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Operation Paperclip

Technology

US intelligence program that relocated German scientists after World War II for military and space research

  Origins and Objectives

Operation Paperclip began in mid 1945 when the Joint Intelligence Objectives Agency sought to secure German scientific talent for American military and aerospace projects. The effort evolved from Operation Overcast and focused on propulsion, aerodynamics, chemical warfare, and medicine.1

  Timeline of Major Actions

Year / MonthEvent
1943 FebruaryWerner Osenberg compiles a list of German scientists reassigned from combat to research roles.2
1945 MarchAllied forces recover fragments of the Osenberg List in a lavatory at Bonn University, providing names for targeted recruitment.3
1945 MayMaj. Robert Staver transmits a request to evacuate 100 rocket experts, led by Wernher von Braun, to the United States.4
1945 July 20The Joint Chiefs of Staff authorize Operation Overcast to exploit German expertise while denying it to the USSR.5
1945 NovemberOvercast is renamed Operation Paperclip when Ordnance Corps officers mark preferred dossiers with paperclips.6
1945 DecemberFirst group of seven V-2 specialists arrives at Fort Strong, Massachusetts; more than 120 follow within months.7
1946 September 3President Truman formally approves the continued retention of up to 1,000 scientists under temporary military custody.8
1947 NovemberThe Boston Globe exposes Walter Schreiber's relocation, sparking public debate on Nazi affiliations.9
1949 June 1Redstone Arsenal is designated the Army's primary rocket center, absorbing the Fort Bliss team.10
1950 AprilWernher von Braun's group completes transfer to Huntsville, Alabama, accelerating US ballistic-missile development.11
1955 JulyEisenhower announces Project Vanguard; Paperclip engineers begin satellite-launch work amid the growing space race.12
1958 July 29NASA is established, absorbing Army Ballistic Missile Agency assets and personnel, including many Paperclip recruits.13
1969 July 20Saturn V, designed under von Braun's leadership, lands Apollo 11 on the Moon, showcasing Paperclip's long-term impact.14
1984 MayArthur Rudolph relinquishes US citizenship over wartime labor allegations, prompting renewed scrutiny of the program.15
2014 FebruaryAnnie Jacobsen's investigative history reignites discussion of ethical compromises made during Paperclip.16

  Evidence and Documentation

Operation Paperclip generated a trove of primary records now available through FOIA releases and presidential libraries. Key document sets include Joint Intelligence Objectives Agency personnel files, CIA analytical memoranda, and Truman Library correspondence.17

Annie Jacobsen's 2014 study builds on these declassified sources. Using files opened under the Nazi War Crimes Disclosure Act, German archival material, and firsthand interviews, she traces 89 individual careers and discloses episodes such as the capture of submarine U-234 with 1,200 lb of uranium oxide, sarin production at Dyhernfurth, and early CIA behavior-modification trials under Project BLUEBIRD that evolved into MKULTRA.18 A Studies in Intelligence review notes her integration of newly opened records and highlights revelations about the Gehlen Organization, the Saturn V engineering cohort, and the biomedical work of Hubertus Strughold.19

    Notable Reporters and Historians

  1. Linda Hunt revealed the extent of Nazi affiliations in her 1985 Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists article and 1991 monograph Secret Agenda.20
  2. Tom Bower's 1987 work The Paperclip Conspiracy traced high-level decision-making within the Pentagon.21
  3. Michael Neufeld curated the Smithsonian's archival assessments and published Von Braun: Dreamer of Space, Engineer of War.22
  4. Annie Jacobsen's 2014 bestseller synthesized declassified files and interviews, bringing the topic to a wider audience.16
  5. Eric Lichtblau's 2014 New York Times reporting expanded public awareness of former Nazis employed by US agencies.23

  References

  1. National Archives, "Records of the Secretary of Defense (RG 330)". ↩

  2. Smithsonian Libraries, National Military Establishments and the Advancement of Science and Technology. ↩

  3. Annie Jacobsen, Operation Paperclip: The Secret Intelligence Program that Brought Nazi Scientists to America, p. 191. ↩

  4. James McGovern, Crossbow and Overcast, p. 104. ↩

  5. Clarence G. Lasby, Project Paperclip: German Scientists and the Cold War, p. 79. ↩

  6. Clarence G. Lasby, Project Paperclip: German Scientists and the Cold War, p. 155. ↩

  7. Dieter K. Huzel, Peenemünde to Canaveral, p. 27. ↩

  8. Office of the Historian, Foreign Relations of the United States, 1946, Volume V, Document 448. ↩

  9. The Boston Globe, November 1951 archival edition. ↩

  10. U.S. Army, Redstone Arsenal Historical Information, "Space Significant Dates". ↩

  11. NASA, "Wernher von Braun"; U.S. Army, Redstone Arsenal Historical Information, "Wernher von Braun". ↩

  12. NASA History, "International Geophysical Year - U.S. Announcement". ↩

  13. history.nasa.gov ↩

  14. NASA Science, "Saturn Apollo Program"; NASA Technical Reports Server, Apollo 11 Mission Report. ↩

  15. National Archives, "Records of the Secretary of Defense (RG 330)". ↩

  16. Jay Watkins, "Operation Paperclip: The Secret Intelligence Program to Bring Nazi Scientists to America," CIA Studies in Intelligence 58, no. 3 (2014). ↩ ↩2

  17. National Archives, "Records of the Secretary of Defense (RG 330)"; Jay Watkins, "Operation Paperclip," CIA Studies in Intelligence. ↩

  18. Jay Watkins, "Operation Paperclip: The Secret Intelligence Program to Bring Nazi Scientists to America," CIA Studies in Intelligence 58, no. 3 (2014). ↩

  19. Jay Watkins, "Operation Paperclip: The Secret Intelligence Program to Bring Nazi Scientists to America," CIA Studies in Intelligence 58, no. 3 (2014). ↩

  20. Linda Hunt, Secret Agenda: The United States Government, Nazi Scientists, and Project Paperclip, 1945 to 1990. ↩

  21. Tom Bower, The Paperclip Conspiracy: The Hunt for the Nazi Scientists. ↩

  22. Smithsonian Institution, "Von Braun: Dreamer of Space, Engineer of War and The Rocket and the Reich Research Files". ↩

  23. Eric Lichtblau, "In Cold War, U.S. Spy Agencies Used 1,000 Nazis," The New York Times (2014). ↩

Published on July 20, 1945

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