Show Notes
For students of history and consumers of pop culture, the ‘Nazi doctor’ is a familiar figure -- the ultimate embodiment of pure evil. In fact, several of the fictionalized Nazi villians in the Amazon original drama series HUNTERS are doctors.
But how did Nazi Germany’s doctors become symbols of Third Reich depravity? Why did they have such a central role in Hitler’s regime? And what atrocities did they commit in the name of “science?”
Comedian Michael Ian Black and historian Monique Laney tackle these disturbing topics and difficult questions with help from author and historian Maura Phillips Mackowski.
Additionally, while examining another real-life truth woven into HUNTERS, Michael and Monique explore Operation Paperclip’s connection to Edgewood Arsenal, a military research facility where unethical human experimentation continued well after World War II...and on American soil.
This is a paid podcast funded by Amazon Studios. The Los Angeles Times newsroom was not involved in the production of this podcast. The views expressed on this podcast are not necessarily the views of Amazon Studios or the Los Angeles Times.
Produced with support from Treefort Media.
More from Paperclip: America's Nazi Scientists
"Foretold" is the newest podcast from the L.A. Times, and we're sharing a preview of the first episode with you here today.
On this special Bonus Episode of PAPERCLIP, host Michael Ian Black talks with David Weil and Nikki Toscano, the showrunners and executive producers of Amazon Studios’ Emmy©-eligible original drama series, HUNTERS.
Operation Paperclip began as a temporary program -- but before long, its German recruits were given a path to American citizenship, and men who worked for the Nazi regime suddenly became men who lived next door.
Rocket engineer Arthur Rudolph accompanied Wernher von Braun to the United States through Operation Paperclip after World War II. In Nazi Germany, Rudolph was the production manager for the V-2 missile program; in America, he became NASA’s project manager for the Saturn V, the rocket that put men on the Moon.
Even if you’ve never heard of Operation Paperclip, chances are you’ve heard of Wernher von Braun -- the visionary rocketeer whose brilliance brought us, literally, to the Moon and back.