War against the potato beetle

Last updated February 13, 2024

The war against the potato beetle was a campaign launched in Warsaw Pact countries during the Cold War to eradicate the Colorado potato beetle (Leptinotarsa decemlineata). It was also a propaganda operation that alleged it was introduced into East Germany, the People's Republic of Poland and Communist Czechoslovakia by the United States as a form of entomological warfare. Communist propaganda of the time claimed that the insect was being dropped from parachutes and balloons, with the intent of immiserating the populations of these countries, causing famines, and facilitating an economic crisis.^[1]

The beetle

The Colorado potato beetle, also known as the "ten striped spearman", is a common pest of potato crops. It is most likely native to the area between Colorado and northern Mexico, and was discovered in 1824 by Thomas Say in the Rocky Mountains. Since the mid-nineteenth century, it has been one of the most destructive pests of the cultivated potato. The insect made its way to Germany in the 1870s but was successfully eradicated. However, it made a second appearance after World War I in the Bordeaux area in France, where it probably arrived with American troops and equipment.^[2] It reached the French border with Germany by 1936 and continued spreading eastward.^[3] It was probably transferred to Czechoslovakia with the German occupation after the Munich agreement and to Poland after the Nazi invasion in 1939.

The most common method of dealing with the pest is through the use of pesticides. DDT was effectively used until the bug developed resistance by the 1950s. Subsequently, other insecticides were employed but these eventually ran into a similar problem.

Before the Cold War

While later Cold War-era allegations were propaganda, the idea of using the beetle for purposes of warfare had factual origins. During World War I, the French did actually draft plans for using the potato beetle against the Germans and in turn, during World War II, Germany worked on developing an insect army of its own, while simultaneously alleging that such a program was being carried out by the United States and the British.^[3]

During the Cold War

Soviet Union

The Colorado beetle crossed the borders of the Soviet Union in 1949, but Soviet authorities were able to quickly eradicate it, and strict quarantine restrictions managed to prevent its spread, but only until 1958.^[4] After that, the beetle spread widely across the USSR, greatly affecting potato crops on the collective farms and small individual plots. The latter were affected especially severely, since in the USSR the private small farmers and gardeners lacked access to officially distributed effective pesticides, so the beetle, their eggs, and larvae had to be collected by hand - often a chore assigned to children.

German Democratic Republic

After World War II, nearly half of all potato fields in the Soviet-occupied zone were infested by the beetle by 1950. In East Germany in the 1950s, the insect came to be known as "Amikäfer", a neologism for "Amerikanischer Käfer" (the "American beetle"). Propaganda posters were issued that depicted the beetle marching across Germany, with its yellow and black stripes replaced by red and white ones with white stars on a blue background on the thorax.^[1] Other posters showed the beetle being dropped from American planes with the caption "Kampf für den Frieden" ("The battle for peace"). A letter was issued to "the people of the world", stating that "the beetles are smaller than the atomic bomb... but they are also a weapon of the US imperialists in the fight against the peace-loving workers and peasants of East Germany." Children's books on the beetle were also published and "Sondersuchtage" ("Special Search Days") were organized in which everyone from young children to the elderly was expected to come out and gather them for destruction.^[5]

People's Republic of Poland

In Poland, the war against the potato beetle (stonka) began in the second half of the 1940s. Articles on the plague appeared in major newspapers and farmers' magazines such as Przysposobienie Rolnicze i Wojskowe ("Agricultural and Military Almanac"). The official organ of the ruling communist Polish United Workers' Party Trybuna Ludu ("People's Tribune") reported that after being dropped on the Baltic Sea by American planes, the beetle emerged onto land and began to wage "sabotage and diversionary actions aimed at socialist Poland". As a result, the communist government declared a "merciless war against the beetle". A Naczelny Nadzwyczajny Komisarz ("General Special Commissar") was appointed to oversee the assault on the beetles, the country was divided into strategic sectors, and battle maps indicating enemy positions were drawn up. Simultaneously, instructions were issued to farmers describing simple and effective ways of eradicating the pest if pesticides were not available; for instance drowning specimens in water with a small admixture of kerosene. Even Poland's socialist poets joined the struggle, exemplified by Maria Kownacka's poem Alarm, which instructs farmers to "protect the potatoes!!!" and tells either the beetle or the imperialists that "we will not allow ourselves to be starved!!!" (exclamation marks in original).^[6]

