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
My boss was the child of a Paperclip scientist. The rushed immigration actually left them with improper status, and he tells a fun story about how they got that settled.