Implications of Recent Intelligence Regarding Alleged German Secret Weapon

Implications of Recent Intelligence Regarding Alleged German Secret Weapon

This memo from the Acting Director of the Office of Strategic Services to the Joint Staff Planners discusses the potential threat of the Germans using the toxin of bacillus botulinus as a secret weapon.

1943

The professor Hellmuth Simons says that the Germans will use the toxin of bacillus botulinus as a weapon and have developed the means to spread it through the air. The National Defense Research committee estimated that such releases could lead to a mortality rate near 70%. Discusses the nature and form of such an attack substance, the clinical presentation, and difficulty of countermeasure use.