Russian Evacuation of German Scientists to Moscow - Occupied Germany 1946
Sep 4, 2016 22:34:37 #
On June 22/23, 1945, U.S. and British T Force troops "rescued" some 1,500 German scientists, plus their families, from incoming Soviet occupation troops. The Germans were "railroaded" into the American and British Occupation Zones in a top secret evacuation named " Operation Overcast."
Sixteen months later, starting on the night of October 22/23, 1946, the Russians seized between 10,000 and 15,000 scientists and engineers, plus their families, furniture and belongings, and shipped them all on 92 trains to Moscow. That top secret evacuation plan was named "Operation Osovaviakhim."
Osovaviakhim was ordered by Lavrenti Beria, the feared and enigmatic head of the NKVD (People's Commissariat of Internal Affairs). Russia's far-flung secret police. The Soviet Occupation Army and the puppet East German communist government protested, but they were not powerful enough to defy Beria.
The evacuees were "invited" to sign one of two papers. The first was a multi-year contract agreeing to work "for the reconstruction of Russia" and a generous monthly salary in marks. The other "contract" simply stated -- rather ominously -- "The undersigned herewith declares his unwillingness to assist in the reconstruction of the Soviet Union." That's an interesting recruitment ploy.
Unlike Operation Overcast, the Osovaviakhim plan was organized months in advance. During the summer of 1946, the German scientists were offered very desirable living quarters in adjacent neighborhoods within the Soviet Zone. That made it easier to seize them in late October.
Starting at 3:30 AM on October 22, 1946, each neighborhood was suddenly cordoned off by armed Soviet troops. The designated inhabitants were awakened and informed of their new evacuee status. Then everybody was hustled off to the railroad station. Some wives chose to stay behind, but the scientists had no option.
The Russian Army administrators of Carl Zeiss Jena vigorously protested, but it was pointless. Zeiss lost 36 scientists, 100 engineers, and 130 skilled technicians that night. Some of them were of pension age but had to go to Russia anyway. The labs and factory were emptied of almost all the machinery left behind by the Americans a year earlier. Of some 10,000 machines, only 582 were left by the Russians. Many Germans feared Zeiss could not survive, and some committed suicide.
The Junkers aircraft and turbine engine facilities also were completely dismantled and removed, including the four largest wind tunnels and all the remaining aircraft.
The huge underground Nordhausen rocket-building complex and its personnel were, by far, the largest and most valuable booty. After removing all the V-2 rockets and spare parts left by the Americans in their hasty departure, the Russians dismantled the research labs and the entire infrastructure, down to the rail tracks. They then dynamited the tunnel entrances.
American intelligence units intercepted some of the Berlin buzz during the operation. One caller was recorded saying, "Last night the Russians came with rifles and fixed bayonets, and then there was a furniture van in front of the door. They took Kruger and all their things with them right away. With them was Engelmann and his family and many other skilled workers. All of them had to go with their families." The astonished listener exclaimed, "However is that possible? With furniture and everything else?"
One eyewitness watched from the fifth floor of a nearby building in Berlin. "In the dwellings...the wardrobes were immediately nailed shut...Several Russian soldiers arrived who loaded all the inventory and the family -- from the grandfather to the baby -- and took them to the railway stations at Koepenick or Frierichshagen. Everything was carried off, including cabinets, china, carpets, chairs,
pianos, bird cages, and I even saw stove pipes."
During an Allied Control Council meeting a week later in Berlin, U.S. Colonel Frank Howley protested the predawn roundups. Soviet General Sokolovskii reportedly answered, "I am not asking the Americans and British at what hour of the day or night they took their technicians [last year]. Why are you so concerned about the hour at which I took mine?" Touche!
[Note to the reader: I apologize for the lack of photos for this Vignette. I doubt that Beria permitted photography during Operation Osovaviakhim, just as T Force also restricted photographs during Operation Overcast.]
Sixteen months later, starting on the night of October 22/23, 1946, the Russians seized between 10,000 and 15,000 scientists and engineers, plus their families, furniture and belongings, and shipped them all on 92 trains to Moscow. That top secret evacuation plan was named "Operation Osovaviakhim."
