The Nazis recruited to win the Cold War - Brian Crim

譯者: Lilian Chiu 審譯者: 柏陞 郭

In May of 1945, the Third Reich was in chaos.

1945 年五月，

第三帝國陷入混亂。

Adolf Hitler was dead, German surrender was imminent,

阿道夫‧希特勒死了，

德國即將投降，

and Allied troops had already begun divvying up German territory.

而同盟國軍隊已經 開始瓜分德國領土。

But high-ranking Nazi engineer Wernher von Braun wasn’t worried.

但高級納粹工程師華納‧馮‧布朗

並不擔心。

In fact, he approached the US government directly—

事實上，他直接去找美國政府——

informing them of his location and waiting calmly for their arrival.

通知他們他的所在，

冷靜地等他們到達。

As the brain behind the world’s first long-range ballistic missile,

身為發明世上第一枚 遠程彈道導彈幕後的主腦，

von Braun knew his expertise made him a highly valuable military asset.

馮‧布朗知道他的專業知識

讓他成為非常有價值的軍事資產。

And sure enough, his so-called captors gave him a decidedly warm welcome.

當然，

所謂俘虜他的那些人 給了他非常溫暖的歡迎。

Von Braun wasn't the only Nazi scientist receiving this treatment.

馮‧布朗不是唯一得到 這種待遇的納粹科學家。

While World War II was almost over, a new war was brewing.

在第二次世界大戰快要結束時，

有一場新的戰爭正在醞釀。

And the US was eager to recruit the smartest minds in Germany

而美國急迫地想要 招募德國最聰明的人，

before the Soviets got the chance.

以免蘇聯人捷足先登。

This became known as Operation Paperclip—

這就是後來所稱的 「迴紋針行動」——

a clandestine campaign that brought over 1,500 German scientists to the US

這項秘密行動 在 1945 年到 1962 年間

between 1945 and 1962.

將超過 1500 名 德國科學家帶到美國。

The program was named for the paperclips attached to the files of early recruits—

該計畫被稱為迴紋針，是因為早期 招募對象的檔案上夾著迴紋針——

indicating that incriminating information like Nazi affiliations

而該員曾有過的犯罪紀錄，

如和納粹密切的聯繫

or suspected war crimes could be disregarded.

或可能的戰爭罪，

都可以被忽視。

Von Braun, for example, had overseen an SS project

以馮‧布朗為例，

他曾經監管過一個由親衛隊主導，

that relied on forced labor from thousands of concentration camp prisoners.

強迫數千名集中營囚犯勞動的計畫。

While von Braun approached the US directly,

馮‧布朗是直接向美軍投降，

other scientists had to be identified and located.

不像其他科學家必須 被確認身分和找到藏身處。

One important asset in this effort

而這項計畫重要的收穫之一

was a Nazi-compiled list of Germany’s top scientists,

便是找到一份由納粹收集，

囊括德國的頂尖科學家的名單。

which someone had unsuccessfully tried to dispose of by flushing down a toilet.

有人嘗試用馬桶把它 沖掉，但沒有成功。

But the US was just one player in this scramble.

但美國只是這場爭奪戰的其中一方。

The Soviets were also competing to seize German brainpower,

蘇聯人也想搶奪德國的智囊，

resorting to bribery and forced relocation.

他們的做法是賄賂和強制遷移。

The French and British lacked the money to lure the best German brains,

法國和英國人沒有錢 可以誘惑德國最聰明的人，

but that didn't stop them from kidnapping the occasional scientist.

但這並未阻止他們偶爾綁架科學家。

They also stole patents and dismantled factories to learn what they could.

有時他們也會偷專利

並破壞工廠以獲取知識。

The US approach, however, featured a different and particularly tempting

然而，美國則與其他國不同。

它善於使用一種脅迫利誘的手段：

brand of coercion:

the promise to relocate entire German families and grant them citizenship.

保證會重新安置 德國科學家的所有家人，

並核發他們公民權。

This controversial offer was one of the reasons

這個充滿爭議的交換條件

是迴紋針計畫最初 必須要秘密進行的原因之一。

Paperclip was initially shrouded in secrecy.

But the project became difficult to hide when Germans started popping up

但隨著美國各地都開始 有德國人冒出來，

該計畫後來很難再隱藏。

all over the US.

