Wernher von Braun: From Nazi Rockets to the Moon Landing

Von Braun opportunism forever linked him to the Nazi regime, while his ambitions inspired humanity to conquer space.

On one hand, he was the most significant rocket engineer and advocate of space exploration of the twentieth century; on the other, as a German nationalist, he served Hitler’s warWar (General Definition) War is a state of armed conflict be... More plans with the same ease and adaptability with which he became an American patriot after the warWar (General Definition) War is a state of armed conflict be... More and helped humanity reach the surface of the Moon. There is a strange contradiction in this.
Thus, he was undoubtedly an opportunist whose legacy will forever be tainted by his service to a murderous regime. Yet he was also an ambitious visionary who inspired others with his dream of conquering space. In von Braun’s life, we see a combination of idealism, pragmatism, and a remarkable ability to adapt to circumstances. His life story suggests a man driven by vision, yet capable of compromising his moral principles to achieve his goals. But let us start from the beginning. From the very beginning.

Youth and the Birth of a Passion for Space

Born Wernher Magnus Maximilian Freiherr (Baron) von Braun on March 23, 1912, he came into the world in a highly conservative, nationalist aristocratic family. This happened in the small German town of Wirsitz, which today you’ll find in Poland under the name Wyrzysk. Wernher was the second of three sons born to German Baron Magnus von Braun and Emmy von Quistorp. In 1915, the family moved to Berlin, where his father worked at the Ministry of the Interior. His mother gave him a telescope at an early age, and through observing planets and stars, he began to cultivate a passion for astronomy.

From 1925, he attended a boarding school at Ettersburg Castle near Weimar in the Free State of Thuringia, where he struggled with physics and mathematics. Nevertheless, it was there that he received a copy of By Rocket into Planetary Space by rocket pioneer Hermann Oberth. Evidently, by this time, he was already completely captivated by the idea of space travel.
And so, our Wernher—driven by the dream of one day leading an expedition to the Moon—chose an unusual career for a Prussian baron: engineering. From then on, he devoted more effort to physics and mathematics to pursue rocket engineering.

Later, von Braun attended the Technische Hochschule Berlin, where he joined the Society for Space Travel, and in the spring of 1932, he graduated with a degree in mechanical engineering. His first encounter with rocket technology convinced him that space exploration would require far more than just the application of current engineering techniques. Eager to learn more about physics, chemistry, and astronomy, von Braun enrolled in doctoral studies at the Friedrich Wilhelm University in Berlin, earning a doctorate in physics in 1934.

And then history intervened in von Braun’s grand dream—for the first, but not the last, time. The Nazis came to power in Germany.

Hitler and World War II

Even before the warWar (General Definition) War is a state of armed conflict be... More, von Braun became a member of the SS. In 1933–34, he was part of an SS equestrian group in Berlin, though it’s worth noting for clarity that National Socialist organizations at the time pressured students who weren’t members to participate in paramilitary activities.

Von Braun’s star was rising, and at the age of twenty-five, in 1937, he became the director of the new army rocket center in Peenemünde on the Baltic Sea. Unsurprisingly, the Nazis—seeing him as a prominent figure—again urged him to join their ranks and become a party member. Von Braun agreed without much hesitation, later explaining it as a devotion to his work: “Refusal would have meant abandoning the work of my life. So I decided to join. My membership in the party did not involve any political activity.”

In the spring of 1940, another offer came from the SS, this time from Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler himself, who wanted him to return to the SS, now as an officer. He consulted his military superior, Walter Dornberger, who advised him that refusing would be politically disadvantageous for the rocket program. Lacking the conviction to say no, von Braun agreed again, though he likely could have found a way to extricate himself. By 1943, thanks to Himmler’s recognition of his rocket work, he rose to the rank of Sturmbannführer (Major).

In October 1942, the V-2 rocket completed its first successful flight. Hitler, motivated by the worsening warWar (General Definition) War is a state of armed conflict be... More situation, soon approved the rocket’s production despite its technological immaturity. Initially, von Braun was outside the decision-making chain regarding camp laborers, but the new situation gave him direct contact with them and decision-making power over their deployment. Before a West German court in 1969, he admitted to seeing the horrific conditions in the underground rocket factory, though he never acknowledged witnessing dead bodies or receiving reports of sabotage that led to the hanging of prisoners.

