bryan r hinton
Wednesday, June 3, 2026
My spectacles ·· Prussian Blue part III
Tuesday, June 2, 2026
Where the light shines diamonds ·· Prussian Blue part II
before talking about the science, i'd like to present another meaning of Prussian Blue. this is what it means to me. it represents God looking down and trying to figure out how to fix the situation where the people he created are inadvertently hurting and killing each other. it represents that moment where life moves beyond the earth.
But most of all, it represents something to me that I witnessed.
It reminds me of Lublin. And it reminds me of her hand. The one that held mine, the right one because the left one was missing. The photo I am referring to is the one from the Imperial War Museum in london, uk.
It reminds me most of the damage that was done to those we loved. Many people who endured exposure to the things that occurred before Prussian Blue formed endured unspeakable things. Many of them actually lived. So when you think about Prussian Blue, you might think about genocide or methods of killing used by the Nazis. But the truth is, many people lived.
So how does Prussian Blue form? At a very basic level, something called HCN (Hydrogen Cyanide) comes in contact with a material like clay, stone, concrete, wool, cotton, fiber, etc. Zyklon B released HCN gas. Depending on the weather, a blue layer begins to form. Sometimes faster, sometimes slower. It depends on the environment.
Prussian Blue (and there are thousands of different shades of blue we are talking about) forms when HCN is present. The folks that lived were only exposed to a certain amount in the air. If you were to count polygons, triangles, or squares floating through the air between two points in time, you could count them and determine how many would actually be harmful to a person or animal. This is called parts per million.
Now on to the original definition of Prussian Blue. Prussian Blue is a dark blue powder that people use to make paint, dye clothes, and even help sick people. As I mentioned above, it forms from a chemical reaction when HCN comes in contact with a certain type of surface, and there are many.
HCN was used extensively in insect repellent back in the old days. It is outdated for bugs and pests around the home. There are safer alternatives that were invented many years ago. So back in the early 1900's, it was discovered that it could be used for killing ant piles, etc. They then figured out how to use it in outdoor settings to get rid of insects such as within wildlife environments and in the countryside.
This stuff has been around several hundred years. It's not rocket science. The chemical patterns are well understood both from a geometric and a spectral perspective.
Zyklon-B is merely HCN and some organic material in a fire extinguisher canister. [as shown in historical photographs I have seen] They then sprayed it over clothes to clean them of insects.
So you might be asking, where was it used?
During the 1940's, the camps across Nazi occupied Poland and Europe did not have air-conditioned barracks and clean conditions. They were really messy. Places like Bergen-Belsen were extremely dirty with people sleeping on the ground. This is where Zyklon-B fits in. It was used to clean people's clothes initially.
It was commonly used to kill lice at Westerbork.
What She Carried
a window in time · prussian blue part i
The Art of the Invisible: Super-resolution, NIR and UV Imaging Basics
Monday, June 1, 2026
Auschwitz III-Monowitz Podobóz
I won't tell you where. You wouldn't find it in your textbooks anyway.
And if I told you, you still wouldn't believe me.
I remember as a small child looking at the sky. When we were leaving. I remember the cold air and I remember the constant smell. I remember that road and your devotion and focus as we made our way out of there. I remember you holding my hand as we crossed the muddy courtyard on our way outside. It's still there. I remember my curiosity about a world I knew nothing about. It looks the same. Everything we know today, pushed back in time by about 40 years. I remember all the buildings and streets we passed when we left the city years ago. They look the same. I took a bus ride through the city and passed every one of them.
Your hand in mine, we walked thousands of miles.
Sunday, May 31, 2026
Scope and Intent — A Note Before the Prussian Blue Series
Before I begin my series on the chemistry of Prussian blue staining at former Nazi German concentration and extermination camps, I want to state clearly what this blog series is about and, just as importantly, what it is not about.
What this series is:
- A scientific and forensic examination of how Prussian blue forms from hydrogen cyanide (the active agent in Zyklon-B) reacting with iron-containing building materials.
- A correction of specific chemical misconceptions I have encountered online. For example, misunderstandings about iron sources, wall porosity, or the stability of the pigment.
- A presentation of specific, verifiable examples of Prussian blue staining, drawn from documented forensic and historical research at multiple sites, including Mauthausen, Auschwitz-Birkenau, Majdanek, Stutthof, Sachsenhausen, and Hartheim.
- An effort to separate fact from fiction only on the level of chemical mechanism, not on the level of historical events. Iron gall ink analysis. How prussian blue forms, the different colors of it on different surfaces, what types of surfaces it forms on, and how long it takes. I may include some detail on both the spectral and non-spectral based algorithms used. This will not be based on my "visual" observation", only on proven, scientific evidence.
- And most importantly, my extensive analysis of high resolution images using computational imaging techniques.
What this series is NOT:
- A challenge to the established historical record of the Holocaust, including the use of Zyklon-B in homicidal gas chambers at Auschwitz-Birkenau, Majdanek, and other camps.
- An attempt to estimate or dispute victim counts based on staining patterns.
- A claim that forensic chemistry contradicts survivor testimony, wartime documentation, or postwar legal findings. It does not.
- Holocaust denial, minimization, or revisionism in any form. I reject those positions entirely.
