Wikipedia
Quinzinzinzili
Quinzinzinzili is a science fiction novel written in 1935 by the French author RĂ©gis Messac (1893 - 1945). This was one of the first post-cataclysmic novels.
At the time of World War II (which Messac anticipated), a Japanese scientist develops a chemical reaction that combines the oxygen and nitrogen in the atmosphere. The air becomes unbreathable for the majority of species, and humanity is swept with mass extinction. Ten children left in a deep cave survive and find the purified Earth. The man who accompanies them, their tutor, witnesses the creation of a new humanity.