Post by Don PhillipsonPost by David WilmaI am reading a historical novel set in Berlin in July 1945.
Part of the back story is the rocket scientist and equipment
snatched away from the Soviets. There is a mention of
engineers from Zeiss also being spirited away by the
Americans to the annoyance of the Soviets. The Zeiss
people were engaged in advanced technologies.
Remembering that this is fiction, was Zeiss developing
something advanced? What was it for? Did we ever see
the results either in military or civilian use?
The technological environment was simpler.
1. In general, German optics (especially Zeiss) was in
1939 superior to what British or American optical plants
(a) major government efforts to create or improve
Allied optical industries, producing everything from
field binoculars to gunsights for long-distance artillery.
(b) a lively trade among army and naval officers
for captured German binoculars etc.
2. In 1945 the USSR began looting conquered
Germany, viz. removed industrial (and domestic)
capital equipment and high-tech staff to the USSR
(because promised "reparations" by the Yalta
agreement) initially from all parts of Germany, including
the British and US Zones of Occupation. There are
books about this removal (and whether capital goods
were actually reused in the USSR or simply scrapped.)
Looting is an unfair word. Germany was assessed reparations.
The UK and USA (each) got $ 5B and the USSR $10B.
A lot of these reparations did not benefit the recipient
nations. The coal the UK got did great damage to the UK
coal mining industry. Much of the equipment, including
large electric power plants, was not ever put to use.
The plants were designed for specific types of coal which
were not found (at that time) in the USSR. The USA took
technical personnel (Operation Paper Clip) plus all
German patents for technology. Example: The Germans
had advanced the manufacture of ersatz rubber much
further than the USA. Nazi scientists were given
'absolution', which helped our rocket program a lot.
Arthur Rudolph is a good example. He was in charge
of the V-2 factory at Mittelbau-Dora, north of
Nordhausen.
GFH