28

Firstly, I think this is a stupid unbelievable question. However, for the sake of getting on S.SE, is there any evidence to for the Nazis using fluoride maliciously for example, to make prisoners more docile?"

Here is one graphic claiming, "Hitler used it to sterilize inmates nad make them more docile."

Anti-Fluoride Graphic

Infowars claims it in graphics too, "Sodium Fluoride, used by Nazis, lowers your IQ."

Infowars Anti-Fluoride Poster

And, the InfoWars site says..

“the Nazi concentration camps used fluoridated water to suppress the will and vigor of inmates. This appears to have been during the 1930s and was the first known example of fluoridated water supplies for a specific population.”

Interestingly the site sources Richard Shames, M.D. graduated Harvard and University of Pennsylvania, however it doesn't say how he came to the conclusion. He also seems kind of sketchy as he offers "consultations by telephone." But, he does have a book that is well reviewed on Amazon.

Lastly, here is a article entitled, Nazi's used Sodium Fluoride with all kinds of claims. Most bold is probably,

"The first occurrence of fluoridated drinking water on Earth was found in Germany's Nazi prison camps. The Gestapo had little concern about fluoride's supposed effect on children's teeth; their alleged reason for mass-medicating water with sodium fluoride was to sterilize humans and force the people into their concentration camps into calm submission. (Ref. book: "The Crime and Punishment of I.G. Farben" by Joseph Borkin.)"

But the article continues, "The German chemists worked out a very ingenious and far-reaching plan of mass-control which was submitted to and adopted by the German General Staff. This plan as to control the population in any given area through mass medication of drinking water supplies. By this method they could control the population in whole areas, reduce population by water medication that would produce sterility in women, and so on. In this scheme of mass-control, sodium fluoride occupied a prominent place." Presumably the above excerpt continues, "repeated doses of infinitesimal amounts of fluoride will in time reduce an individual's power to resist domination by slowly poisoning and narcotizing a certain area of the brain, thus making him submissive to the will of those who wish to govern him."

First page of "Nazi's used Sodium Fluoride"

kenorb
  • 512
  • 5
  • 21
Evan Carroll
  • 28,401
  • 42
  • 129
  • 239
  • [PolitiFact](http://www.politifact.com/florida/statements/2011/oct/06/critics-water-fluoridation/truth-about-fluoride-doesnt-include-nazi-myth/): _We can confidently declare this claim __Pants on Fire!___ – Oliver_C Dec 13 '12 at 17:47
  • 4
    I thought this claim was limited to [Jack D. Ripper](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dr._Strangelove)... – gerrit Dec 13 '12 at 18:04
  • 1
    @Oliver_C That link and some quotes from it would make an excellent answer. – DJClayworth Dec 13 '12 at 18:11
  • 6
    is this really sufficiently different from the other fluoride questions apart from fulfilling Godwin's law? – Ryathal Dec 13 '12 at 18:26
  • 1
    @Ryathal yes, asking if the Nazis used it seems to be quite different, especially when many answers on this site indicate fluoride is toxic and does lower IQ so long as you use concentrations far above those found in water fluoridation. – Evan Carroll Dec 13 '12 at 21:06
  • Sounds awfully like the [bromide myths](http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2009/06/29/2611115.htm) have merged with the fluoride myths... – Oddthinking Dec 13 '12 at 23:05
  • 1
    There is a factual question mixed with a question about motivation here. – matt_black Dec 13 '12 at 23:12
  • And they can't be the first as on the claimants asserts as some water is and has always been *naturally* fluoridated. – matt_black Dec 13 '12 at 23:14
  • 1
    I don't think it's called *natural fluoridation*, some water has fluoride in it naturally, but *fluoridation* is specific to the intentional process? – Evan Carroll Dec 13 '12 at 23:56
  • Here is a full story: [Fluoride and Consciousness](http://2012yayas.com/Fluoride.html). – kenorb Sep 02 '14 at 10:32
  • [But we've got to protect our precious bodily fluids](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qr2bSL5VQgM&noredirect=1), @gerrit – Brian S Sep 02 '14 at 15:27
  • @kenorb That site you linked to is just bonkers. Full-on clinically nuts. – Reinstate Monica -- notmaynard Jun 22 '15 at 20:45

1 Answers1

36

Politifact gave this old story about the Nazis and fluoride a "Pants On Fire" rating:

...We tracked down roots of these claims on the Web, reached out to Holocaust historians, contacted well-known critics of water fluoridation, and read book excerpts and magazine articles and news stories. And we can tell you: There's no teeth to this claim.

