‘A Completely Open Race’: Anglo–Soviet Competition over German Military Science and Technology, 1944–1949

Abstract

In the period immediately following the Second World War, during which Germany was occupied by the four victorious Allies, fierce competition erupted between them over the spoils of German military science and technology. Among this four-power squabbling, the British and Soviet authorities engaged in a particularly desperate struggle, especially over recruitment of expert German personnel, which they felt might give them the edge in any future conflict. This article explores the policies which arose from this struggle and shows that the first act of the Cold War arms race played out most vividly amongst the ruins of the Third Reich.

‘The Other End of a Trajectory’: Operation Backfire and the German Origins of Britain’s Ballistic Missile Programme

“…This need was sharpened by Operation Osoaviakhim, the Soviets' mass deportation of German scientific and technical workers from occupied Germany to the USSR, which they carried out in late October 1946. 113 Partially in response to this drastic action, on 11 December, the Defence Committee of the Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Clement Attlee, agreed that 'it was necessary to deny to the Russians those German scientists and technicians, within our influence, who could contribute substantially to the building up of Russian war potential.' Schemes were developed to facilitate this 'denial policy' and they did have some successes.…”