A Polish newsreel from 1950, "Walka z stonką" ("The struggle against the beetle"), claimed that "the progressive opinion of the world has rightfully condemned the crimes of the American pilots who dropped tremendous amounts of the potato beetle on the fields of the German Democratic Republic... from where the beetle invaded Polish territory". The news report went on to describe the campaign launched by the Polish Ministry of Agriculture to eradicate the pest through the use of DDT (Azotox in its Soviet bloc version), vigilance on Poland's Baltic coast, engagement of the Polish Air Force, and the general mobilization of society, particularly the youth. The newsreel concluded that "the American pest will be unsuccessful both in Poland and Germany. The warmongers' provocation will crash and burn. Everyone to war against the beetle!"^[7]

In a 1951 book published by the Polish Ministry of Defense, Zofia Kowalska wrote that American planes dropped beetles, "violating sovereign airspace", on the night of 24 May in East Germany, in the Zwickauer Land of Saxony.^[8]

In Poland, the propaganda campaign associated with the beetle ended by the beginning of the 1960s.

Western response

In response to the allegations issued by the Soviet bloc countries' governments, the US issued tepid denials.^[5] In August 1950, at the suggestion of the CIA, the West German authorities printed postcard-sized cardboard replicas of the potato beetle and stamped these with political slogans and the letter "F" for "Freiheit" ("Freedom"). A number of these were sent to all the municipal governments in East Germany and the rest dropped from a balloon over East German territory as a joke.^[9]

Modern era

In the European Union, the beetle remains a regulated (quarantine) pest for the Republic of Ireland, the Balearic Islands, Cyprus, Malta and southern parts of Sweden and Finland, along with the non-EU member states of the United Kingdom and Norway. It is not endemic in any of these countries, although occasional infestations occur, as in Finland in the summer of 2011, when strong winds blew from Russia.^[10]^[11]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">DDT</span> Organochloride known for its insecticidal properties

Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, commonly known as DDT, is a colorless, tasteless, and almost odorless crystalline chemical compound, an organochloride. Originally developed as an insecticide, it became infamous for its environmental impacts. DDT was first synthesized in 1874 by the Austrian chemist Othmar Zeidler. DDT's insecticidal action was discovered by the Swiss chemist Paul Hermann Müller in 1939. DDT was used in the second half of World War II to limit the spread of the insect-borne diseases malaria and typhus among civilians and troops. Müller was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1948 "for his discovery of the high efficiency of DDT as a contact poison against several arthropods". The WHO's anti-malaria campaign of the 1950s and 1960s relied heavily on DDT and the results were promising, though there was a resurgence in developing countries afterwards.

<i>Silent Spring</i> 1962 book by Rachel Carson on the environment

Silent Spring is an environmental science book by Rachel Carson. Published on September 27, 1962, the book documented the environmental harm caused by the indiscriminate use of a type of pesticide used by soldiers during WW2. Carson accused the chemical industry of spreading disinformation, and public officials of accepting the industry's marketing claims unquestioningly.

The boll weevil is a species of beetle in the family Curculionidae. The boll weevil feeds on cotton buds and flowers. Thought to be native to Central Mexico, it migrated into the United States from Mexico in the late 19th century and had infested all U.S. cotton-growing areas by the 1920s, devastating the industry and the people working in the American South. During the late 20th century, it became a serious pest in South America as well. Since 1978, the Boll Weevil Eradication Program in the U.S. allowed full-scale cultivation to resume in many regions.

Pesticide resistance describes the decreased susceptibility of a pest population to a pesticide that was previously effective at controlling the pest. Pest species evolve pesticide resistance via natural selection: the most resistant specimens survive and pass on their acquired heritable changes traits to their offspring. If a pest has resistance then that will reduce the pesticide's efficacy – efficacy and resistance are inversely related.

The history of Poland from 1939 to 1945 encompasses primarily the period from the invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union to the end of World War II. Following the German–Soviet non-aggression pact, Poland was invaded by Nazi Germany on 1 September 1939 and by the Soviet Union on 17 September. The campaigns ended in early October with Germany and the Soviet Union dividing and annexing the whole of Poland. After the Axis attack on the Soviet Union in the summer of 1941, the entirety of Poland was occupied by Germany, which proceeded to advance its racial and genocidal policies across Poland.

The Polish People's Republic was a country in Central Europe that existed from 1947 to 1989 as the predecessor of the modern-day Republic of Poland. From 1947 to 1952 it was known as the Republic of Poland, and it was also often simply known as Poland. With a population of approximately 37.9 million near the end of its existence, it was the second most-populous communist and Eastern Bloc country in Europe. A unitary state with a Marxist–Leninist government, it was also one of the main signatories of the Warsaw Pact alliance. The largest city and official capital since 1947 was Warsaw, followed by the industrial city of Łódź and cultural city of Kraków. The country was bordered by the Baltic Sea to the north, the Soviet Union to the east, Czechoslovakia to the south, and East Germany to the west.

