Operation Paperclip and the Contrasting Fates of Wernher von Braun and Arthur Rudolph

118 Pages·2017·1.31 MB·English

VEIL OF PROTECTION: OPERATION PAPERCLIP AND THE CONTRASTING FATES OF
WERNHER VON BRAUN AND ARTHUR RUDOLPH

Allison Eldridge-Nelson

A Thesis

Submitted to the Graduate College of Bowling Green
State University in partial fulfillment of
the requirements for the degree of

MASTER OF ARTS
December 2017
Committee:
Walter Grunden, Advisor
Benjamin Greene
© 2017

Allison Eldridge-Nelson

All Rights Reserved
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ABSTRACT

Walter Grunden, Advisor

Toward the end of World War II, the United States government initiated
Operation Paperclip which set out to secretly secure the top rocket scientists from Nazi
Germany. To accomplish this, officials manipulated policy procedures, covered their tracks, and
years later misrepresented their knowledge of the project’s details. The resulting problematic
immigration policy enabled the government to allow former Nazi scientists to travel to the U.S.
and be employed by the military well ahead of executive approval, and amidst strong dissent.
This thesis will take these arguments a step further by contextualizing it within two personal
narratives of participants of Operation Paperclip.
The two examined scientists, Wernher von Braun and his colleague Arthur L. Rudolph,
became highly regarded in their field and were bestowed with public praise, titles, and awards,
yet their fates were drastically different. As this thesis tracks the constantly shifting immigration
policy that was shaped by America’s national interests in the immediate post-WWII era, it will
explain the unchecked and unstable procedures that resulted in skewed perceptions of von Braun
and Rudolph. Although von Braun worked alongside Rudolph, and held powerful positions of
authority, his prominence and importance to the U.S. space program allowed for his Nazi past to
be rehabilitated. Moreover, while he remained alive this protection also extended to those close
to him, including Rudolph. When he passed, however, this veil of protection was lifted, exposing
his colleagues to a different fate.
This thesis does not question the contributions that von Braun and Rudolph made to the
U.S. space program and development of NASA. Instead, it calls to question how much officials
manipulated policy to grant von Braun, and subsequently Rudolph and his team, wide ranging
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liberties after escorting them out of Nazi Germany. This immigration policy is what first began
the crafting of von Braun’s “veil of protection,” and the mindset to let it continue. The disjointed
immigration policy, formed by the circumstances and without a timely evaluation, set the
guidelines for future congruent policy procedures until a monumental shift in the sociopolitical
environment made it possible to revisit this structure.
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To my family and my husband, Jacob Nelson.
Thank you for your wonderful support and endless patience.
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This project was influenced by so many knowledgeable and hard-working individuals. It
really began when I first worked under Dr. Walter Grunden’s guidance on my undergraduate
senior capstone thesis. The intimidation of Dr. Grunden’s intelligence and high standards turned
to determination to produce a paper that I was proud of. When we had our first graduate thesis
meeting that same determination was still there, and I was in for an extremely valuable and
demanding experience. I am indebted to Dr. Grunden, for the numerous two-hour long
conversations we had during which I learned more about policy history, but also how to become
a better researcher, writer, and advocate for my own work. I am so thankful for the wealth of
knowledge he shared with me, for pushing me, and expecting my personal best. It was evident
that Dr. Grunden had my future endeavors in mind, not just the end of this thesis.
I am also very grateful to have worked with Dr. Benjamin Greene. His career background
brought a lot to the table, which was very beneficial to my research. Dr. Greene was a calm
presence during the thesis process, and this is a trait that I hope to master. I appreciated not only
our conversations and Dr. Greene’s advice, but also the interesting and unique resources that I
was only able to access because of his graciousness.
I would also like to thank the faculty in the history department for their kindness and
interest in my success. At the close of my graduate school career I left with a mission to continue
strengthening my writing voice, and to be confident in my research skills. I was also blessed to
enter the program with a unique and supportive cohort. Thank you to each of my colleagues, for
your encouragement, listening ear, and laughs. I want to especially thank Lindsey Bauman and
Michael Horton. We formed a small study group that began as a way to maintain accountability
for assignments, and it grew into supportive and long-lasting friendships. Michael and Lindsey
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have accomplished amazing feats already, and I am honored to walk alongside them as they
continue to reach new achievements.
I want to thank my family for their unwavering support and confidence in my abilities,
which kept me steady amidst the waves of graduate school. I would also like to thank my
husband for his love, encouragement, and level-headedness, without you I would have folded
long ago. I was blessed to be surrounded by so many wise and kind individuals, and at the top of
this list is my husband, family, and friends who never turned me away when I wanted to talk for
hours about history.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION AND LITERATURE REVIEW ....................................... 1
Literature Review ...................................................................................................... 5
Data Mining Results .................................................................................................. 13
CHAPTER II. “NOMINAL PARTICIPANTS:” VON BRAUN AND RUDOLPH DURING
THE WAR YEARS ............................................................................................................ 17
Von Braun ............................................................................................................ 17
Rudolph ............................................................................................................ 32
Colleagues to Confidants and Operation Paperclip Initiation .................................... 27
Operation Paperclip ................................................................................................... 36
CHAPTER III. OPERATION PAPERCLIP: A DISJOINTED POLICY…………………… 39
U.S. Science Policy During the Immediate Post-War Era…………………………… 40
Expendable Values …………………………………………………………………... 48
A Second Take on Paperclip’s Immigration Policy ................................................... 52
Terminiation? ............................................................................................................ 57
CHAPTER IV. HOW TO SUCCESSFULLY BECOME AN AMERICAN ........................ 60
Disney Darling: Von Braun’s Post-War Career ......................................................... 60
The [Not] So Mad Scientist: Portrayals in American Popular Culture ...................... 66
“Eight Lost Years:” The Post-Sputnik Push for Space Exploration .......................... 68
The Debate Over Von Braun’s Legacy ...................................................................... 71
The Road to Becoming a Nazi War Criminal: Rudolph’s Post-War Career ............. 72
The Investigation ....................................................................................................... 75
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CHAPTER V. OPERATION PAPERCLIP: A CONTROVERSIAL MISSION AND
FLAWED IMMIGRATION POLICY ................................................................................... 82
Nazi Hunting Resurgence .......................................................................................... 84
The State Department Finally Responds .................................................................... 95
Conclusion and Application ....................................................................................... 97
BIBLIOGRAPHY .................................................................................................................. 103
1

