Show Notes
As it follows an eclectic group of vigilantes in their mission to rid America of Nazi war criminals, the Amazon original drama series Hunters references Operation Paperclip, a secretive government program that brought the Third Reich’s most brilliant -- and often villainous -- minds to the United States after World War II.
Hunters is a work of fiction. But Operation Paperclip was real. As the Cold War heated up, America rushed to recruit Hitler’s best scientists, specialists, and engineers before they could fall into Soviet hands.
Operation Paperclip contributed to American advancements in rocketry, aviation, military technology, and chemical weapons. Still, difficult questions remain. Did the ends justify the means? Can science and technology be separated from politics? And, in the name of creating a better future, is it wise to ignore the past?
In PAPERCLIP, comedian Michael Ian Black joins historian Monique Laney to examine this little-known -- and truly shocking -- piece of American history, one episode at a time.
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.
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.
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.
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.