Osovaviakhim was ordered by Lavrenti Beria, the feared and enigmatic head of the NKVD (People's Commissariat of Internal Affairs). Russia's far-flung secret police. The Soviet Occupation Army and the puppet East German communist government protested, but they were not powerful enough to defy Beria.
The evacuees were "invited" to sign one of two papers. The first was a multi-year contract agreeing to work "for the reconstruction of Russia" and a generous monthly salary in marks. The other "contract" simply stated -- rather ominously -- "The undersigned herewith declares his unwillingness to assist in the reconstruction of the Soviet Union." That's an interesting recruitment ploy.
Unlike Operation Overcast, the Osovaviakhim plan was organized months in advance. During the summer of 1946, the German scientists were offered very desirable living quarters in adjacent neighborhoods within the Soviet Zone. That made it easier to seize them in late October.
Starting at 3:30 AM on October 22, 1946, each neighborhood was suddenly cordoned off by armed Soviet troops. The designated inhabitants were awakened and informed of their new evacuee status. Then everybody was hustled off to the railroad station. Some wives chose to stay behind, but the scientists had no option.
The Russian Army administrators of Carl Zeiss Jena vigorously protested, but it was pointless. Zeiss lost 36 scientists, 100 engineers, and 130 skilled technicians that night. Some of them were of pension age but had to go to Russia anyway. The labs and factory were emptied of almost all the machinery left behind by the Americans a year earlier. Of some 10,000 machines, only 582 were left by the Russians. Many Germans feared Zeiss could not survive, and some committed suicide.
The Junkers aircraft and turbine engine facilities also were completely dismantled and removed, including the four largest wind tunnels and all the remaining aircraft.
The huge underground Nordhausen rocket-building complex and its personnel were, by far, the largest and most valuable booty. After removing all the V-2 rockets and spare parts left by the Americans in their hasty departure, the Russians dismantled the research labs and the entire infrastructure, down to the rail tracks. They then dynamited the tunnel entrances.
American intelligence units intercepted some of the Berlin buzz during the operation. One caller was recorded saying, "Last night the Russians came with rifles and fixed bayonets, and then there was a furniture van in front of the door. They took Kruger and all their things with them right away. With them was Engelmann and his family and many other skilled workers. All of them had to go with their families." The astonished listener exclaimed, "However is that possible? With furniture and everything else?"
One eyewitness watched from the fifth floor of a nearby building in Berlin. "In the dwellings...the wardrobes were immediately nailed shut...Several Russian soldiers arrived who loaded all the inventory and the family -- from the grandfather to the baby -- and took them to the railway stations at Koepenick or Frierichshagen. Everything was carried off, including cabinets, china, carpets, chairs,
pianos, bird cages, and I even saw stove pipes."
During an Allied Control Council meeting a week later in Berlin, U.S. Colonel Frank Howley protested the predawn roundups. Soviet General Sokolovskii reportedly answered, "I am not asking the Americans and British at what hour of the day or night they took their technicians [last year]. Why are you so concerned about the hour at which I took mine?" Touche!
[Note to the reader: I apologize for the lack of photos for this Vignette. I doubt that Beria permitted photography during Operation Osovaviakhim, just as T Force also restricted photographs during Operation Overcast.]
In 1946 the Russians dynamited this entrance to the huge underground rocket factory complex
Sep 4, 2016 22:48:13 #
The history, as usual, is priceless. The pictures are gravy.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Sep 5, 2016 04:19:41 #
I remember reading about these raids some years ago.
Thank you for the reminder.
Thank you for the reminder.
Sep 5, 2016 07:16:05 #
Sep 5, 2016 07:41:29 #
Love these history lessons. I always copy & forward to my son's father-in-law, a retired "full bird" colonel who also enjoy. Keep them coming.
Sep 5, 2016 11:16:26 #
Sep 5, 2016 15:25:01 #
Sep 5, 2016 16:50:37 #
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Sep 5, 2016 23:27:38 #
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