The Nazi rocketeers : dreams of space and crimes of war

Wernher von Braun is known to many as a brilliant pioneer of rocketry who left Germany in 1945 to become a key advisor in America's space program. Until now, few realize the bloody legacy he left behind. The Nazi Rocketeers tells the story of how von Braun and his fellow scientists abandoned their initial dreams of space exploration in favor of creating the devastating V-2 ballistic missile. This weapon enabled the Nazis to precipitate mass destruction and loss of life. Contrary to previous accounts, this history proves that von Braun and his colleagues were not forced under duress to turn their rockets into weapons of war. They were, in fact, highly ambitious members of the Nazi movement who willingly put their creation to lethal use. In return, honors were bestowed on them from the Third Reich and Hitler himself. Perhaps the most shocking revelation is the collaboration between the scientists and the SS in the exploitation of concentration camp slave labor for the building of the V-2 missiles. In addition to addressing an overlooked portion of World War II study, this book is a sobering testament to the consequences of corrupted genius. In the late 1920s, Herman Oberth, an early theoretician of space travel, told the world of his plan for using liquid-fueled rockets as vehicles for space travel. To his surprise and delight, he found himself with a group of young German disciples, prominent among them Wernher von Braun, who wanted to turn this dream into reality. During the years of the Third Reich, with von Braun as their technical leader, these men developed the first modern rockets and attended at the birth of the Space Age. Although von Braun and his fellow rocket scientists dreamed of exploring space, they readily embraced the goal of creating weapons of terror and mass destruction. The myth they encouraged after the war described them as brilliant visionaries whose genius was exploited by the Nazi regime. Now, 50 years later, The Nazi Rocketeers tells the true story of how these men enthusiastically participated in the Nazi cause and crimes. The Nazi Rocketeers describes how Hermann Oberth, Wernher von Braun, and their colleagues progressed, from the innocent dream of space travel, through the development of the V-2 ballistic missile, to the transfer of their technological legacy to the Americans. Other notable Nazi Rocketeers are Army General Walter Dornberger, career soldier and von Braun's mentor; Albert Speer, technocrat and advocate of the rocket as a weapon; and SS General Hans Kammler, architect of Auschwitz and director of the V-2 rocket war. The book tells how Wernher von Braun and many of his fellow rocket scientists were early and active members of the Nazi movement; von Braun was both a member of the Nazi party and a major in the SS. For their service to the Nazi cause, they were honored by the Third Reich and by Hitler himself. Most damning is the revelation that they actively collaborated with the SS in the exploitation of concentration camp slave labor to build the V-2 missile. This rocket, when used as a weapon, killed thousands; yet tens of thousands of prisoners died at the Dora concentration camp, where the rockets were built under the direction of the SS and the rocket scientists. The Nazi Rocketeers tells the story of the technical genius and moral corruption of the creators of the first modern rockets. In the late 1920s, Hermann Oberth, an early theoretician of space travel, told the world of his plan for using liquid-fueled rockets as vehicles for space travel. To his surprise and delight, he found himself with a group of young German disciples, prominent among them Wernher von Braun, who wanted to turn this dream into reality. During the years of the Third Reich, with von Braun as their technical leader, these men developed the first modern rockets and were in attendance at the birth of the Space Age. Although von Braun and his fellow rocket scientists dreamed of exploring space, they readily embraced the goal of creating weapons of terror and mass destruction. The myth they encouraged after the war described them as brilliant visionaries whose genius was exploited by the Nazi regime. Now, fifty years later, The Nazi Rocketeers tells the true story of how these men enthusiastically participated in the Nazi cause and crimes. The Nazi Rocketeers describes