Biowarfare against the Nazis : the ethics, efficacy and consequences of a forgotten operation by the Czech resistance in the Second World War
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2025 |
| Type | Article in Periodical |
| Magazine / Source | War & Society |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| web | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/07292473.2024.2421642 |
| Doi | http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/07292473.2024.2421642 |
| Keywords | biowarfare; Second World War; Czech resistance; Vignati group; insurgent strategy |
| Attached files | |
| Description | This article investigates a little-known instance of biological warfare in the Czech lands during the first phase of the Nazi occupation in 1939–1940. The authors analyse the case in terms of the motivations, the related ethical challenges, strategies and tactics. Using archival materials, for the first time, they describe in detail the activities of the so-called Vignati group, a part of the broader Czech resistance organisation Obrana národa. Strategically, these activities were an attack against German military and civilian targets, but the objectives were not reached tactically because the biological agents used proved ineffective. |
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