CHPATER I. INTRODUCTION AND LITERATURE REVIEW

Toward the end of WWII, the United States government set out to secretly secure the top
rocket scientists from Nazi Germany. To accomplish this, officials manipulated policy
procedures, covered their tracks, and years later misrepresented their knowledge of the project’s
details. What remained was a rushed and contingent-based immigration policy that initiated a
slew of foreign relations and bureaucratic issues for decades to come. Amidst strong dissent, this
problematic policy enabled the government to allow former Nazi scientists to immigrate to the
U.S. and be employed by the military well ahead of executive approval. This thesis will take
these arguments a step further by contextualizing it within two personal narratives of participants
of the operation. Despite these two stories being similarly influenced by this immigration policy,
their endings could not have been more different.
On 1 October 1945, the War Department’s Bureau of Public Relations issued an internal
memorandum for immediate release, entitled: “Outstanding German Scientists Being Brought To
U.S.”1 Operation Paperclip, a program supervised by the Joint Intelligence Objectives Agency,
assembled the top scientists and technicians from Germany, and granted them employment in the
U.S. pending background investigations. This program gathered information of advanced
technology to ensure America’s victory over the Japanese, and then was also used to maintain
the lead over the Soviets in a race for coveted scientific expertise. At first, the German scientists
were brought into the U.S. with the intention of granting only a temporary stay. These
individuals, who were found absent of previous association with the German National Socialist

1 National Archives- College Park, Records of the War Department General and Special Staffs, 1860-1952, File
Unit: Public Relations Bureau, War Department, “Outstanding German Scientists Being Brought To U.S.,” 1
October 1945, NACP ID: 2988852, RG 165.