German rocket scientist Wernher von Braun (1912-1977), born in 1912 in Wirsitz, Germany, took an early interest in rockets and the possibility of space exploration. As a young man, he joined the German Rocket Society (Verein fur Raumschiffahrt). In 1932, von Braun joined the German army to work on the development of ballistic missiles. By 1937, he was the head of the Peenemeunde Rocket Center and leader of the Nazi rocket program that eventually developed the V-1 “buzz bomb” and the deadly V-2, the world’s first ballistic missile.
In the closing days of the war, von Braun and a group of his rocket scientists surrendered to American forces. Although he had been a member of the German SS and had used slave labor at Mittelwerk, the Nazi underground rocket facility, von Braun and his colleagues were embraced by the United States government and began working for the Army on rocket technology. In 1960, von Braun became the first director of NASA’s new Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. During his 10-year stint at Marshall, von Braun spearheaded the development of the Saturn rockets, including the Saturn V rocket that launched the crew of Apollo 11 toward their historic landing on the moon.
Von Braun died on June 16, 1977.
Below, follow our timeline, Werner von Braun and the Evolution of the Rocket Engine.
I am stunned by the comments excusing this man’s actions, saying “he did what he was told to do or he would have been killed himself”. For a start, don’t pretend to know what was in the minds of those vicious killers. It is hard enough just to read the stories regarding the torture and murder of the Jewish people, let alone to perpetrate that type of violence. Do you honestly think if this man was a decent human being, he could have done the things he did, just because he was told to? I don’t consider myself brave but under no circumstance could I choose my life over another’s. I would morally choose death for myself. Plus, many SS guards chose their positions. There were other work details, but they chose their positions. Also, even if they chose to kill, what made them torture, beat and humiliate people? They should have forced this man to work for the rocket project, and kept him in prison while he wasn’t working. Which is way better treatment than he ever gave Jewish prisoners. Vile excuse for a human being.
I think Von Braun was a brilliant man but he was also wrong to use slaves and to work with the Nazi scum. But if he had been brought up in a different country he may or may not of had the education or the resources to design the rockets at all. I think it was just a simple case of the a man being in the wrong place at the wrong time. As for the US actions i think they are just another case of greedy capitalists make the most out of someone elses tragedy and in this case millions of people’s tragedies.
It’s so ironic that “the man on the moon” we are so proud resulting from the work of the group of men we deeply loathe.