REVISTA & ESCOLAS DE MISTÉRIOS

  OPERATION OSOAVIAKHIM (1946): THE SOVIET CAPTURE AND TRANSFER OF GERMAN SCIENTISTS AFTER WORLD WAR II Nazi Technology, the Cold War, and the Race for Scientific Knowledge INTRODUCTION The War That Continued After the War: The Battle for German Minds When the guns of World War II fell silent in 1945, a new conflict broke out. It would not be fought primarily with infantry, tanks, or air power, but with something deemed every bit as strategic: scientific knowledge . Despite its military defeat and the horrific atrocities committed under Adolf Hitler’s regime, Nazi Germany had engineered one of the most sophisticated scientific and industrial infrastructures in the world. Throughout the conflict, the German state funneled massive resources into research designed for military dominance. Key fields included: Long-range rocketry Jet engines Experimental aircraft Guidance systems Military electronics Advanced chemistry Nuclear research Germany’s defeat turned these prog...