He was never a fervent Nazi—politics didn’t interest him, and he spoke of the war’s developments with disdain, which ultimately led to his arrest and ten-day imprisonment by the Gestapo in 1944, without ever learning why. He was freed through the intervention of General Dornberger and Armaments Minister Albert Speer, who vouched for his indispensability to the V-2 program.

The V-2 rockets, developed under Wernher von Braun’s leadership during World WarWar (General Definition) War is a state of armed conflict be... More II, caused significant loss of life. Exact casualty figures are hard to pin down due to scattered records and varying estimates, but historians agree on the following numbers:

• Civilian casualties: The V-2s were primarily deployed against Great Britain (especially London) and Belgium (Antwerp). They are estimated to have killed approximately 9,000 to 10,000 people, including civilians and soldiers. The greatest losses were in London, with around 2,700 deaths, and Antwerp, where the death toll exceeded 4,000.
• Forced labor: Beyond the direct victims of the attacks, those who died during production must also be considered. In the underground Mittelwerk complex, where the V-2s were manufactured, over 60,000 concentration camp prisoners (e.g., from Dora-Mittelbau) worked. Of these, an estimated 20,000 to 25,000 died from exhaustion, disease, and mistreatment.

And then history struck again. The warWar (General Definition) War is a state of armed conflict be... More in Europe ended, and the Nazi regime was defeated.

The End of the War and the Start of an American Career

On May 2, 1945, in the Alps, von Braun surrendered to the American army along with others. The Americans quickly realized whom they were dealing with, and on June 20, 1945, U.S. Secretary of State Edward Stettinius Jr. approved the transfer of von Braun and his specialists to the United States.

In September 1945, von Braun and other members of the Peenemünde team signed a work contract with the U.S. Army Ordnance Corps. A new chapter awaited von Braun—one that would prove far more successful.

After the warWar (General Definition) War is a state of armed conflict be... More, as part of Operation Paperclip, Wernher von Braun relocated to the United States, where he became a key figure in NASA. He developed the Saturn V rocket, which enabled the Apollo missions and the first Moon landing in 1969, significantly contributing to the American space program and the popularization of space exploration.

He initially worked on developing intermediate-range ballistic missiles. In 1958, his team successfully developed the Jupiter-C rocket, which launched the first American satellite, Explorer 1, as a response to the Soviet Sputnik. In 1960, his team was integrated into the newly established NASA, where he became the director of the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville. As the chief architect of the Saturn V rocket, he enabled the Apollo 11 mission to land on the Moon in 1969. This achievement cemented his place in history as one of the “fathers” of American space exploration.

To the Moon! And Beyond?

His dream of helping humanity set foot on the Moon became reality on July 16, 1969, when the Saturn V rocket launched the Apollo 11 crew on its historic eight-day mission. Throughout the program, Saturn V rockets enabled six teams of astronauts to reach the Moon’s surface.

The dream he had pondered as a boy for days on end was fulfilled. Following the successful Apollo 11 mission in July 1969, which brought the first human landing on the Moon, Wernher von Braun continued working for NASA.
He was a true visionary—one of the first to advocate for ambitious plans for further space exploration, including a permanent orbital station, flights to Mars, and the development of reusable space shuttles.

In 1970, he was promoted to Deputy Associate Administrator at NASA in Washington, D.C., where he was tasked with coordinating the planning of future missions. However, this role was more administrative and limited his direct influence on technical development. Frustrated by the lack of support for grand projects, he didn’t stay at NASA long. In May 1972, at the age of 60, von Braun left NASA.

He transitioned to the private sector as Vice President for Engineering and Development at Fairchild Industries in Maryland. There, he contributed to the development of satellite technologies and commercial space projects, though his failing health increasingly restricted his activity.

Even after leaving NASA, he continued to promote space exploration. He wrote articles, gave lectures, and appeared in the media to sustain public interest in flights to Mars and other goals. In 1973, he was diagnosed with kidney cancer. After several years of battling the disease, he died on June 16, 1977, in Alexandria, Virginia, at the age of 65.

And His Nazi Past?

Even in the U.S., von Braun was viewed ambivalently. Nevertheless, for many, he was—and remains—a charismatic visionary and Cold WarWar (General Definition) War is a state of armed conflict be... More hero who helped America surpass the Soviets in the space race.