The Nazi Rocketeers: Dreams of Space and Crimes of War (Hardcover)

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Review
?Piszkiewicz tells how the dream of space exploration was perverted by the complicity of its developers in Nazi military goals.... In the course of a decade's work as the inspirational figure and chief engineer in the program that developed rockets for Hitler, von Braun joined the SS, was promoted to major, and regularly curried favor with SS chief Heinrich Himmler, the architect of the Holocaust. In the final years of the war, construction of the rockets was carried out by slave laborers in two giant underground facilities... Thousands died of starvation and abuse, and mass executions were common. Yet at war's end von Braun and his colleagues thought only of how they might trade in on their skills to guarantee good treatment. They managed to continue their work in America virtually without interruption.... This is a gripping tale.?-Kirkus Reviews

Product Description
In the late 1920s, German scientist Herman Oberth dared to dream the impossible - that, equipped with the proper technology, a man could travel in space. His dream captured the imagination of his countrymen, particularly a group of scientists led by Wernher von Braun. From the genius of von Braun and his fellow scientists came the first modern rockets and the birth of the Space Age. Although seemingly created with space exploration in mind, this goal was subverted to create Nazi weapons of mass destruction. Most accounts contend that von Braun and his group were forced to use their rocket technology to further the Nazi cause under threat of their lives. "The Nazi Rocketeers" tells the real story, one that has been hidden for over 50 years. Here, at last, is the truth about von Braun's collaboration with fellow scientists, soldiers, and politicians in Nazi Germany. These men were not naive dreamers interested only in space travel but brilliant, sinister visionaries who were willing participants in the Nazi cause and crimes. "The Nazi Rocketeers" describes how von Braun and his contemporaries progressed from the innocent dream of space travel to the creation of the V-2 ballistic missile, a weapon that killed thousands. Among the other rocket warriors discusssed are Army General Walter Dornberger, career soldier and von Braun's mentor, Albert Speer, technocrat and advocate of the rocket as a weapon, and SS General Hans Kammler, architect of concentration camps and director of the V-2 rocket war. This book shows that von Braun's group of scientists were active members in the Nazi movement who were highly honoured by the Third Reich and Hitler himself. Most damning, the book reveals how the scientists actively collaborated with the SS in the exploitation of concentration camp slave labour for the purpose of building the V-2 missile. The story of these men is the ultimate example of what happens when a noble idea and technological genius are mutated to serve an evil cause.

First Sentence
A flame bursts from the tail of the rocket ship, lifting it and its passengers into the mysterious sky. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover

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3 Reviews 5 star:  (1) 4 star:    (0) 3 star:    (0) 2 star:  (1) 1 star:  (1)           Average Customer Review 2.7 out of 5 stars (3 customer reviews)		Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Most Helpful Customer Reviews   1 of 2 people found the following review helpful: 2.0 out of 5 stars Very biased historical revision of Von Braun, 1 Dec 1998 By A Customer Piszkiewicz does a good job with getting the historical documentation down but fails miserably when he outs his obvious anti-Von braun spin to them. He constantly speculates without facts about Von Braun's thoughts, beliefs and motives, always casting them in a negative manner. He goes into detail about Himmler's attempts to eliminate Von Braun and the danger that posed and still castigates Von Braun for not acting to help the Dora workers. He dedicates the book to the V2 and Dora victims which seems to be why he wrote this revisionist tale. It is his way to find someone to blame and Von Braun seems to be as good as target as any for the author to attack. He admits the V2 was not an effective weapon yet he ignores the huge drain on resources that it had on the German war machine. This drain was praised by Winston Churchill for keeping more planes and guns off the field of battle, saving lives. He also twists quotes and facts out of context, a sin for a historian. This book is not about history so much as it is an attempt to discredit Von Braun. No documentation or factual evidence is ever presented to show Von Braun could have done anything to help the Dora workers. Von Braun was not a saint but neither was he a war criminal. Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)   1 of 2 people found the following review helpful: 1.0 out of 5 stars Incomplete, 26 Aug 1998 By A Customer Misses the imprisonment for high treason on march 15th 1943, og Rieder VB and Dr Grottning. This was for saying in public that germany was losing the war and that they were more interested in building spaceships than weapons of war. Also the A4 was not a cost effective weapon. If the efforts had been put into fighter planes WWII would have dragged on alot longer. One ton of HE for the industrial cost of 6 jet fighters was probably the biggest sabotage of the nazi effort ever made. All it did was benifit spaceflight and science. Unbalanced. No historical perspective sensationalist trash. Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)   1 of 2 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars They were in it up to their elbows., 20 April 1997 By A Customer (A numerical rating, as above, is required by the new Amazon format. It is offensive to this reviewer and explicitly disavowed.) Author Piszkiewicz recounts the whole history of German rocketry, from its beginnings through the rocketeers' pact with the Devil, and on to their historical rehabilitation at the hands of the Americans who wanted their expertise. Piszkiewicz sets the record straight, reminding us that Wernher von Braun, for instance, was a Sturmbannfuhrer (Major) in the SS who went to Buchenwald personally to select slave laborers to staff his V-2 missile plants. Very interesting reading for students of the origins of the Space Age, military history buffs, and others who would understand the practical applications of realpolitik. Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this) Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review › See all 3 customer reviews...		Search Customer Reviews Only search this product's reviews

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