The Colorado potato beetle, also known as the Colorado beetle, the ten-striped spearman, the ten-lined potato beetle, or the potato bug, is a major pest of potato crops. It is about 10 mm long, with a bright yellow/orange body and five bold brown stripes along the length of each of its elytra. Native to the Rocky Mountains, it spread rapidly in potato crops across America and then Europe from 1859 onwards.

The History of Szczecin dates back to the 8th century. Throughout its history the city has been part of Poland, Denmark, Sweden and Germany. Since the Middle Ages, it is one of the largest and oldest cities in the historic region of Pomerania, and today, is it the largest city in northwestern Poland.

Pest control is the regulation or management of a species defined as a pest; such as any animal, plant or fungus that impacts adversely on human activities or environment. The human response depends on the importance of the damage done and will range from tolerance, through deterrence and management, to attempts to completely eradicate the pest. Pest control measures may be performed as part of an integrated pest management strategy.

Soviet partisans were members of resistance movements that fought a guerrilla war against Axis forces during World War II in the Soviet Union, the previously Soviet-occupied territories of interwar Poland in 1941–45 and eastern Finland. The activity emerged after Nazi Germany's Operation Barbarossa was launched from mid-1941 on. It was coordinated and controlled by the Soviet government and modeled on that of the Red Army.

Home-stored product entomology is the study of insects which infest foodstuffs stored in the home. It deals with the prevention, detection and eradication of the pests.

Organizacja Wojskowa Związek Jaszczurczy was an organization of Polish resistance in World War II. Created in 1939 and transformed into National Armed Forces in 1942, it represented the far right of the Polish political spectrum (related to the National Radical Camp political party. It refused to recognise the broadly internationally recognised Polish Government-in-exile, although there was some uneasy tactical cooperation for practical reasons. It and descendants also refused to recognise the Soviet-aligned Polish Committee of National Liberation and continued to resist the new Polish communist regime and the USSR after the war.

Entomological warfare (EW) is a type of biological warfare that uses insects to interrupt supply lines by damaging crops, or to directly harm enemy combatants and civilian populations. There have been several programs which have attempted to institute this methodology; however, there has been limited application of entomological warfare against military or civilian targets, Japan being the only state known to have verifiably implemented the method against another state, namely the Chinese during World War II. However, EW was used more widely in antiquity, in order to repel sieges or cause economic harm to states. Research into EW was conducted during both World War II and the Cold War by numerous states such as the Soviet Union, United States, Germany and Canada. There have also been suggestions that it could be implemented by non-state actors in a form of bioterrorism. Under the Biological and Toxic Weapons Convention of 1972, use of insects to administer agents or toxins for hostile purposes is deemed to be against international law.

Wacław Lipiński (1896–1949) was a Polish historian, military officer and resistance fighter, lieutenant colonel in the Polish Army of the Second Polish Republic, recipient of Polish highest military decoration, the Order of Virtuti Militari.

During the Cold War (1947–1991), when the Soviet Union and the United States were engaged in an arms race, the Soviet Union promoted its foreign policy through the World Peace Council and other front organizations. Some writers have claimed that it also influenced non-aligned peace groups in the West.

A pheromone trap is a type of insect trap that uses pheromones to lure insects. Sex pheromones and aggregating pheromones are the most common types used. A pheromone-impregnated lure, as the red rubber septa in the picture, is encased in a conventional trap such as a bottle trap, Delta trap, water-pan trap, or funnel trap. Pheromone traps are used both to count insect populations by sampling, and to trap pests such as clothes moths to destroy them.

Gene silencing pesticides are pesticides that use gene silencing, and RNA interference (RNAi) in particular to target individual species while leaving other species unharmed.

The Polish anti-religious campaign was initiated by the communist government in Poland which, under the doctrine of Marxism, actively advocated for the disenfranchisement of religion and planned atheisation. To this effect the regime conducted anti-religious propaganda and persecution of clergymen and monasteries. As in most other Communist countries, religion was not outlawed as such and was permitted by the constitution, but the state attempted to achieve an atheistic society.

