Synopses & Reviews
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.
Review
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, The Nazi Rocketeers tells the true story of how these men enthusiastically participated in the Nazi cause and crimes.Jewish World Review
Review
Piszkiewicz tells how the dream of space exploration was perverted by the complicity of its developers in Nazi military goals.... 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... 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 a gripping tale.Kirkus Reviews
Synopsis
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.
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. [247]-260) and index.
About the Author
DENNIS PISZKIEWICZ has been an enthusiast of space exploration since his childhood in the 1950s.
Table of Contents
Dreams and Illusions
When Space Travel was Science Fiction
The P. T. Barnum of Rockets
The Baron's Son and the Soldier
The Birth of the Third Reich and the Death of Conscience
Rockets for the Reich
Rocket City: The Secret Base at Peenemuende
War Ascending
Casualties of the Blitzkrieg
The Architects of Destruction: The Men Who Built Armaments and Auschwitz
The First Spaceship and the Fuehrer's Dream
The Missile Arsenal: Demonstrations for Leaders of the Reich
A Command Performance for the Fuehrer
Terror and Counter Terror
The Flames of Peenemuende
Rockets Rising From the Ashes
The Nazi "Metropolis": A Subterranean Rocket Factory
Dangerous Occupations: Rockets and Politics in the Third Reich
The Business of Death
The Plot to Kill the Fuehrer
The Rocket War
Vengeance Weapon-2
"Compared to Dora, Auschwitz was easy!: Death and Survival at the Rocket Factory
Final Flights from Peenemuende: Von Braun Plans for the Future
Scorched Earth: Hitler's Solution to Defeat
The Alpine Redoubt: A Refuge and a Trap
Defeat and Triumph
Twilight of the Trolls: The Death of the Third Reich
Weapons for the Next War
Aged Warriors and Astronauts
Epilogue
Time's Vengeance on the Rocket Warriors
References and Notes
Maps
Photographs
Index