Polizist in Augsburg zu Bewährungsstrafe verurteilt, nachdem er bei einem Fußballspiel die Waffe benutzt und Kollegen verletzt hatte
Polizist in Augsburg zu Bewährungsstrafe verurteilt, nachdem er bei einem Fußballspiel die Waffe benutzt und Kollegen verletzt hatte
Can’t watch the video right now, but I can say that I’m very conflicted about the guy. I visited Mittelbau Dora not too long ago, which is the underground production site they dug into a mountain to produce the V2 rockets when things had gone sideways in the war.
Historians pretty much agree that von Braun had visited the site on multiple occasions and must have known that it was staffed with forced laborers under horrendous conditions. He actually requested those people if I remember right. He was also a party member and ranked pretty high in the Nazi leadership.
From what I know about him though, I get the feeling that he was not among the worst at the time. Was he okay with forced labor dying in the production facilities he was ultimately responsible for? Probably, likely even. On the other hand, he was an incredible scientist and engineer and probably had to make the best of the political circumstances at the time, while he was driven by his crazy ambition to advance his field and build the awesome jet engines that he dreamed about.
The US just flying him over without any consequences for his actions was shitty, but then again: Would it have been better to let the Soviets snag him first? Probably not. He’s one of the figures you just cannot put in either the “Good” or “Evil” drawer.