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"ZE ROCKETS GO UP! WHO CARES VERE ZEY COME DOWN! ZATS NOT MY DEPARTMENT"
- Werner Von Braun
Some might say he's hypocritical
He'll just say he's apolitical
That's clever. Yours?
Haha no, I wish. The person I'm replying to and I are both referencing a song by the ever-brilliant Tom Lehrer
Was literally about to ask if they were song lyrics, they read exactly like them.
Actual quote from Von Braun:
The rocket worked perfectly except for landing on the wrong planet
Yeah he built the V2s, but it does generally seem like he was happier when he could use his talents for good rather than evil.
he was happy enough to use slave labor to build his death machines.
the attacks from V-2s resulted in the deaths of an estimated 9,000 civilians and military personnel, while a further 12,000 laborers and concentration camp prisoners died as a result of their forced participation in the production of the weapons.
incredible man, truly.
I didn't know about that bit, just had a read up on his wiki page under the "slave labour" section.
Von Braun later stated that he was aware of the treatment of prisoners, but felt helpless to change the situation. When asked if von Braun could have protested against the brutal treatment of the slave laborers, von Braun team member Konrad Dannenberg (a member of the Nazi party since 1932) told The Huntsville Times: "If he had done it, in my opinion, he would have been shot on the spot."
Fucked up situation to be in. I'm sure we all think we'd do the right thing but I imagine having your life on the line affects what you do quite a lot. Like all historical figures, not all black and white.
that's what they all claimed after the war, that they would've been shot if they'd complained.
almost certainly a lie. at least, some wehrmacht soldiers complained that they did not enjoy having to massacre villagers on the eastern front and would rather not do it. they were not shot. they were not demoted.
some commanders on the eastern front complained that their soldiers are constantly drunk to deal with having to massacre villagers. they were not shot. they were not demoted.
also, nobody forced von braun to build rockets for nazis. he chose quite deliberately to serve the death machine. fuck him and his self-serving lies.