Scientists and more importantly, at that point they thought, get the equipment and the rocket in particular to study it and keep it out of the hands of maybe potential enemies of the future. Like the soviet union. It is first based on fear and the idea that we needed to understand how far they have gone and what theyve done with the weaponry. And later became, what can we do with these scientists and this material . Intelligence operatives conceived of ways to bring them back to the United States or possibly deal with them in countries during occupation. Paperclip was first an idea among intelligence professionals and also the american scientific community. That was aware of how germany had progressed in Weapons Technology during the war. And there was an understanding that with the atom bomb and with the invention of these longrange rockets, we have entered a new era in warfare. It was not quite yet the cold war where you are looking at the soviet union as his intense enemy in 1945. But no matter who is out there, the technology has changed the way warfare can be conducted in we needed to find an advantage against whatever potential enemy there would be. And that involved finding the best scientists and matching it with Americas Industrial might. So if you could achieve a breakthrough by using Technology Already available in germany, then this would be a military necessity. This seems to be the key word for project paperclip. Whatever falls under the umbrella of military necessity and later determined National Security in 1945. Anything else is justified including bringing over 1500 x nazis to the United States. The reason was called paperclip interestingly is because whenever there was a file, they thought that the americans in particular were interested and they would put up paperclip on one corner of the dossier. That would signal to have was looking at it that the prison was important. And the person was worthwhile. Secondly, it told them, not look too deep into this persons record if they are a nazi or have some other criminal element to them. Because we need them. Simply saying, do not investigate this person too much. Which i think is the hardest why the paperclip is controversial. Because so many will brought over with those backgrounds. Obviously, there have been tremendous breakthroughs in atomic energy. But we were not nearly as advanced in the aeronautics as the germans had seemed to be. The germans invented a fuel based longrange rocket which did little to help them win the war. In fact it was a terror weapon but the technology was identified as something that if massproduced, could be the future of warfare. The germans had a reputation during the war of making what we might fall boutique weapons. Things that were very intricate but not able to be massproduced in a way that would affect the outcome of the war. Whereas, United States and britain and soviet union focused on mass production of things that were needed for the war. Airplanes, ships in huge numbers. It also is defeated nazi germany. Yet this is my paperclip is that how can we take this Boutique Technology that signals a technological revolution, and match it with the industrial might of the United States. And thats why the german scientists were attracted to american intelligence professionals. They thought there was a possibility to skip years of research and development simply by harnessing what is already available in germany. Project paperclip began as a military intelligence investigation. Because they wanted to hire using knowledge of the germans. But when the idea of using immigration as an incentive to bring the germans over and have them happily work for us, once immigration became a topic, then the state department has to get involved. And the Justice Department. And that is where the problems arise. Because the state Department Justice department will oppose in large part many elements of paperclip. Think about this. If you are the director of the fbi and you just spent most of the war fighting nazi spies, arresting them and conducting successful operations against nazi espionage inside the United States, how would you react if you were suddenly sold we are going to bring 1500 ex nazis into the United States and give them Carte Blanche working on military bases . He was appalled initially. And as with the fbi, field officers and the state department in charge of the immigration. It took president trumans executive order authorizing paperclip to require the entire bureaucracy to support this effort. But even within the state department and Justice Department there will be voices that are opposed to paperclip. In my book gets into many of those that oppose the operation for morality, moral reasons but also because of the danger it posed to the United States to have these exenemy combatants running around the country. We have hired security clearances than most of the american counterparts. So project paperclip brought in approximately 700 800 scientists but also their dependents. And over the years is kind of hard to nail down that number because in some ways paperclip even though it was not called paperclip was in operation until 1973. Still bringing over germans and west german scientists. But also their dependents. Where they would go initially went to places like new mexico, texas, Wrightpatterson Air Force base, ohio had a huge number of them. All over virginia. Boston, long island. On wherever their work existing military bases or secret quieter facilities that were involved in experimental technologies. He would have a community of germans popping up. Eventually, the most famous group of