how Hermann Oberth, Wernher von Braun, and their colleagues progressed, from the innocent dream of space travel, through the development of the V-2 ballistic missile, to the transfer of their technological legacy to the Americans. Other notable Nazi Rocketeers are Army General Walter Dornberger, career soldier and von Braun's mentor; Albert Speer, technocrat and advocate of the rocket as a weapon; and SS General Hans Kammler, architect of Auschwitz and director of the V-2 rocket war. This book tells how Wernher von Braun and several of his fellow rocket scientists were early and active members of the Nazi movement; von Braun was both a member of the Nazi party and a major in the SS. For their service to the Nazi cause, they were honored by the Third Reich and by Hitler himself. Most damning is the revelation that they actively collaborated with the SS in the exploitation of concentration camp slave labor to build the V-2 missile. This rocket, when used as a weapon, killed thousands; yet tens of thousands of prisoners died at the Dora concentration camp, where the rockets were built under the direction of the SS and the rocket scientists. The Nazi Rocketeers tells the story of the technical genius and moral corruption of the creators of the first modern rockets. Medical-products scientist Piszkiewicz tells how the dream of space exploration was perverted by the complicity of its developers in Nazi military goals. It is a sickening story, and after reading it, you will no longer laugh at that old joke in which Werner von Braun says: ''I aimed for the starsbut I hit London.'' Hitting London was the least of it. In the course of a decade's work as the inspirational figure and chief engineer in the program that developed rockets for Hitler, von Braun joined the SS, was promoted to major, and regularly curried favor with SS chief Heinrich Himmler, the architect of the Holocaust. In the final years of the war, construction of the rockets was carried out by slave laborers in two giant underground facilities, which were comanaged by SS General Hans Kammler, the architect who built Auschwitz, and by Arthur Rudolf, von Braun's right-hand man, who decades later would manage development of the Saturn V rocket that carried the first men to the moon. Conditions were appalling at the underground factories, which, by the author's estimate, von Braun must have visited at least 25 or 30 times. Thousands died of starvation and abuse, and mass executions were common. Yet at war's end von Braun and his colleagues thought only of how they might trade in on their skills to guarantee good treatment. They managed to continue their work in America virtually without interruption. This is not in its essentials a new story. Rudolf was exposed as a war criminal in the late 1970s and was deported from the United States; von Braun's record was there for anybody who wanted to take an honest look at it, although not many did. Piszkiewicz does Contents 7 Preface 9 DREAMS AND ILLUSIONS 13 When Space Travel Was Science Fiction 14 The P. T. Barnum of Rockets 26 The Baron’s Son and the Soldier 34 The Birth of the Third Reich and the Death of Conscience 40 Rockets for the Reich 50 Rocket City: The Secret Base at Peenemünde 60 WAR ASCENDING 68 Casualties of the Blitzkrieg 70 The Architects of Destruction: The Men Who Built Armaments and Auschwitz 80 The First Spaceship and the Fuehrer’s Dream 90 The Missile Arsenal: Demonstrations for Leaders of the Reich 100 A Command Performance for the Fuehrer 110 TERROR AND COUNTERTERROR 120 The Flames of Peenemünde 122 Rockets Rising from the Ashes 134 The Nazi “Metropolis”: A Subterranean Rocket Factory 144 Dangerous Occupations: Rockets and Politics in the Third Reich 154 The Business of Death 162 The Plot to Kill the Fuehrer 174 THE ROCKET WAR 180 Vengeance Weapon-2 182 “Compared to Dora, Auschwitz Was Easy!”: Death and Survival in the Rocket Factory 188 Final Flights from Peenemünde: Von Braun Plans for the Future 194 Scorched Earth: Hitler’s Solution to Defeat 206 The Alpine Redoubt: A Refuge and a Trap 218 DEFEAT AND TRIUMPH 224 Twilight of the Trolls: The Death of the Third Reich 226 Weapons for the Next War 238 Aged Rocketeers and Astronauts 250 EPILOGUE 252 Time’s Vengeance on the Nazi Rocketeers 254 References and Notes 258 Index 272 Dennis Piszkiewicz. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [247]-260) And Index.