Description
Book SynopsisAt the end of the Second World War, Germany lay at the mercy of its occupiers, all of whom launched programmes of scientific and technological exploitation. Each occupying nation sought to bolster their own armouries and industries with the spoils of war, and Britain was no exception. Shrouded in secrecy yet directed at the top levels of government and driven by ingenuity from across the civil service and armed forces, Britain made exploitation a key priority. By examining factories and laboratories, confiscating prototypes and blueprints, and interrogating and even recruiting German experts, Britain sought to utilise the innovations of the last war to prepare for the next.
This ground-breaking book tells the full story of British exploitation for the first time, sheds new light on the legacies of the Second World War, and contributes to histories of intelligence, science, warfare and power in the midst of the twentieth century.
Trade ReviewThis book is not only a page turner for anyone interested in science, national security, and the postwar order, it also fills a void in our understanding of Britain’s role in exploiting Germany’s technological breakthroughs as it set out on a new role in world affairs.
- Jonathan Moreno, David and Lyn Silfen University Professor, University of Pennsylvania
In this thoroughly researched and engaging read, Hall argues that the British exploitation programme became primarily shaped by concerns about beating the Soviet Union to Germany’s treasure trove of science and technology. In doing so, this book makes a significant contribution to our understanding of the close of the Second World War and the origins of the Cold War.
- Brian Balmer, Professor of Science & Technology Studies, University College London
A scholarly history of the British exploitation of German science and technology after World War II is long overdue. Charlie Hall’s book is very well written, thoroughly researched, comprehensive, and balanced in its judgments. I recommend it to anyone interested in how the Allies seized and utilized German technology and personnel as the war ended and the Cold War began.
- Michael Neufeld, Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum
Hall has written a short but weighty book that should be on the reading list of any historian of science and technology, the Cold War, and international relations alike.
- Mario Daniels, Technology and Culture 62, no. 4
Table of ContentsAcknowledgements
Abbreviations
Introduction
Chapter One: The Scientific War
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- Science and Strategy
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- Spying on Science
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- Forerunners to Exploitation
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Chapter Two: The Origins of Exploitation
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- The Exploitation Idea
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- Wartime Deployment
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- Into the Reich
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Chapter Three: Exploitation in Earnest
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- Committees and Agencies
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- Investigators and Exploiters
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- Competition and Co-operation
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Chapter Four: The Spoils of War
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- Material Spoils
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- Chemical and Biological Warfare
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- Rocketry and Aeronautics
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Chapter Five: Exploiting Expertise
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- Dustbin and Epsilon
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- Detention and Interrogation in Germany
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- Detention and Interrogation in Britain
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Chapter Six: The Brain Drain
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- Defence Recruitment
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- Civil Recruitment
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- The Émigrés
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Chapter Seven: Allies and Rivals
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- The United States
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- Europe
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- The Global Diaspora
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Chapter Eight: A New Adversary
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- Working with the Soviets
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- ‘A Completely Open Race’
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- Denial Policy
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Chapter Nine: Exploitation and the Occupation
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- The British Zone
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- Control of Science
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- Denazification and Demilitarisation
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Chapter Ten: Exploitation in Context
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- Reparations
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- Legality and Morality
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- The Public Domain
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Conclusion
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- Epilogue I: The End of Exploitation
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- Epilogue II: Impacts and Legacies
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- Concluding Remarks
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Bibliography
Index
