German Flooding of the Pontine Marshes in World War II: Biological Warfare Or Total War Tactic?

2010 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 2-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erhard Geissler ◽  
Jeanne Guillemin
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
State Level ◽  
Historical Record ◽  
Biological Weapons ◽  
Biological Warfare ◽  
Land Mines ◽  
Total War ◽  
Legal Standards ◽  
Archival Documents ◽  
Standards Of Proof

The German army's 1943 flooding of the Pontine Marshes south of Rome, which later caused a sharp rise in malaria cases among Italian civilians, has recently been described by historian Frank Snowden as a unique instance of biological warfare and bioterrorism in the European theater of war and, consequently, as a violation of the 1925 Geneva Protocol prohibiting chemical and biological warfare. We argue that archival documents fail to support this allegation, on several counts. As a matter of historical record, Hitler prohibited German biological weapons (BW) development and consistently adhered to the Geneva Protocol. Rather than biological warfare against civilians, the Wehrmacht used flooding, land mines, and the destruction of vital infrastructure to obstruct the Allied advance. To protect its own troops in the area, the German army sought to contain the increased mosquito breeding likely to be caused by the flooding. Italians returning to the Pontine Marshes after the German retreat in 1944 suffered malaria as a result of environmental destruction, which was banned by the 1899 and 1907 Hague Conventions and by subsequent treaties. In contrast, a state's violation of the Geneva Protocol, whether past or present, involves the use of germ weapons and, by inference, a state-level capability. Any allegation of such a serious violation demands credible evidence that meets high scientific and legal standards of proof.

Biological Warfare and Infection Control

1991 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 368-372 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary D. Nettleman
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Infection Control ◽  
Middle Ages ◽  
American Indians ◽  
18Th Century ◽  
Geneva Convention ◽  
Biological Weapons ◽  
Biological Warfare ◽  
Hospital Infection Control ◽  
Microbiological Techniques

Though biological weapons were outlawed in 1925 by the Geneva Convention and though research, development, and stockpiling of such weapons were forbidden by the Biological Weapons Convention in 1972, the threat of biological warfare has not been eradicated. A wide variety of agents have been considered as possible weapons. In addition to their devastating effect on the battlefield, some have potential for nosocomial spread in US hospitals that care for victims of biological warfare. The following is a brief review of the history of germ warfare, a description of selected agents under consideration, and a discussion of the potential impact of biological weapons on hospital infection control.Biological warfare has been attempted many times in past centuries and is not a concept unique to the war in the Persian Gulf. Poisoning wells by throwing dead bodies into them was not uncommon in the Middle Ages. During the 14th century conflict in Crimea, plague victims were catapulted into the besieged city of Kaffa by the Tartar army. Whether aided by this or not, plague soon broke out and the city surrendered. Escaping citizens and returning soldiers soon spread the disease to much of Europe. In another example, blankets from smallpox victims were considered as potential weapons against American Indians by British colonial commanders in the 18th century. More recently, Japan purportedly investigated biological weapons to spread plague, cholera, yellow fever, and anthrax during World War II. Attempts in earlier centuries usually were unsuccessful due to the lack of knowledge about disease vectors and etiological agents. Only with the advent of modern microbiological techniques has intentional biological warfare been possible on an organized and vast scale.

scholarly journals Error Costs, Legal Standards of Proof, and Statistical Significance

2017 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-57 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michelle M. Burtis ◽  
Jonah B. Gelbach ◽  
Bruce H. Kobayashi
Keyword(s):  
Statistical Significance ◽  
Legal Standards ◽  
Standards Of Proof ◽  
Error Costs

Bones of Contention: China’s World War II Military Graves in India, Burma, and Papua New Guinea

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 52-99 ◽  
Author(s):  
Linh D. Vu
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
World War Ii ◽  
Southeast Asia ◽  
Papua New Guinea ◽  
New Guinea ◽  
The United States ◽  
World War ◽  
Archival Documents ◽  
Chinese State ◽  
International Status

Abstract Exploring the construction and maintenance of Nationalist Chinese soldiers’ graves overseas, this article sheds light on post-World War II commemorative politics. After having fought for the Allies against Japanese aggression in the China-Burma-India Theater, the Chinese expeditionary troops sporadically received posthumous care from Chinese veterans and diaspora groups. In the Southeast Asia Theater, the Chinese soldiers imprisoned in the Japanese-run camps in Rabaul were denied burial in the Allied war cemetery and recognition as military heroes. Analyzing archival documents from China, Taiwan, Britain, Australia, and the United States, I demonstrate how the afterlife of Chinese servicemen under foreign sovereignties mattered in the making of the modern Chinese state and its international status.

