"Keep your friends close and your enemies closer"
Machiavelli in The Prince
This is one of those stories that fall somewhere between the end of World War II and the start of the Cold War. It is the story of what once was known as Operation Paperclip, an operation so classified that very few had access to it. As the years passed, it became declassified and has gone from the clandestine to a mere mention in some more obscure history books. That in itself is a shame. For those who don't know about Paperclip, if it was not for this very important operation at the end of World War II, we might have lost the Cold War.
Many people do not know how close we came to losing World War II. True, we had invaded Europe and were in the process of liberating Nazi held countries. However the brain trust in Germany was hard at work. They had already developed the V2 Rocket, a feared weapon which resulted in the death of an estimated 7,250 military personnel, mostly in London. In addition they had a working jet fighter, capable of speeds in excess of 500 mph and were trying to develop a "super bomb", similar to what the United States was working on in the Manhattan Project. Of course there were rumors of many other exotic projects that this cadre of German scientists were involved with - some natural, some supernatural. The bottom line was this - the Allies were winning the war, but the acumen of the German scientific community was ready to turn the tide against us.
The war ended before the new breed of weapons could be brought into the conflict. The United States and the Soviet Union had already decided they would not be the best of friends and both wanted the most prized spoils of war. The spoils of war in this case was this amazing technology the Nazis had almost finished developing. A plan was hatched by the most clandestine branches of the United States government to capitalize on it. Occupied Germany was being divided and controlled into three parts - Great Britain, the United States and the Soviet Union. The plan was not to try to capture the weapons in development which had never been used - some were in the Soviet controlled sector. Rather it was to offer scientists immunity from the Nuremberg War Crimes by becoming United States citizens and sharing their technology and knowledge.
When President Roosevelt first became aware of this plan, he vetoed it. These were war criminals - the worst of the worst. We can't trust them - they tried to destroy us. The project kept going, but underground. People involved with Paperclip knew that if we did not get these scientists, the Soviets would. Then the unexpected happened - Roosevelt died and Truman became president. Truman was briefed on Paperclip - a program he had never heard of. He agreed to let the program proceed and dozens of high caliber German scientists were allowed into our country to assume new citizenship.
Because some of the scientists were working on non-benign activities during the war, there might have been war crimes. That fact was weighed and in some cases, ignored. World War II was over and a new menace was on the horizon. We feared the new menace to the East and we needed every advantage to meet the evolving Soviet threat.
Perhaps the price catch during Operation Paperclip was Werner von Braun. Those that nave followed NASA over the years will recognize this name. He was instrumental in many of the space programs up to and including the development of the Saturn rocket, which allowed us to land on the moon. In addition, he was invloved in ICBM technology which allowed the United States to have an accuracy advantage over the Soviets. Some feel that von Braun is the most famous rocket scientist who ever lived. In any event, if Paperclip had not been successful in obtaining his services, our history might have been written differently.
What I found interesting about Operation Paperclip was after World War II ended, some Nazi agents were unaccounted for. Rumor had it some had escaped to Argentina to start a new life. As it turns out, some had also come to the country that helped defeat the Fatherland. A perfect example of the old axiom, "Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer".
The war ended before the new breed of weapons could be brought into the conflict. The United States and the Soviet Union had already decided they would not be the best of friends and both wanted the most prized spoils of war. The spoils of war in this case was this amazing technology the Nazis had almost finished developing. A plan was hatched by the most clandestine branches of the United States government to capitalize on it. Occupied Germany was being divided and controlled into three parts - Great Britain, the United States and the Soviet Union. The plan was not to try to capture the weapons in development which had never been used - some were in the Soviet controlled sector. Rather it was to offer scientists immunity from the Nuremberg War Crimes by becoming United States citizens and sharing their technology and knowledge.
When President Roosevelt first became aware of this plan, he vetoed it. These were war criminals - the worst of the worst. We can't trust them - they tried to destroy us. The project kept going, but underground. People involved with Paperclip knew that if we did not get these scientists, the Soviets would. Then the unexpected happened - Roosevelt died and Truman became president. Truman was briefed on Paperclip - a program he had never heard of. He agreed to let the program proceed and dozens of high caliber German scientists were allowed into our country to assume new citizenship.
Because some of the scientists were working on non-benign activities during the war, there might have been war crimes. That fact was weighed and in some cases, ignored. World War II was over and a new menace was on the horizon. We feared the new menace to the East and we needed every advantage to meet the evolving Soviet threat.
Perhaps the price catch during Operation Paperclip was Werner von Braun. Those that nave followed NASA over the years will recognize this name. He was instrumental in many of the space programs up to and including the development of the Saturn rocket, which allowed us to land on the moon. In addition, he was invloved in ICBM technology which allowed the United States to have an accuracy advantage over the Soviets. Some feel that von Braun is the most famous rocket scientist who ever lived. In any event, if Paperclip had not been successful in obtaining his services, our history might have been written differently.
What I found interesting about Operation Paperclip was after World War II ended, some Nazi agents were unaccounted for. Rumor had it some had escaped to Argentina to start a new life. As it turns out, some had also come to the country that helped defeat the Fatherland. A perfect example of the old axiom, "Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer".
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