WWII in GR

[Derek C. Maus]

On Fri, 11 Aug 2000, Paul Mackin wrote:

> To let vB. stand for the link between Nazism and the postwar world is
> literal and obvious to people who want to believe it. However besides
> being trite it's also subject to logical refutation. For example, when
> American Army Ordinance captured vB they knew one thing for sure; they
> didn't want him continuing on at the Mittelwerk under the Russians (nor to
> become part of the British or the French program for that matter); they
> could have just shot him which was what they probably felt he deserved but
> decided to bring him home instead where of course he was put to good
> use.

So why did they have to not only put him to good use but name a friggin'
school and a community center after him in Huntsville, AL? I mean, as far
as I know, there's no Leo Szilard Middle School or J. Robert Oppenheimer
Boys' Club. I think, perhaps, von Braun had a pretty substantial
opportunity cost that couldn't be passed up, regardless of your
correctly-cited prophylactic (i.e., anti-Soviet) motivations. 

The play "Copenhagen" (I forget the author's name right now) has some
interesting musings on the role of the supposedly apolitical scientist (in
this case, Niels Bohr) participating in Nazi projects.

> Just some random thoughts. Perhaps total BS but BS is what makes the
> world go round.

Pretty high methane content...that'll run a piston engine for quite a
while (as Tina Turner showed us once upon a time...).

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Derek C. Maus               |   "Heck, I reckon you wouldn't even be
dmaus at email.unc.edu         |   human beings if you didn't have some 
UNC-CH, Dept. of English    |   pretty strong feelings about nuclear
http://www.unc.edu/~dmaus/  |   combat."  --Major Kong, DR. STRANGELOVE
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