My background and intent:
I am a science writer with a strong interest in forensic chemistry. I am not a Holocaust denier, and I have no political or ideological agenda beyond accurate science communication. The chemistry of Prussian blue is interesting because it confirms the historical record, not because it undermines it.
Why this matters:
There is a substantial amount of denial on the subject (across the medical community, law enforcement, public, and private sectors in the USA) and an equal amount of confusion on what color blue forms and how it forms. Misinformation about the chemistry of Prussian blue exists in two forms: innocent confusion and deliberate distortion. My goal is to address the first without amplifying the second. I will not be engaging with denialist arguments directly, nor will I platform them. Instead, I will simply present the chemistry as it is understood by forensic scientists and historians who accept the reality of the Holocaust.
There is a lot of evidence. The goal of this series is to present some of that evidence clearly, focusing on the chemistry and imaging work I have done.
A request to readers:
If you are a Holocaust survivor, a descendant of survivors, or someone directly affected by this history, I recognize that even a technical discussion of these chemicals can be painful. That is not my intent, but I acknowledge the weight of the subject. Please read with care, or skip this series if it would cause distress.
A note for anyone concerned about my intentions:
I welcome corrections from chemists and historians if I make an actual factual error. I do not welcome attempts to draw me into debates about whether the Holocaust happened. Those are not debates I will have, because the historical conclusion is not in doubt.
Thank you for reading. Now, on to the chemistry.
Posted as part of a series on forensic chemistry and historical staining phenomena at Nazi German camps.
Almost Identical · Amsterdam
© 2026 Bryan R. Hinton
sha512sum -c SHA512SUMS.CA42 47E8 9A5E FEAB 36DC 6A42 C547 9171 B69A 3CFB 887D B92C 3FB1 480A 2993 57A3Saturday, May 30, 2026
Dachau · A Frame
© 2026 Bryan R. Hinton
Dachau was a model camp. The building architecture and adminstrative processes at the camps across Europe were modeled after Dachau. I took this photo of the barrack at Dachau outside of Munich, Germany.
sha512sum -c SHA512SUMS.CA42 47E8 9A5E FEAB 36DC 6A42 C547 9171 B69A 3CFB 887D B92C 3FB1 480A 2993 57A3.ots file proves that SHA512SUMS existed at or before the Bitcoin block timestamp below.Friday, May 29, 2026
Places of Memory · Kraków, Poland
© 2026 Bryan R. Hinton
sha512sum -c SHA512SUMS.CA42 47E8 9A5E FEAB 36DC 6A42 C547 9171 B69A 3CFB 887D B92C 3FB1 480A 2993 57A3.ots file proves that SHA512SUMS existed at or before the Bitcoin block timestamp below.Places of Memory · KL Auschwitz I
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Auschwitz I and Auschwitz II-Birkenau are in Oświęcim, Poland which is about an hour from Kraków.
I took these photos at Auschwitz I.
© 2026 Bryan R. Hinton
© 2026 Bryan R. Hinton
The discussion of the things that occurred within this block at Auschwitz I is sensitive to many people. But just as important, there is an equal or greater amount of dismissal, denial, and distortion of what really happened. Remembrance is important, and an acute awareness of what is going on now – in and across our world – will prevent such atrocities from ever happening again.
If you can't make it to Poland, I recommend visiting the Washington DC United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. As of a few weeks ago, a new exhibit was announced in a partnership between the United States and Auschwitz for an exhibit. Here is the press release page.
© 2026 Bryan R. Hinton
© 2026 Bryan R. Hinton
© 2026 Bryan R. Hinton
Systematic renaming of Jewish individuals and families occurred before, during, and after the war. This persecution continued. These people were told they would begin a new life with work. Here is the luggage they brought with them on the train.
Index card issued to Anne Frank by the Jewish Council in Amsterdam – Arolsen Archives.
Jewish victims were often forced to do administrative work. Those who were were spared, were renamed as nazis.
Monday, May 25, 2026
Konzentrationslager Lublin
© 2026 Bryan R. Hinton
© 2026 Bryan R. Hinton
sha512sum -c SHA512SUMS.CA42 47E8 9A5E FEAB 36DC 6A42 C547 9171 B69A 3CFB 887D B92C 3FB1 480A 2993 57A3.ots file proves that SHA512SUMS existed at or before the Bitcoin block timestamp below.KL Birkenau · The Outer Perimeter
© 2026 Bryan R. Hinton
I walked around Auschwitz II-Birkenau by myself and took this photo. I also walked around the camp by myself. It was a very important day.
sha512sum -c SHA512SUMS.CA42 47E8 9A5E FEAB 36DC 6A42 C547 9171 B69A 3CFB 887D B92C 3FB1 480A 2993 57A3.ots file proves that SHA512SUMS existed at or before the Bitcoin block timestamp below.Friday, May 15, 2026
A Note for the Record: Convergence at the Site
© 2026 Bryan R. Hinton
sha512sum -c SHA512SUMS.CA42 47E8 9A5E FEAB 36DC 6A42 C547 9171 B69A 3CFB 887D B92C 3FB1 480A 2993 57A3.ots file proves that SHA512SUMS existed at or before the Bitcoin block timestamp below.Tuesday, May 12, 2026
Margot B. Frank
© 2026 Bryan R. Hinton