As part of a secret initiative called Operation Paperclip, the U.S. government recruited former Nazi engineers, many of whom had worked on the V-2 rocket program, to help lead America’s postwar scientific efforts — especially in space and missile technology.
Von Braun, a member of the SS, played a central role in developing rockets for Nazi Germany using forced labor, and later became a key figure at NASA, leading the development of the Saturn V rocket that sent Americans to the Moon.
The moral complexity of this decision is still debated today: Can scientific progress built on unethical foundations ever be truly separated from its origins?
📽️ A source that dives deeper (documentary): “What if NASA’s space race was built on buried secrets — and Nazi scientists?” ➡️ Watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XY0JMjJp-yc
“Once the rockets are up, who cares where they come down. That’s not my department,” says Wernher von Braun.
It wasn’t until the early 2000s that NASA’s web site bio of von Braun mentioned his WWII “contributions”.
If you like that, you’re gonna love “Lies My Teacher Told Me” by James Loewen. I suggest this to everyone as an entry into deprogramming what was learned in US history class.
The entire space race was mostly between American nazi’s and Russian nazi’s.
