Operation Paperclip : the secret intelligence program to bring Nazi scientists to America

Details how the U.S. government embarked on a covert operation to recruit and employ Nazi scientists in the years following World War II in an effort to prevent their knowledge and expertise from falling into the hands of the Soviet Union.;The war and the weapons -- Destruction -- The hunters and the hunted -- Liberation -- The captured and their interrogators -- Harnessing the chariot of destruction -- Hitler's doctors -- Black, white and gray -- Hitler's chemists -- Hired or hanged -- The ticking clock -- Total war of apocalyptic proportions -- Science at any price -- Strange judgment -- Chemical menace -- Headless monster -- Hall of mirrors -- Downfall -- Truth serum -- In the dark shadows -- Limelight -- Legacy -- What lasts? The remarkable story of America#39;s secret post-WWII science programs ( The Boston Globe ), from the#160; New York Times #160;bestselling author of#160; Area 51 .#160; In the chaos following World War II, the U.S. government faced many difficult decisions, including what to do with the Third Reich#39;s scientific minds. These were the brains behind the Nazis#39; once-indomitable war machine. So began Operation Paperclip, a decades-long, covert project to bring Hitler#39;s scientists and their families to the United States. Many of these men were accused of war crimes, and others had stood trial at Nuremberg; one was convicted of mass murder and slavery. They were also directly responsible for major advances in rocketry, medical treatments, and the U.S. space program. Was Operation Paperclip a moral outrage, or did it help America win the Cold War? Drawing on exclusive interviews with dozens of Paperclip family members, colleagues, and interrogators, and with access to German archival documents (including previously unseen papers made available by direct descendants of the Third Reich#39;s ranking members), files obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, and dossiers discovered in government archives and at Harvard University, Annie Jacobsen follows more than a dozen German scientists through their postwar lives and into a startling, complex, nefarious, and jealously guarded government secret of the twentieth century. In this definitive, controversial look at one of America#39;s most strategic, and disturbing, government programs, Jacobsen shows just how dark government can get in the name of national security. quot;Harrowing...How Dr. Strangelove came to America and thrived, told in graphic detail.quot; #160;Kirkus Reviews The explosive story of America's secret post-WWII science programs, from the author of the New York Times bestseller Area 51 In the chaos following World War II, the U.S. government faced many difficult decisions, including what to do with the Third Reich's scientific minds. These were the brains behind the Nazis' once-indomitable war machine. So began Operation Paperclip, a decades-long, covert project to bring Hitler's scientists and their families to the United States. Many of these men were accused of war crimes, and others had stood trial at Nuremberg; one was convicted of mass murder and slavery. They were also directly responsible for major advances in rocketry, medical treatments, and the U.S. space program. Was Operation Paperclip a moral outrage, or did it help America win the Cold War? Drawing on exclusive interviews with dozens of Paperclip family members, colleagues, and interrogators, and with access to German archival... In the chaos following World War II, some of the greatest spoils of Germany's resources were the Third Reich's scientific minds. The U.S. government secretly decided that the value of these former Nazis' knowledge outweighed their crimes and began a covert operation, code-named Paperclip, to allow them to work in the United States without the public's full knowledge. Drawing on exclusive interviews with dozens of Paperclip family members, colleagues, and interrogators, and with access to German archival documents (including papers made newly available by direct descendants of the Third Reich's ranking members), files obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, and lost dossiers discovered in government archives and at Harvard University, Annie Jacobsen follows more than a dozen German scientists through their postwar lives and into one of the most complex, nefarious, and jealously guarded government secrets of the 20th century