cause psychological defeat to the enemies’ camps. Since the use of Zyklon B, there are numerous chemical weaponries that were developed by human beings to kill other humans. Anthrax is another deadly virus or bacteria, which have claimed thousands of lives not only in the modern era and its roots go deep into the usage of the bacteria during the World War II. Anthrax is not only used to kill human beings but it is also considered deadly for the animals. Anthrax platelets can be used as a biological weapon to execute the mass killing of human beings. During the 20th century, Anthrax was widely used to infect prisoners and let them die slowly. Besides, anthrax has claimed thousands of lives in Australia, Asia, Africa, Europe, and North America. Specially, during the WWII, anthrax was the most utilized biological weapon after the Zyklon B, and the Nazis used to infect Jew slaves so that they can die with pain in a relatively slow poisoning process. The latest use of Anthrax to kill masses was accorded right after the 9/11 when several envelopes containing Anthrax virus were posted to different state offices throughout the United States of America. Although, the vaccine to overcome the adverse impacts of Anthrax was developed by Louis Pasteur, a French scientist in 1881, but still, Anthrax is considered to be deadly weaponry to kill thousands of humans at a time. Talking about the most effective and most deadly technologies that are developed during the 20th century to kill human beings at large number, many rates suicide attacks as being the most perfect weapon to hit at target and kill hundreds at a moment. A typical suicide attack is one in which the attacker intends to kill himself with certain explosives and chemicals, that also results in the killing of several other humans in the surroundings. The use of suicide attacks to kill humans can be traced back to the 11th century when it was first used by the Indian Chera rulers to save their kingdom, but the most efficient and deadly use of such attacks has been observed during the last century. The invention of C4 plastic explosives and other detonators of mass destruction have made suicide attacking a major weapon to be used during war times and in terrorists attack. During the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Japanese fighter pilots used their planes as a weapon and committed suicide by hitting US Naval ships with their planes. It is recorded that the Japanese pilots sank two or three aircraft carriers by hitting these carriers with their fighter planes. During the Battle for Berlin during WWII, Germans used their flying squads to destroy bridges and other military setups so that the Soviets does not take control and reveal the secrets of German legacy. During these attacks, pilots were asked to hit military settlements and bridges with their fighter planes sacrificing their own lives for carrying out the attacks. The worst disaster that took place due to suicide attacks up to date is of terrorists’ attacks on American settlements and public places on 11th September 2001. A number of Islamic Jihadists took control of five aero planes of American Airline and attacked World Trade Center, Pentagon and other official settlements. In the process, there were around 5,000 casualties reported at the official level. The reason for mentioning this attack on the US soil is that the planning must have been carried out years before the actual attack date. The invention of atom bomb has been considered the most deadly invention so far for the human being. Although, there has been only one occasion when the atom bomb was actually used to kill masses, but the testing of such weapons has claimed thousands of lives in the form of dead trees, unproductive land pieces where the tests were carried and the severe droughts and plagues. United States of America, in response to the attacks carried out on Pearl Harbor, used two nuclear bombs to bombard Hiroshima and Nagasaki and killed millions of Japanese in an instance. These bombs although caused cease fire and the WWII comes to an end after these attacks, but the after effects of these bombs can still be observed in the form of defective children being born3. Although, United Nations member countries have pledge not to create or lead to a situation that would entice another such nuclear attack but the threat is still there and perhaps the most severe concern facing the globe is the potential misuse of nuclear technology by any country. Another killing technology, which has been used by the ancient civilization for killing human being brutally is guillotine that continued to be used till the 20th century. These killing machines were widely used during the French revolution of 17th century and the rebels killed large numbers of wealthy people with the help of this machine. Guillotines although are not used these days but they are considered to be the most accurate and less painful executioner machine. A typical guillotine consists of a heightened wooden or steel frame on top of which, a steel blade is hanged which is to be released to decapitate the criminal. The angled blade is hanged at the top of the frame with the help of rope and the condemned’s head is placed right below the blade. When the blade is released by the executioner on condemned’s neck, the neck splits off from the body causing instant death to the person. A French Physician Dr. Joseph Guillotine designed guillotine in 1780. The first reported execution of a criminal with the help of guillotine is believed to be the execution of Nicholas Pelletier, for allegations robbery and capital crimes. The method of guillotining was last used for the execution of Eugene Weidman for being condemned to death for killing six people. His execution was carried out in 1939 and since then the authorities do not prefer to use this method for executing condemned4. Electric Chair is another technology, which was used for executing criminals during the 18th and 19th century, and there are still some States in America where electric chair is used for executing guilty personals. The execution of criminals by electrocution is carried out by tying up the condemned with a chair, which carries heavy charge of electric current. The whole execution process usually consists of three phases. The first jolt of the current kills the brain of the person and takes him into unconsciousness, than the second jolt of current burns the blood carrying vessels and arteries, and in the last phase, the last jolt which is usually the heaviest jolt of current burst down the pumping mechanism of human heart. The executioner places electrodes to the condemned body, which helps the smooth flow of current through the body. The first electric chair for executing condemned ones was built by Harold Brown and Arthur Kennelly in Texas and the first execution with this killing machine was of William Kemmler in 1890 for being found guilty for killing a person. Kemmler’s execution was full of hassle and faults, where the generator broke down after the first jolt and caused more pain to the condemned. The lessons learned from Kemmler’s execution helped state police department to make this execution tool more efficient and less painful for the criminals. After the late 1980s, this method has been seen as a brutal and inappropriate method for executing criminals. In world, the American states of Alabama, Virginia, Kentucky, Florida and Tennessee are still using this method for executing criminals, but in other states, this method has been prohibited to use for punishing capital criminals5. In addition to the above major weaponry developments in the 20th century, many old methods continued to be practiced in many countries. Moreover, traditional war weapons were also improved with new technology and mechanism. Some of the bigger explosive weapons that were developed in the 20th century included RPGs, bazookas, Panzerfaust, Panzerschreck, rocket and grenade launchers and sniper riffles. Thus, to conclude the essay, it is observed that the technologies for killing humans has developed from time to time and became more lethal as compare to the previous methods used for executing persons. BILIOGRAPHY Black, Jeremy. World War Two: A military history. New York: Routledge, 2003. Pelt, Robert Jan. The Case for Auschwitz: Evidence from the Irving Trial. Bloomington: Indian University Press, 2002. Samaha, Joel. Criminal Law. Belmont, CA: Cengage Learning. , 2011. Skates, John R. The Invasion of Japan: Alternative to the Bomb. South Carolina: University of South Carolina Press, 2000. Spielvoge, Jackson J. Western Civilization: Since 1300. New York: Cengage Learning, 2011. Read More