As a side note, here is a link to an Institute for Science in Medicine white paper on the movement that spreads propaganda like this Nazi myth:

Sklivvz
  • 78,578
  • 29
  • 321
  • 428
LindaRosaRN
  • 361
  • 2
  • 3
  • @LindaRosaRN, +1, and stay with us; you are welcome! – Carlo Alterego Dec 14 '12 at 21:21
  • 1
    There are a few other juicy quotes in the source that would flesh out the point. Including one from an anti-fluoride campaigner. Include a few or summarise the points for a great answer. – matt_black Dec 16 '12 at 22:00
  • 5
    Always good to see [Godwin's Law](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godwin's_law) in action. There have been all kinds of ridiculous claims made about Fluoride, so a Nazi comparison was sure to come up eventually. – John Lyon Dec 17 '12 at 00:02
  • 4
    "There's no **teeth** to this claim." - when it comes to anti-fluoridation claims, there seldom is. – Andrew Grimm Oct 12 '13 at 12:15
  • French wiki says otherwise, see: [Charles Eliot Perkins](https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Eliot_Perkins). – kenorb Sep 02 '14 at 10:36
  • @kenorb: that just shows that paranoia existed back then. It does not show that Nazi introduced fluoridation of water to control masses. Indeed water fluoridation was [first introduced in the US](http://www.jstor.org/stable/3655239) in 1945, although the beneficial effects of fluoride against tooth decay were known since the 30s. Also, water was fluoridated in Germany [only between 1952 and 1971](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fluoridation_by_country#Germany) – nico Sep 03 '14 at 10:58
  • It says 1952, because it's an official date of fluoridation in the country it-self after the testing the fluride in camps in 1940 to check the effects of poisoning people (by affecting human ability to oppose the authority). It was success, so US was happy as well to get rid tons of aluminum waste into water supply and at the same control the overpopulation. Check the [A Chronology of Fluoridation](http://web.archive.org/web/20010210233833/http://www.enteract.com/~mgfree/Medical/Fluorine/FluorineHistory.html). – kenorb Sep 03 '14 at 11:30
  • Check also the letter from german chemist [CHARLES E. PERKINS](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Elliott_Perkins) to Lee Foundation for Nutritional Research, Milwaukee, Wisconsin about mental or physical effects on any person who drinks artificially fluoridated water. I believe the original sources are: Fluoridation, Isabel Jansen, R.N, Tri-State Press, 1990 ; The Greatest Fraud: Fluoridation, Philip R.N. Sutton, Karunda Pty, Ltd, Lorne, Australia, 1996 ; The Dickenson Statement: A Mind-Boggling Thesis, Ian E. Stephens, 1987. – kenorb Sep 03 '14 at 11:31
  • [Paranoia](http://web.archive.org/web/20010616230546/http://204.181.21.150/trufax/fluoride/fluorides.html) existed for the reason which was based on the [extensive studies (check the end notes)](http://mizar5.com/behavioraleffect.html). And valid studies should never be expired, because nothing has been changed since then. – kenorb Sep 03 '14 at 11:46
  • 1
    @kenorb: how can you discard the hypothesis that those are just stories made up by the government to make you believe they are poisoning you with fluoride and study your psychological reaction? Meta-conspiracy theory FTW! – nico Sep 11 '14 at 10:34
  • @nico: It is well known, that [fluoride (F) accumulates in the aged human pineal gland](http://www.fluoridealert.org/wp-content/pesticides/sodium.f.pineal.htm). There are plenty of controversial researches that you can't simply ignore and these coming directly from private sources, not from the government. For some it's simply enough to check few pictures of calcified pineal gland or check on your-self how it affect your hormones and how easily you can get into the depressed pineal serotonin/melatonin synthesis. – kenorb Sep 11 '14 at 11:58
  • 2
    @kenorb: I am not ignoring that. Actually that is a nice paper. Now please read the paper [here](http://www.karger.com/Article/FullText/47443) and you will see that 1) there is no comparison whatsoever between people who drink fluoridated water vs. controls. 2) there is no hormone measurement 3) there is no indication that accumulation of F has anything to do with changes in hormone levels 4) they did not look at pituitary gland (which is waaaaaaay more important than the pineal) 5) F does NOT cause calcification, calcium does. [cont] – nico Sep 11 '14 at 12:29
  • [cont'd] 6) Fig.1 shows a (possibly debatable) linear relationship between Ca and F, so any effect (that is not shown anyway) could just be due to accumulation of Ca rather than F. And being that there is no comparison with a non-fluoride group we don't know if that is actually a problem of old age (which does affect the hormonal output from the pituitary) rather than being caused by F. – nico Sep 11 '14 at 12:31
  • Dr Luke also found that animals treated with fluoride had lower levels of circulating melatonin and lead to an accelerated sexual maturation in females. Luke summarized her paper by saying: "In conclusion, the human pineal gland contains the highest concentration of fluoride in the body. [...] Whether or not fluoride interferes with pineal function in humans requires further investigation.". (See [Fluoride & the Pineal Gland](http://www.dirtdoctor.com/Fluoride-the-Pineal-Gland_vq3131.htm), [pineal-gland at fluoridealert](http://fluoridealert.org/issues/health/pineal-gland/). – kenorb Sep 11 '14 at 16:23