After the end of World War II Germany was separated into nation-states. Each nation-state was governed by a different country because officials could not agree on peace terms. The Soviet Union had claimed the eastern portion of the country. In 1947, the "German People's Congress for Unity and Just Peace" met in Berlin. The Congress was to take the demands of all the occupied zones, and create a peace treaty which would enact a centralized German government. In order to have their nation-state properly represented, the Soviets created the German Democratic Republic in 1949 when they officially approved their constitution in May.

Hanka Sawicka, real name Hanna Krystyna Szapiro, pseudonym Hanka was a Polish communist of Jewish background active in the Polish underground, represented in Polish People's Republic propaganda as the first leader of the Union of Youth Struggle.

References

1 2 Lockwood, Jeffrey A. (2008). Six-Legged Soldiers: Using Insects as Weapons of War. Oxford University Press. p. 136. ISBN 978-0199743889.
↑ Lockwood, Jeffrey A. (2008). Six-Legged Soldiers: Using Insects as Weapons of War. Oxford University Press. p. 407. ISBN 978-0199743889.
1 2 Leitenberg, M.; Zilinskas, R. A.; Kuhn, J. H. (2012). The Soviet Biological Weapons Program: a history. Harvard University Press. p. 408. ISBN 978-0674065260.
↑ Insect Pests of Potato: Global Perspectives on Biology and Management edited by Andrei Alyokhin, Charles Vincent, Philippe Giordanengo page 14
1 2 "Kartoffelkäfer". Landwirtschaft. Chronik und Dorfbuch Widdershausen. Retrieved 21 October 2013.
↑ Daszkiewicz, Alicja (29 November 2006). "Desant stonki". Edukacja i szkolenie. Farmer.pl Portal Nowoczesnego Rolnika. Retrieved 22 October 2013.
↑ Walka z stonka (War against the beetle) (Film). Wytwórnia Filmów Dokumentalnych. 1950.
↑ Kowalska, Zofia (1951). Stonka ziemniaczana. Ministerstwo Obrony Narodowej (Ministry of National Defense, Poland).
↑ Körner, Klaus. "Politische Broschüren im Kalten Krieg". "SBZ von A-Z" - gesamtdeutsche Broschüren?. Deutsches historisches Museum. p. 4. Retrieved 22 October 2013.
↑ Koloradonkuoriainen hyppyyttää tarkastajia perunapelloilla YLE news (in Finnish)
↑ Herrmann, Bernd (2009). Schauplätze und Themen der Umweltgeschichte : Umwelthistorische Miszellen aus dem Graduiertenkolleg. Universitätsverlag Göttingen. ISBN 9783941875234.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[war136-1] 1 2 Lockwood, Jeffrey A. (2008). Six-Legged Soldiers: Using Insects as Weapons of War. Oxford University Press. p. 136. ISBN 978-0199743889.

[war407-2] Lockwood, Jeffrey A. (2008). Six-Legged Soldiers: Using Insects as Weapons of War. Oxford University Press. p. 407. ISBN 978-0199743889.

[soviet-3] 1 2 Leitenberg, M.; Zilinskas, R. A.; Kuhn, J. H. (2012). The Soviet Biological Weapons Program: a history. Harvard University Press. p. 408. ISBN 978-0674065260.

[4] Insect Pests of Potato: Global Perspectives on Biology and Management edited by Andrei Alyokhin, Charles Vincent, Philippe Giordanengo page 14

[kartoffel-5] 1 2 "Kartoffelkäfer". Landwirtschaft. Chronik und Dorfbuch Widdershausen. Retrieved 21 October 2013.

[desant-6] Daszkiewicz, Alicja (29 November 2006). "Desant stonki". Edukacja i szkolenie. Farmer.pl Portal Nowoczesnego Rolnika. Retrieved 22 October 2013.

[pkf-7] Walka z stonka (War against the beetle) (Film). Wytwórnia Filmów Dokumentalnych. 1950.

[kowalska-8] Kowalska, Zofia (1951). Stonka ziemniaczana. Ministerstwo Obrony Narodowej (Ministry of National Defense, Poland).

[museum-9] Körner, Klaus. "Politische Broschüren im Kalten Krieg". "SBZ von A-Z" - gesamtdeutsche Broschüren?. Deutsches historisches Museum. p. 4. Retrieved 22 October 2013.

[10] Koloradonkuoriainen hyppyyttää tarkastajia perunapelloilla YLE news (in Finnish)

[11] Herrmann, Bernd (2009). Schauplätze und Themen der Umweltgeschichte : Umwelthistorische Miszellen aus dem Graduiertenkolleg. Universitätsverlag Göttingen. ISBN 9783941875234.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]