The military tried to get ahead of any controversy

軍方試圖在爭議爆發 之前就先發制人，

by revealing the operation to the press in late 1946.

便在 1946 年末向媒體揭露 該行動的存在。

But the news immediately attracted criticism from many prominent voices,

但這則新聞立即引來了批評，

許多名人都發聲指責，

including Albert Einstein, Eleanor Roosevelt, and the NAACP,

包括阿爾伯特‧愛因斯坦、

愛蓮娜‧羅斯福、

全國有色人種協進會，

as well as many veteran’s organizations.

以及許多退伍軍人組織。

These parties opposed granting German scientists citizenship

這些人反對給予 德國科學家公民身分，

while millions of displaced persons, including survivors of Nazi atrocities,

因為還有數百萬流離失所的人，

包括納粹暴行的倖存者，

had no chance of coming to America.

都沒有機會來美國。

Most Americans were also against employing former Nazis

大多數美國人也反對僱用前納粹

in sensitive national security positions.

擔任敏感的國家安全職務。

But as the Cold War ramped up,

但隨著冷戰加劇，

the military argument for keeping these scientists out of Soviet hands

軍方對於這些科學家落入 蘇聯手中的擔憂，

overpowered popular objections.

漸漸壓過大眾反對的聲浪。

With his Nazi past largely hidden from the public,

馮‧布朗的納粹過往 多半被隱藏而不為人知，

von Braun became one of the US’s most important engineers

後來他成了美國 最重要的工程師之一，

at the height of the Space Race.

並在太空競賽頂峰時期做出貢獻。

In 1958, his team responded to the Soviet launch of Sputnik

1958 年蘇聯發射史普尼克衛星，

with the US’s own successful satellite launch.

他便帶領團隊讓美國成功發射 自己的衛星做為回應。

And in the 60s, he was the chief architect of Saturn V,

在 1960 年代，

他成為農神五號的首席設計師，

the rocket that brought Americans to the moon.

也就是那火箭把美國人送上月球。

Other Paperclip recruits contributed to the development of chemical weapons

其他受迴紋針計畫招募的人 也在開發化學武器，

such as Agent Orange, pharmaceutical research,

如橙劑、藥品研究，

and the development of modern airplanes.

以及現代飛機的開發等領域做出貢獻。

These contributions helped the US government present Paperclip as a success.

這些貢獻讓美國政府 把迴紋針行動視為一場成功的計畫。

But, in hindsight, it’s hard to gauge how helpful the program really was.

但，事後來看，

很難衡量該計畫到底有多少助益。

While von Braun saved the US years of rocketry experimentation,

雖然馮‧布朗幫美國在火箭 實驗上省下數年的時間，

there's no reason to think American scientists couldn't have developed

但沒有理由認為

沒有他美國科學家 就無法開發出同樣的技術。

the same technology without him.

Furthermore, very few Paperclippers were as exceptional as von Braun.

此外，

迴紋針計畫招募的人幾乎 沒幾個像馮‧布朗那麼出色，

Many were average scientists who either completed their contracts

裡頭大多是普通的科學家。

他們不是在完成合約後返回德國，

and returned to Germany,

or took jobs alongside Americans with equivalent expertise.

就是和具有相等專業知識的 美國人一起工作。

But ultimately, the issue of Paperclip’s success

但最終，迴紋針計畫成功與否的議題

is just one of many questions raised by its contentious approach

只是在面對科學、倫理和國家安全

這些頗具爭議性的領域 所引出的種種問題之一而已。

to science, ethics, and national security.

Can scientists working on military technology be apolitical,

從事軍事技術的科學家 可否保持政治中立？

or are they responsible for their creations?

或者他們要對自己 創造出來的東西負責？

Can pressing political and military concerns justify overlooking war crimes?

迫切的政治和軍事問題

能否成為忽略戰爭罪行的正當理由？

In many ways, von Braun’s obituary sums up the operation’s murkiness:

在許多方面，

馮‧布朗訃聞都為 這項行動做了模糊性的總結：

“A kind of Faustian shadow may be discerned in [...] the fascinating career

「在華納‧馮‧布朗迷人的職涯中

似乎可以看到一層浮士德的陰影，

of Wernher von Braun:

a man so possessed of [...] intellectual hunger,

他如此得渴求智慧，

that any accommodation may be justified.”

使得任何妥協都可以被正當化。」