Enloe Primary Source

Introduction

• Major Cortez F. Enloe, Jr. edited a report on bombing effects for the U.S. Army Medical Corps post-WWII.

• The study aimed to evaluate health impacts of aerial attacks in Germany.

• Conducted for the U.S. Strategic Bombing Survey, initiated in 1944 to influence future air power policies.

Study Focus

• No prior evaluations of military operations' effects on enemy civilian populations existed.

• Investigated the health impacts of air attacks on German civilians distinct from war's general rigors.

• Preliminary findings revealed Upper Bavaria as a refuge area for civilians escaping air raids.

Health Impact Overview

• Efforts to measure casualties from air raids included physical injuries and related health conditions.

• Significant effects included communicable diseases and psychogenic disorders; lack of precise statistics hindered thorough analysis.

• Wartime psychogenic disorders noted as impacting the civilian population significantly, often referred to as "war of the vegetative neuroses."

Psychological and Health Management

• Anticipation of bombing led to reorganizing German health control systems.

• Hitler established the Office of Reichs Commissar for Health to manage medical care between civilians and military.

• Post-war challenges include ensuring sufficient healthcare personnel to prevent health deterioration in Germany.

Epidemiological Observations

• No large-scale epidemics were reported despite minor increases in diseases like diphtheria and typhoid.

• Destruction of infrastructure created conditions conducive to disease spread, yet larger outbreaks did not occur.

• Importance of personal hygiene underscored as a defense against public health collapse during urban destruction.