Historical Evidence Supports Nazi Party's Involvement in Biological Weapons

Why did the Nazi party study insects? Especially the insects that presented no potential threat to their food supply? After combing through archives, Tübingen University's Klaus Reinhardt came to the conclusion that part of the Nazi party's interest in insects was spurred by mosquitoes' ability to host malaria and their potential in biological warfare.

The results of the research are published in the journal Endeavour.

"It has been debated for many years whether Nazi Germany sought to produce biological weapons despite Hitler's ban on them. Reinhardt's findings are likely to re-ignite that discussion. Heinrich Himmler, head of the SS, commissioned the Entomological Institute in Dachau in January 1942, presumably after reports of lice infestation among SS troops, and following an outbreak of typhoid fever at Neuengamme concentration camp. The instructions Himmler issued in 1942 were for basic research required to combat germ-carrying insects -- involving the life cycles, diseases, predators and preferred hosts of beetles, lice, fleas and flies," according to a press release announcing the findings.

According to Reinhardt, in 1944, the SS Entomological Institute also tested species of mosquito for their ability to survive without food and water, thus making them ideal candidates for being dropped into enemy territory.

Lab reports reviewed by Reinhardt detailed experiments with anopheles mosquitoes, which can host malaria during part of its development. The notes recommended the use of one particular anopheles mosquito species, which could survive for more than four days. Reinhardt considered this evidence that the insects were planned to be used as an offensive biological weapon.

Reinhardt believes Dachau was chosen as the location for the insect study facility because of the infamous experimentation programs carried out there: the inoculation of prisoners with malaria by professor Claus Schilling.  However, an SS administration official, Wolfram Sievers, testified at Nuremberg that Eduard May, the head of the Entomological Institute, had refused to carry out research on human subjects.