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 Operation Paperclip
http://147.71.210.21/winter98/papercli.htm
 by Patricia M. Rhodes

[Patricia M Rhodes is the ADA Branch Historian, U.S. Army Air Defense Artillery School, Fort Bliss, Texas]

Dated October 1, 1945, the War Department's press release was carefully worded, and probably went largely unnoticed among the more exciting news that our troops were coming home. It read: "For immediate release--The Secretary of War has approved a project whereby certain understanding German scientists and technicians are being brought to this country to ensure that we take full advantage of those significant developments which are deemed vital to our national security. Interrogation and examination of documents, equipments [sic] and facilities in the aggregate are but one means of exploiting German progress in science and technology.  In order that this country may benefit fully from this resource a number of carefully selected scientists and technologists are being brought to the United  States on a voluntary basis. These individuals have been chosen from those fields where German progress is of significant importance to us and in which these specialists have played a dominant role."

Who were the "understanding German scientists and technicians?"  What were the "significant development" deemed vital to our national security?"  What did it all mean?

"Throughout their temporary stay in the United States these German scientists and technical experts will be under the supervision of the War Department but will be utilized for appropriate military projects of the Army and Navy."

The story began in the 1930s at Peenemuende, the rocket research center built on the banks of Germany's Peene River.  Building upon the pioneering work of America's Dr. Robert H. Goddard, a team of brilliant German scientists, led by the charismatic young Wernher von Braun, furthered research in the field of rocket warfare.  During World War II, their efforts put German technology far ahead of their allied counterparts.  The von Braun team's work efforts culminated in the V-2, an enormous, long-range rocket that carried a huge warhead and traveled so fast that no antiaircraft guns could shoot it down.  Other than the capture or destruction of the German sites from which the V-2 was launched, the Allies never found an effective defense against it.  The V-2 rained destruction on London during the last year of the War.  Fortunately for the Allies, the V-2 came so late in the War that Germany was already effectively defeated.

Still, the Anglo-American forces were impressed with the weapon's potential.  In 1945 America embarked upon its own rocket development program and established White Sands Proving Ground in New Mexico as its principal site for rocket testing and development.

As the Third Reich crumbled in May of 1945, Russian troops advanced into Germany from the East, and British and U.S. forces from the West. Von Braun and his cohorts realized that they, with their knowledge and experience, would become valuable spoils of war. Whoever captured the scientists of Peenemuende would automatically take the lead in rocket research.

Weighing their alternatives, von Braun and several hundred fellow scientists fled from the advancing Russian troops and surrendered to American forces.The U.S. War Department General Staff set up a team to determine the best method for handling the scientists.  The plan called for a number of the scientists to be selected for transportation to the United States on six-month contracts, subject to renewal at the option of the American government.  They would be salaried employees, and their job would be to instruct American scientists in the assembly and testing of V-2 rockets which the U.S. forces had seized in the European Theater of Operations.  The United States intended to build its own rocket program on the foundation of experience the Germans had with the V-2.

For several months American Army officers interrogated the Germans, asking not only about their professional qualifications but also about their political attitudes and their interest, or lack thereof, in working for the United States.U.S. Army officials created a file for each German scientist, and those selected to go to America were marked by a paper clip on their files.  From this mundane clerical action came the project's name: Operation Paperclip.

While the screening of scientists was going on, the U.S. Government was shipping enormous amounts of German materiel to America.  In mid-August, 1945, 300 railroad freight cars full of V-2 components arrived in the Southwest.  Every railroad siding between El Paso and Belen, New Mexico, a distance of well over 200 miles, was full of loaded freight cars.  The Army hired every flatbed truck in Dona Ana County to move the materiel from the railroad to White Sands, and was able to complete the massive task in 20 days.

The War Department's low-key press release on October 1 was virtually the only public notice of Operation Paperclip. That month, von Braun and six other German scientists arrived in El Paso, as an advance party to prepare for the arrival of a much larger group. Over the next few months, more than a hundred Germans arrived at Fort Bliss, among them a young engineer named Konrad Dannenberg.  Wives and children of the German scientists and technicians remained behind, in a U.S.-operated facility in Bavaria.

  At Fort Bliss, the men were housed in a former hospital, living two to a room in ten-foot-square rooms.  At first they felt lonely and isolated, as U.S. Army policy initially prohibited any social activities between American soldiers and former enemies.  Once each month, the scientists were permitted to go downtown to shop, eat in a restaurant, go to a movie, or sightsee.  They went in groups of four, each group escorted by an American soldier.  After the initial press release in October 1945, the Government did not publicly mention the German scientist again, nor did it announce their presence at Fort Bliss, but many El Pasoans became aware of them as they were seen around town.

