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> Wernher von Braun, the German engineer who defected to the United States after World War II, recognized the potential of nuclear thermal propulsion even befor

> Wernher von Braun, the German engineer who defected to the United States after World War II, recognized the potential of nuclear thermal propulsion even before his Saturn V rocket landed humans on the Moon with chemical propulsion > German engineer Why does von Braun get such a pass from his Nazi past? Because he was useful?

themodelplumber 3y ago
Yeah, I think a lot of people would say that one's actions post-war are worth some weight in the equation, and culturally this person was positioned so as to not only make a big positive contribution in that quite separate context as far as values go, but a contribution which was also part of "our side" of a pitched cultural battle which is still raging. So like, how Nazi could you still be, in that actions-speaking sense. Plus, people-controversy is a topic that's actively avoided in writing for a lot of audiences, especially if it invites fault-spreading, like if it's going to end up as a big whataboutism-fest. Difficult topic in its way. Including of course the WW2-and-prior way involving terrible aspects like forced labor working under him, etc. So, less of a defense of a person here and more of a guess about rationale in authorship.
Arkhaine_kupo 3y ago
"If Hannibal Lecter ran a 4.3, the NFL would call it an eating disorder". People who are extremely succesful in certain fields get an impressive amount of leeway to break every conventional rule, law or protocol. Allowing nazis to clean up their past and work for NASA is not the only horrible things the US did during the war or immidietly after either...
schiffern 3y ago
>Why does von Braun get such a pass from his Nazi past? Partly it's because his Operation Paperclip dossier was conveniently misplaced before it could be declassified. Who knows what was in there? Not historians, that's who... Source: https://www.archives.gov/iwg/declassified-records/rg-330-defense-secretary https://www.archives.gov/iwg/declassified-records/rg-330-def...

themodelplumber 3y ago

Yeah, I think a lot of people would say that one's actions post-war are worth some weight in the equation, and culturally this person was positioned so as to not only make a big positive contribution in that quite separate context as far as values go, but a contribution which was also part of "our side" of a pitched cultural battle which is still raging. So like, how Nazi could you still be, in that actions-speaking sense. Plus, people-controversy is a topic that's actively avoided in writing for a lot of audiences, especially if it invites fault-spreading, like if it's going to end up as a big whataboutism-fest. Difficult topic in its way. Including of course the WW2-and-prior way involving terrible aspects like forced labor working under him, etc. So, less of a defense of a person here and more of a guess about rationale in authorship.

Arkhaine_kupo 3y ago

"If Hannibal Lecter ran a 4.3, the NFL would call it an eating disorder". People who are extremely succesful in certain fields get an impressive amount of leeway to break every conventional rule, law or protocol. Allowing nazis to clean up their past and work for NASA is not the only horrible things the US did during the war or immidietly after either...

schiffern 3y ago

>Why does von Braun get such a pass from his Nazi past? Partly it's because his Operation Paperclip dossier was conveniently misplaced before it could be declassified. Who knows what was in there? Not historians, that's who... Source: https://www.archives.gov/iwg/declassified-records/rg-330-defense-secretary https://www.archives.gov/iwg/declassified-records/rg-330-def...