Operation Paperclip: The Secret Intelligence Program that Brought Nazi Scientists to America - Hardcover

Jacobsen, Annie

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 031622104X ISBN 13: 9780316221047

Publisher: Little, Brown and Company, 2014

Synopsis

The fascinating story of America's secret post-WWII science programs, from the New York Times bestselling author of Area 51 and Biological War.

“This book is a remarkable achievement of investigative reporting and historical writing.” ―Boston Globe

In the chaos following World War II, the U.S. government faced many difficult decisions, including what to do with the Third Reich's scientific minds. These were the brains behind the Nazis’ once-indomitable war machine. So began Operation Paperclip, a decades-long, covert project to bring Hitler’s scientists and their families to the United States.

Many of these men were accused of war crimes, and others had stood trial at Nuremberg; one was convicted of mass murder and slavery. They were also directly responsible for major advances in rocketry, medical treatments, and the U.S. space program. Was Operation Paperclip a moral outrage, or did it help America win the Cold War?

Drawing on exclusive interviews with dozens of Paperclip family members, colleagues, and interrogators, and with access to German archival documents (including previously unseen papers made available by direct descendants of the Third Reich’s ranking members), files obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, and dossiers discovered in government archives and at Harvard University, Annie Jacobsen follows more than a dozen German scientists through their postwar lives and into a startling, complex, nefarious, and jealously guarded government secret of the twentieth century.

In this definitive, controversial look at one of America's most strategic―and disturbing―government programs, Jacobsen shows just how dark government can get in the name of national security.

“Harrowing ... How Dr. Strangelove came to America and thrived, told in graphic detail.” ―Kirkus Reviews

★ “Highly recommended for readers in World War II history, espionage, government cover-ups, or the Cold War.” ―Library Journal (starred review)

★ “An engrossing and deeply disturbing exposé that poses ultimate questions of means versus ends.” ―Booklist (starred review)

“Darkly picaresque.” ―The New Yorker

“The most in-depth account yet of the lives of Paperclip recruits and their American counterparts.” ―New York Times Book Review

“Important, superbly written.” ―USA Today

About this title

About the Author

Annie Jacobsen is the author of the national bestsellers Area 51, Operation Paperclip, and Surprise, Kill, Vanish, the Pulitzer Prize finalist The Pentagon's Brain, and Phenomena. She was a contributing editor at the Los Angeles Times Magazine. She is a graduate of Princeton University and lives in Los Angeles with her husband and two sons.

Reviews

*Starred Review* By the end of 1945, the alliance of the Western powers with the Soviet Union had frayed, and the basic outlines of what would become the Cold War had taken shape. At the same time, military, scientific, and political leaders in the U.S. had become acutely aware of the value of German scientists responsible for great advances in rocketry and biological research under the Nazis. So, in August 1945, President Truman authorized the Joint Intelligence Objectives Agency (JIOA), a division of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), to aggressively “recruit” German scientists to come to the U.S. and to work for various government-affiliated programs. Truman had stipulated that members of the Nazi Party were not to be included. As Jacobsen, an investigative journalist, illustrates, the JIOA adroitly sidestepped Truman’s directive through an intense program of fraud and deception. Documents were forged or altered, wartime activities were covered up, and, in some cases, entirely new identities were created, all in the service of our national interest. Some of these men were only marginal Nazis, but some were fervent “true believers” directly responsible for war crimes. This is an engrossing and deeply disturbing exposé that poses ultimate questions of means versus ends. --Jay Freeman

Edition details

• Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
• Publication date: 2014
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 031622104X
• ISBN 13: 9780316221047
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 592