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who made this decision and what the reasons were behind it. Probably
the Soviet Union did not permit any major WMD program to be carried
out in a satellite state, and it seems likely that the Hungarian Communist
leadership did not even try to obtain permission. Whether the Hungari-
ans shared their scientific-technological knowledge with the USSR re-
mains unknown.
Thus, there was apparently no offensive BW research in Hungary after
1944, perhaps in part because in the nuclear era BW were viewed as infe-
rior.
5
The former BW site was developed into a gun factory, and the mili-
tary medical personnel were trained for defensive activities such as diag-
nosis and medication.
Although Hungary—and perhaps most if not all non-Soviet WP coun-
tries—had no major offensive BW programs, they might have contrib-
uted indirectly to some Third World programs as sources of know-how. A
number of developing countries and the Palestine Liberation Organiza-
tion sent thousands of students to WP universities during the Cold War
era. Thus North Korean (in the 1950s), Libyan, Syrian, Iraqi, Palestinian,
Vietnamese (in the 1970s and 1980s), Afghan (in the 1980s) and other
students were abundant at campuses all over WP countries. Of course,
some of these states could have had their students educated both in the
East and in the West, but others were dependent on WP higher education
exclusively. We do not know whether some of these nations utilized this
possibility to build up an academic staff needed in a potential BW re-
search program. Hints indicate that students of some Third World nations
have been particularly interested in military medical sciences; for exam-
ple, some 30 Libyan soldiers were attending the Semmelweis Medical
University of Budapest in the 1970s—in uniform, and strictly separated
from other students.
6
In the 1970s the military medical staff of non-Soviet WP countries
paid reciprocal visits to each other's main institutes. Although these visits
were more or less formal, they mutually convinced participants that their
countries were not involved in offensive BW programs. This was not sur-
prising, since all military activities in these countries were strictly con-
trolled by the USSR. As John Hemsley summarized: “Unlike CW [chemi-
cal weapons], in which non-Soviet WP countries carry out research into
and practice the military application of CW, the USSR has a monopoly on
all research and development into offensive BW. There is every indication
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