FromThere's Magic in MusictoThe Hard-Boiled Canary: Promoting “Good Music” in Prewar Musical Films

2018 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 151-178
Author(s):  
GINA BOMBOLA
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
The United States ◽  
Transitional Period ◽  
Film Production ◽  
World War ◽  
Star Power ◽  
The Great Depression ◽  
Archival Documents ◽  
Wide Debate ◽  
Good Music

AbstractIn 1941, Paramount releasedThere's Magic in Music, a film about a soprano who sings opera in burlesque and wins a scholarship to attend Interlochen. The movie's utopian view of art music, however, caused difficulties for the studio in regard to marketing, leading to a studio-wide debate over the film's title. Archival documents positionThere's Magic in Musicas a valuable case study for investigating the transitional period of musical film production between the Great Depression and the onset of World War II, particularly with respect to operatic musicals. Just prior to the United States’ entry into the war, Hollywood moved away from the escapist fantasy of 1930s cinema toward the realism that would mark the 1940s. To reboot fading interest in musicals, studios toyed with the formula of the backstage musical to focus more on dramatic narratives and star power.There's Magic in Musicthus serves as a lens through which we might examine changes both in musical film production and in notions of “good music” at the eve of World War II.

scholarly journals Coronavirus Is A Biological Warfare Weapon

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 01-06
Author(s):  
Robert Skopec
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
World Health ◽  
Biological Weapons ◽  
Biological Warfare ◽  
University Of Illinois ◽  
College Of Law ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
The University ◽  
Biological Weapons Convention ◽  
The U.S

Dr. Francis Boyle, who drafted the Biological Weapons Act has given a detailed statement admitting that the 2019 Wuhan Coronavirus is an offensive Biological Warfare Weapon and that the World Health Organization (WHO) already knows about it. Francis Boyle is a professor of international law at the University of Illinois College of Law. He drafted the U.S. domestic implementing legislation for the Biological Weapons Convention, known as the Biological Weapons Anti-Terrorism Act of 1989, that was approved unanimously by both Houses of the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President George H.W. Bush.

scholarly journals The role of Anglo-German Naval Agreement in escalation of crisis trends of the Versailles system (based on the materials of new archival documents)

2020 ◽  
pp. 75-84
Author(s):  
Alexander Naumov
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
World War I ◽  
International Relations ◽  
Political Elite ◽  
World War ◽  
Systemic Mechanism ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
The World ◽  
Archival Documents

This article reviews the role of Anglo-German Naval Agreement of 1935 in escalation of crisis trends of the Versailles system. Leaning on the British Russian archival documents, which recently became available for the researchers, the author analyzes the reasons and consequences of conclusion of this agreement between the key European democratic power and Nazi Reich. Emphasis is placed on analyzing the moods within the political elite of the United Kingdom. It is proven that the agreement became a significant milestone in escalation of crisis trends in the Versailles model of international relations. It played a substantial role in establishment of the British appeasement policy with regards to revanchist powers in the interbellum; policy that objectively led to disintegration of the created in 1919 systemic mechanism, and thus, the beginning of the World War II. The novelty of this work is substantiated by articulation of the problem. This article is first within the Russian and foreign historiography to analyze execution of the Anglo-German Naval Agreement based on the previously unavailable archival materials. The conclusion is made that this agreement played a crucial role in the process of disintegration of interbellum system of international relations. Having officially sanctioned the violation of the articles of the Versailles Treaty of 1919 by Germany, Great Britain psychologically reconciled to the potential revenge of Germany, which found reflection in the infamous appeasement policy. This launched the mechanism for disruption of status quo that was established after the World War I in Europe. This resulted in collapse of the architecture of international security in the key region of the world, rapid deterioration of relations between the countries, and a new world conflict.

scholarly journals The Paths of Books of Latvian Jews during World War II

Knygotyra ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 71 ◽  
pp. 210-235
Author(s):  
Jana Dreimane
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Second World War ◽  
Jewish Literature ◽  
World War ◽  
Soviet Occupation ◽  
Nazi Occupation ◽  
Archival Documents ◽  
Book Collections ◽  
Book Values ◽  
Second World

[full article, abstract in English; abstract in Lithuanian] The aim of the research is to find out the influence of the Nazi regime on preservation of historical book collections, which were established in Jewish societies, schools, religious organizations and private houses in Latvia until the first Soviet occupation (1940/1941). At the beginning, libraries of Jewish associations and other institutions were expropriated by the Soviet power, which started the elimination of Jewish books and periodicals published in the independent Republic of Latvia. The massive destruction of Jewish literature collections was carried out by Nazi occupation authorities (1941-1944/45), proclaiming Jews and Judaism as their main “enemies”. However, digitized archives of Nazi organizations (mainly documents of the Reichsleiter Rosenberg Taskforce) shows that a small part of the Latvian Jewish book collections was preserved for research purposes and after the Second World War scattered in different countries. Analysis of archival documents will clarify the Nazi strategy for Latvian Jewish book collections. It will be determined which book values survived the war and what their further fate in the second half of the 1940s was.

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