The British will never forgive von Braun for his WW II actions as they were exposed to the dreaded V-2 rocket hitting the city of London. This is not unlike United States citizens, and there are many, who vow never to buy an automobile with a Japanese name as they remember the December 7, 1941 sneak attack on Pearl Harbor and the war that cost so many lives. Although von Braun’s goal and research were oriented to rocketry and potential space travel, his brainchild had become a deadly instrument of war. That cannot be denied.
By late 1944, Wernher von Braun and his group could foresee that the war was not going well and they contemplated their future. They all were proud of their rocketry work and strongly desired to continue in that research. Undoubtedly some within the group felt they were thrust into the war by conditions beyond their control. As the war was coming to an end in Europe, discussions ensued on how to retain control of their rocketry and space research and where would be the best locale to continue. Research indicates that it was unanimous among the cadre of scientists that the United States would be the best country to appreciate their work. Plans were then undertaken to surrender to the Americans.
Magnus von Braun, Wernher’s brother and a fellow rocket engineer, was able to contact an American soldier and in broken English relayed, “My name is Magnus von Braun. My brother invented the V-2. We want to surrender.” At the time the Soviet Army was about 160 km from Peeneemunde in the spring of 1945. Time was of the essence as there was no desire to fall into the hands of the Soviets. Von Braun had been ordered to relocate his team to central Germany and because of this and another conflicting order which directed the team to join the army and fight, plans were rapidly undertaken to protect their research documents. A convoy containing their valuable research and some of the V-2 rockets was assembled, and von Braun was able to bluff his way past a guard post with his rank and forceful personality. These items were hurriedly hidden in an abandoned mine shaft in the Harz mountain range. With a broken arm in a cast due to his driver falling asleep and crashing, von Braun was able to make the surrender. The American high command was well aware of the importance of this event. Von Braun had been at the top the Black List, the code name for the list of German scientists and engineers targeted for immediate interrogation by US military experts.
After the surrender, von Braun spoke to the press, saying, “We knew that we had created a new means of warfare, and the question as to what nation, to what victorious nation we were willing to entrust this brainchild of ours was a moral decision more than anything else. We wanted to see the world spared another conflict such as Germany had just been through, and we felt that only by surrendering such a weapon to people who are guided by the Bible could such an assurance to the world be best secured.”
Hitler’s “Third Reich” was an eventual failure, but at a cost of human lives that continues to be among the darkest spots in history. Aside from the many battles of the war itself, the Holocaust was responsible for the death of six million Jews, along with six million of other “inferior” peoples. A visitor to Dwight Eisenhower’s historical farm in Gettysburg, PA can view a display of multiple photographs of this atrocity. General “Ike” is quoted as saying at the time to reporters and photographers, “Take as many pictures as you can because there well may be some crazy individuals later who will claim it did not happen!” How correct was Ike in that prediction! Adolph Hitler’s self appointed “superior race” at long last was proven to be a myth to the world.
As the war was ending, von Braun was also quoted as stating, “Germany has lost the war. But let us not forget that it was our team that first succeeded in reaching outer space. We have never stopped believing in satellites, voyages to the moon, and interplanetary travel….The question we must answer is: To what country shall we entrust our heritage?”
Thus began the secret transfer known as Operation Paperclip, as Secretary of State Cordell Hull, approved the transfer of von Braun and his team of specialists to America.
Wings Over Cumberland 