germans, the rocket team would wind up creating a whole community of germans in Huntsville Alabama where they would remain indefinitely. It was an interesting phenomenon to have within 4 to 5 years after the end of the work, communities of germans living in military towns and influencing the culture of wherever they happen to be. Which is all of the midwest, the south primarily. And this did not remain much of the secret given the numbers that were coming to the country and it is kind of hard to miss germans scientists on military bases so the military realized that by early 1946 they would have to tell the public. And so they very carefully crafted a press release that did not go over too well. Because it basically prepared nazi scientists compared nazi scientists to albert einstein. He wrote in your time thing that as he called them these are the in our country. He was a proud american citizen at this point in 1946. So they try to normalize this policy and it did not succeed. But it has to be said that the military guessed rightly that most americans would probably be uncomfortable with the idea but also soon forget it. So yes, americans were against it. But how long that resonate with the public . And it did not seem to be very long. So with project paperclip, the number of germs that were brought over, was that most americans tend to remember the most because of how differently than culture and largely the rocket team. There are hundreds of others that jesus engineers but also quite backgrounds. So there will be a number of highprofile paperclip that were involved in the war and discovered and sent back to germany mostly because of the embarrassment and public attention. But you also had people who quite simply, have lied about their capabilities and knowledge and were deemed not useful. This happened a lot more when i think people tend to think because theyre so used to focusing on you know the Rocket Program and the people that work for nasa. In reality had people that knew that if they can get a contract in the United States and get citizenship, that will be the best offer they can possibly have. So they would budge record. Not only the nazi Party Membership but also how much they really know about whatever specified field it was. So people were simply let go. The more controversial ones such as herbert someone who was really nothing more than a lawyer that was a friend of brown turns out he was a hard for nancy. His wife was even more involved in the nazi party. And they have become such an embarrassment at the United States because they harbored ideas and would promote them among their friends. It became too much. They were simply asked to go back to germany. They are a lot of there were a lot of scientists, engineers and family members that were either not what they had advertised themselves to be or a number scientists who passed caught up with them and they were too embarrassed to keep in the United States because they had these very extensive nazi Party Records or had been involved in more crimes that were verifiable. Rudolph was known as the father of the saturn rocket. He is extremely controversial because he is someone who did have a very sketchy background. He was a hardened nazi. In his file so that way they cannot get him to erase that part of his record. But he was personally responsible for ordering the hangings of slave laborers in the factory where the v2 was produced in germany. And yet, that was largely concealed or deemed not provable. Until the 1980s when the office of special investigation, which is part of the Justice Department, opened an investigation based on some Historical Research that was done into his case. And then progressed to the point where in 1980s, he was given the option here of either facing a possible trial and having, being deported or voluntarily returning to germany. If you voluntarily left. But he also got to keep all of the federal benefits. This was the closest that a paperclip acquisition with tom to being prosecuted for their crimes. That was not until the mid1980s. The program called paperclip would be 1945 until 1947. They would exist under additional names. One was for the National Interest program. The idea was merely the department of commerce could not get involved and bring over civilian specialists and find that work in civilian corporations or academia. Then around 1950 there was a program called project 63. Which was based on the fear after the invasion of korea that there was going to be a fullscale war in europe peers of the military thought we needed to get the remaining best and brightest out of germany, out of harms way. So that they would not be rolled up in some sort of invasion. That scare mentality affected this program and the idea that should continue. This, they were not happy with this notion he could still pay what they wanted. It did not go very far mostly because of diplomatic reasons. In some way or another, the general and others, the program doesnt really die until the 1970s. Revolved around directing our national policy. That is a microcosm for the early years of the cold war and how bureaucracy responds for the new environment. We know about some of the officers that helped the program gets off the ground. What we dont know is the people that have a moral objection or practical objection to it and how they reconcile themselves to the new National Security environment. Now the monthly indepth program with bestselling fiction author colson whitehead. His books include the intuitionists and harbor. This is part of the 2,018th special fiction edition of in
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