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Aug 2023
50m 1s

Wernher Von Braun: Nazi Father of Rocket...

History Hit
About this episode

Wernher von Braun launched America's space programme, and took Apollo 11 to the moon. He was also a Nazi member who served in the SS, and developed the lethal V-2 rocket bomb.


He helped America progress in the Cold War, but he also helped Hitler attack his enemies, and as many as 20,000 concentration camp prisoners died assembling his missile invention.


Von Braun was able to manipulate the Nazi regime to serve his own agenda, but what was his intention...was he evil?


Today Dallas unpicks the Nazi space engineer's life and legacy with Annie Jacobsen.


You can find out more about Annie's book, Operation Paperclip: The Secret Intelligence Program That Brought Nazi Scientists to America, here.


Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world renowned historians like Dan Snow, James Holland, Mary Beard and more.


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