  After a year, the Government officially acknowledged their existence in December of 1946, though details of work on the V-2 rockets was still kept secret.  By that time the first contracts had expired and longer ones had been signed.  One member of the group had died and been buried in the Fort Bliss Cemetery, and three had chosen to return to Germany, but the rest were still here when the Army permitted a press conference on December 4.  For the next several days, El Paso newspapers were filled with stories about the Germans and their life at Fort Bliss.The El Paso Times reported that American officers were teaching English to the Germans, and that several were becoming quite fluent in English.

  The Times went on to explain, "The men are not prisoners.  They are in ‘protective custody’ and now are allowed considerable liberty.  They may visit in El Paso, or Las Cruces, or Alamogordo, but may not remain away overnight or cross into Juarez.  They are barred from airports unless their visits are authorized."

  Meanwhile, the El Paso Herald Post explained that, "No formal steps have been taken to legalize their entry....In return for their services, the Army provides for their families, guaranteeing the amount of food prescribed for persons living in the American zone in Germany.  The Army also provides temporary duty pay from which deductions are made for room, board, and laundry.  A good ‘economist’ will have about $1 a day left to buy extras such as cigarettes, clothing, etc., officials said."

  Work was in progress to remodel the building to accommodate dependents, as the scientists’ families were to begin coming to America within the next year.  Although they missed their families, and had misgivings about some American food and customs, the scientists expressed enthusiasm for their work, and most hoped to become U.S. citizens, as they believed that the United States offered the best opportunities for research and eventually the exploration of outer space.

  The Germans, and the U.S. Army officers who supervised them, said that the scientists had encountered no hostility in the community and found both the civilian population and the American soldiers to be friendly and cooperative.

  In July of 1947, the Herald-Post reported that the Army had released more details about the contracts with the scientists.  There were 396 German scientists and technicians in the U.S., with 118 of them at Fort Bliss.  The top salary paid to them was $3,120 a year, plus $6 a day for lodging, food, and incidentals.  Families had now joined the men, and there were 394 dependents living at Fort Bliss.  German children were attending El Paso schools.

  The Herald article also noted that the scientists and their families were allowed to attend movies on post, but were not permitted to use Fort Bliss swimming pools or other recreational facilities.  They could, however, avail themselves of all of El Paso’s recreational opportunities.  The article reiterated the desire of most of the Germans to become U.S. citizens.

  The same month that the Herald-Post gave this rather glowing account of Operation Paperclip, the U.S. Congress and major American newspapers, led by the New York Times, vehemently denounced the presence of the German scientists.  Congressman John Dingell of Michigan told the House of Representatives, "If this is an example of the leadership in our Army, then let us get new leaders....I have never thought that we were so poor mentally in this country that we have to go and import Nazi killers for the defense of our country."

  Some press reports claimed that the scientists were being "feted and treated as heroes" by the Army.  Brigadier General H.B. Saylor, Chief of Research and Development for the Army’s Ordnance Department, and El Paso Congressman Ewing Thomason denied these reports.  General Saylor, noting that the Germans had a full decade of rocket research already behind them, said that they had saved the United States many millions of dollars and several years of research by giving the U.S. Army the benefit of their experience.  General Saylor also pointed out that "this area, because of climatic and other conditions, is the best in the United States in which to carry on our development."

  Despite Congressional grumbling, the work of Operation Paperclip went on.  The first firing of a V-2 from White Sands had taken place on March 15, 1946. During the time that the project was at Fort Bliss and White Sands, a total of 67 V-2 rockets were assembled and tested.  Of that number, 68 percent were considered "successful."  The Army also learned from the failures, as these provided information about malfunctions.  The German scientists and their families were settling in well in the Southwest.   Restrictions on their movements continually loosened and they moved about the area more freely.  They became active members of local churches and organizations, and many began the process of acquiring citizenship.

  Then Congress entered the picture again.  A powerful U.S. Senator, John Sparkman of Alabama, influenced a decision to move the scientists to Redstone Arsenal, in his home state. In November of 1949 the Army announced the move would take place the following year, citing "better facilities" at Redstone as the reason.

  When the move was about half completed, the El Paso Times ran another story, recalling the early days of Operation Paperclip:  "Towheaded German youngsters began appearing in local schools. The German accent became common at concerts, sporting events, and in Juarez..  El Paso took kindly to the Germans and the feeling was returned.."  The article concluded, " And Huntsville has welcomed them just as El Paso did."

  The El Paso-White Sands segment of the story was finished. Over the years, the Germans continued their work at Huntsville, and that work led to man’s first landing on the moon and to today’s missile programs.