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Originally posted by Phage
Yes. We know that Von Braun was a former member of the Nazi party. It allowed him to continue his research when they came to power.
Your point?
And can you provide the source of the "Billy the Kid" image?
edit on 3/6/2011 by Phage because: (no reason given)
Originally posted by Phage
reply to post by heineken
Well, Von Braun was a criminal...in the eyes of the Nazis anyway. That's why they kept him under surveillance and arrested him. He was not a very good Nazi.
Originally posted by Phage
reply to post by heineken
I'm not "defending" NASA. Von Braun was not even hired by NASA. NASA did not exist when he defected.
I'm not defending Nazism but it was the political party in power at the time. Are all former members of the Nazi party considered war criminals? How many were there? How many joined for reasons other than ideological?
What war crimes was Von Braun guilty or even accused of?
In February of 1947, the JIA submitted von Braun's name, and his background information, to the State Department for review prior to granting a visa. Samuel Klaus, the State Department representative, angrily denied the application pointing out that von Braun was an "ardent Nazi and a security risk."
In conjunction with the FBI, Army Intelligence and the JIA, von Braun's background was carefully gone over, with many questionable matters deleted or changed. Derogatory statements were ignored, or reinvestigated, until the findings suited the Army's purpose.
"Von Braun (third from left) in Nevada after the war. Note the swastika on the sign. He and his friends made no attempt to hide their allegiances while working on "our" space program".