Potato Beetles and East Germany

To Whom It May Concern:

This is a request under the Freedom of Information Act. I hereby request the following records:

All U.S. Military, Government, or Department of State documents, memos, letters, cables, containing a reference to ("Potato Beetle" or "Leptinotarsa decemlineata" or synonyms thereof) and ("Germany" or "East Germany" or "German" or synonyms thereof) written between 1945 and 1965.

These documents are requested in order to explore the history of the 1950s East German claims of the U.S. engaging in biological warfare by dropping potato beetles on Germany. This is in the public interest and a response should be expedited for publication purposes, due to the current claims of Syria using biological and chemical weapons.

I also request that, if appropriate, fees be waived as I believe this request is in the public interest. The requested documents will be made available to the general public free of charge as part of the public information service at MuckRock.com, processed by a representative of the news media/press and is made in the process of news gathering and not for commercial usage.

In the event that fees cannot be waived, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 20 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Jay Gairson