The brutal end of World War II saw the rise of two global superpowers, the USSR and the USA. Initially on the same side of the war, the alliance between both nations fell out and they started experimenting, testing and launching new scientific innovations to display their supremacy over the other. Among the numerous operations conducted on both sides, one operation gained the attention of the public and came under controversy. The USA had launched Operation Paperclip intending to recruit top-notch German… or Nazi scientists before the Soviets could.
The Germans were well ahead in science, with one of the top minds in the world leading the development of new weapons for Germany’s defence under Hitler’s command. However, after being annihilated after the war, both superpowers thought that employing the German scientists could help them in developing their military. The Soviet Union shared its land border with Germany, which allowed it to enlist the German scientists quickly. Realizing this, the United States launched Operation Overcast, which was later renamed “Paperclip” because officials used paperclips to attach the files of the Nazi scientists whom they had selected to work for them.
Operation Paperclip was carried out by the Joint Intelligence Objectives Agency (JIOA) and backed by the US Army’s Counterintelligence Corps. The Nazi scientists were required to research new-age rockets, chemical weapons, aviation, medicine and synthetic fuels. Ironically, then US President Harry Truman had officially banned hiring Nazis anywhere in the USA. However, as soon as they realised that employing the Nazi scientists would allow them to outpace the USSR, they used loopholes and back-door politics to help migrate, not tens, not even hundreds, but more than 1600 German scientists to the USA between 1945 and 1959, giving them jobs, homes and even US citizenship. All in the name of national security and scientific progress!
Scientific Gains vs. Ethical Costs
Well, technically speaking, the US didn’t do anything wrong. If you think for yourself, when you know that your defeated enemy has the best scientific minds in the world, won’t you try to get them to work for you, under surveillance, of course? However, on ethical grounds, it was a moral juggling act since these were the same scientists who had dark and troubling pasts. It need not be mentioned what the Nazis did with their prisoners of war!
Wernher von Braun, for example, had developed the deadly V-2 rocket for Hitler, using forced labour from concentration camps. The V-2 bomber was the world’s first long-range ballistic missile. It travelled at a speed of over 3,500 mph, and with weak radars at that time, it was impossible to intercept. This is enough to depict the scientific progress the Germans had made in the field of warfare. Now, this scientist was recruited by America, and he became the face of NASA’s moon missions, helping America land astronauts on the moon in the Saturn V mission. That is some serious career transformation!
Another example is of Kurt Debus, a former Schutzstaffel (SS) member. The SS was a paramilitary force under Hitler and the Nazi party which played a pivot role in occupying Europe during the war. After being brought to the US, he directed NASA’s space missions.
Many of the German scientists had actively worked with Nazis and assisted Hitler in conducting his war crimes. But defeating the Soviets in this mad race was at the top of the to-do list for the US government. Hence, officials made sure that these scientists were given new identities and résumés and that the past remains in the past, at least on paper.
These scientists did work hard, providing breakthroughs in various fields. Consequently, they were never held accountable, and their past crimes were quietly buried under the layers of national security. As goes the famous saying, ‘There is no place for moral purity in wars. You either lose or win!’ And America couldn’t afford to lose to the Soviet Union.
Legacy And Impact
Operation Paperclip was a success as the German scientists helped the US leap ahead in the Cold War with heavy space and missile dominance, and also established the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Scientists who once tortured humans in concentration camps, now become decorated heroes!
Operation Paperclip had been in the public eye since the start, but to some extent only. In the coming years, various newspapers like The Boston Globe and Wall Street Journal uncovered the truths of these scientists who had been recruited and criticised the US government for allowing criminals to lead the nation’s military and space programs. Hubertus Strughold, ‘The father of space medicine’, had an award named after him, ‘The Strughold Award’, which was the most prestigious award from the Space Medicine Association. After the Wall Street Journal published an article in 2012 highlighting his connection to human experiments during World War II, the Space Medicine Association was forced to retire the Strughold Award. In 2014, Annie Jacobsen, an American investigative journalist, dug into the history of 21 prominent scientists and technicians who had been recruited. She found out that 15 were active Nazi party members, 10 served in the SS, 8 worked with major Nazi leaders, and 6 had also been convicted in trials.
As with many US operations during the Cold War, limited information about Operation Paperclip also fueled distrust, and many people felt that national pride had been compromised for scientific gain. Even today, historians and ethicists debate whether the program was a bold strategic move or a moral misstep. Some even say that the United States rolled out a red carpet, handed them lab coats, and said, “Welcome aboard.”