During WW2 the germans had many well respected
Entomological Institutes, so why did the germans want to study these pesky creatures? It may have started out as a push to find a cure for diseases like Typhoid, but it turned into much more. "After combing the archives, Dr Reinhardt came to the conclusion that, although the institutes were intended to combat insect-borne diseases such as typhoid, it also carried out research into whether mosquitoes – which host malaria – could be used in biological warfare"(Univeritat Tubingen). One of these institutes is Waffen-SS Entomological Institute, an extra part of Dachau concentration camp. For many years it has been debated among the Biological community wether or not the Germans were making biological weapons, despite Hitler's ban on them. This evidence will most likely supply interesting conversations amongst biologists."Dr Reinhardt says that in 1944, the SS Entomological Institute was also tasked with testing various species of mosquito for their ability to survive without food or water – and thus, their suitability to be infected with malaria and air-dropped into enemy territory"(Univeritat Tubingen).Dr. Reinhart did extensive research on notes written by the institutes director, Eduard May. His notes include multiple notes of with anopheles mosquitoes, which can host malaria during part of its development.
Themes of Nature Science:
Science is Credible: Dr. Reinhart has provided credible and understandable reasons for his findings.
Role of Motivation and Curiosity: Dr. Reinhart carefully and thoroughly examined the notes of many Biologists in the Institute to come up with his findings. Without being curious he never would have worked hard to reach his conclusion.
Article: http://phys.org/news/2014-02-evidence-nazis-explored-mosquitos-biological.html#jCp
Your article was very thought provoking on how animals/insects were used in WWII. I did some further research and I found a lot of interesting, although not too effective animal weapons. For example, the Americans were training pigeons to guide a missile by having them inside, controlling the levers to aim the missile. Surprisingly, 4 out of 5 pigeons actually hit the target but the project was discontinued due to the invention of electronic guiding systems.
ReplyDeleteThis article was very interesting about how mosquitos were used in WW11 by the Germans. I think that even if the Germans believed that it was possible to use mosquitos in warfare, how could they insure that the mosquitos would not bite them. I did some extra research, and I found that what some countries would do is use a chemical to destroy the agriculture of the enemy country. I feel like using chemicals and diseases outside of animals or insects that you cannot control would be much less risky. I also found it very interesting that people would use pigeons to shoot missiles. Who knows what someone will try next.
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