OPERATION PAPERCLIP

Toward the end of World War II, Allied forces searched for scientists, technicians, researchers, and engineers in Nazi Germany and relocated them to the United States to extract their knowledge and aid for the coming Cold War. This project, named Operation Paperclip, was conducted by the Joint Intelligence Objectives Agency (JIOA) and aimed to keep developing science and information out of the hands of the Soviet Union.

Although most of the 1,600 scientists and families had worked for the Third Reich, there were no punishments or accountability for those that were brought to the U.S. by the JIOA. On the contrary, information about the scientists’ involvement with the Third Reich was often overlooked or dismissed for the benefit of the United States and their research. The enforcement of this military project in experimentation disregards the impact of these scientists’ work in unethical experimentation and the people they killed.