Magnus von Braun
Encyclopedia
Magnus "Mac" Freiherr von Braun (10 May 1919 – 21 June 2003) was a German
chemical engineer, Luftwaffe
aviator
, and rocket scientist at Peenemünde
, the Mittelwerk
, and after emigrating to the United States via Operation Paperclip
, at Fort Bliss
. He was the brother of Wernher von Braun
.
, Pomerania, to Magnus Freiherr von Braun
and Emmy von Quistrop. After completing boarding school at Hermann Lietz-Schule in Spiekeroog
, he began his studies in 1937 at Technische Universität München. There he remained after receiving his Masters degree in organic chemistry, and became an assistant to Nobel laureate Hans Fischer
.
Von Braun arrived at Peenemünde in July 1943 at the request of Wernher von Braun. In March 1944 he was arrested with fellow rocket specialists Wernher von Braun, Klaus Riedel, Helmut Gröttrup, and Hannes Lüersen, but was later released. In late summer 1944 he transferred to the Mittelwerk
where he engineered V-2 rocket
gyroscopes, servomotors, and turbopumps:
, Magnus von Braun was at the Behelfsheim in Weilheim
when Wernher von Braun arrived there from Oberammergau
on April 14, 1945. The next day, Magnus had arrived at the Haus Ingeborg in Oberjoch by the end of the day. When Huzel became von Braun's assistant, Dr. Kurt Debus became Engineer in Charge of Test Stand VII
-- Huzel had served since May 1944 after replacing his old friend Hartmut Kuechen. The Mittelwerk was designated for production after the August 17, 1944 Operation Hydra
bombing of Peenemunde, and production started well afterward, so Magnus von Braun's claim that he was selected to transfer in October 1943 is inaccurate. After hearing the radio report of Hitler's death, Wernher von Braun announced to his group early in the morning of May 3, 1945 that "Magnus, who speaks English, has just left by bicycle to establish contact with the American forces at Reutte. We cannot wait here forever." "It was quite courageous for Magnus to come down on his bicycle and find the American troops," said Dr. Ernst Stuhlinger, member of the V-2 team. "He had a white handkerchief tied to the handlebars of the bicycle and that was all he had to protect him."
About two in the afternoon, Magnus returned, "I think it went well, I have safe conduct passes and they want us for further interrogation." The Mission Accomplished: The Battle History of the 44th Infantry Division claim that there was a "hectic night of interrogation, plans and counter-proposals" after Magnus von Braun rode his bike downhill in the morning and met members of the "Anti-tank Company, 324th Infantry" "before he went out and in a short time returned with his brother" is inaccurate: Huzel, McGovern, & Ordway, in their researched works, distinctly state Magnus returned about 2 in the afternoon the same day.
Dieter Huzel described the surrender of the group: "Thus, in the dull, rainy, late afternoon of Wednesday, May 2, 1945, seven men [Magnus & Wernher, Walter Dornberger
, Axster, Huzel, Lindenberg, & Tessman] ... began their lonely descent from Adolf Hitler Pass toward ... Schattwald
. ... Suddenly, around a curve, an American soldier ... waved us to a stop. Magnus got out and showed a piece of paper to the guard ... After about a half an hour, ... we were flanked by two ... "jeeps," ... We reached Reutte after dark. ... The next morning ... we emerged from the mess hall ... several Army photographers were on hand and spent some time taking pictures." During a photo shoot the next day, Magnus von Braun commented "We're celebrating now, but I'll bet they will throw telephone books at us if we ever reach New York. By noon, Magnus von Braun (along with Axster, Huzel, Lindenberg, & Tessman) arrived in Peiting
where forty other Peenemünde personnel already had arrived, and the Germans departed for Garmisch-Partenkirchen
on May 8. At that location, Magnus von Braun adapted The Importance of Being Earnest
to a musical show and played the leading male role.
and was soon at work at Fort Bliss
, Texas
and later at Redstone Arsenal
in Huntsville, Alabama
. He became a US citizen and produced a version of A Christmas Carol
, but with the future in the year 2000 and 88-year-old Wernher von Braun seeing man's first flight into space. Von Braun was interrogated as a witness for the Andrae war crimes trial in which Mittelwerk
general manager Georg Rickhey was acquitted. Fort Bliss Army CIC agents believed Magnus von Braun was a "dangerous German Nazi", with one agent remarking, "his type is a worse threat to security than a half a dozen discredited SS Generals."
In 1955, he began a career with Chrysler
-- first in the missile division and then in the automotive division. After living in Michigan, he relocated to Coventry
to serve as Chrysler UK export director. Magnus also resided in Huntsville, Alabama
, for a while. He retired to Arizona in 1975, where he resided until his death.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
chemical engineer, Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
aviator
Aviator
An aviator is a person who flies an aircraft. The first recorded use of the term was in 1887, as a variation of 'aviation', from the Latin avis , coined in 1863 by G. de la Landelle in Aviation Ou Navigation Aérienne...
, and rocket scientist at Peenemünde
Peenemünde
The Peenemünde Army Research Center was founded in 1937 as one of five military proving grounds under the Army Weapons Office ....
, the Mittelwerk
Mittelwerk
Central Works was a World War II factory that used Mittelbau-Dora forced labor in 2 main tunnels in the Kohnstein. The underground facility produced V-2 rockets, V-1 flying bombs, and other Nazi weapons.-Mittelwerk GmbH:...
, and after emigrating to the United States via Operation Paperclip
Operation Paperclip
Operation Paperclip was the Office of Strategic Services program used to recruit the scientists of Nazi Germany for employment by the United States in the aftermath of World War II...
, at Fort Bliss
Fort Bliss
Fort Bliss is a United States Army post in the U.S. states of New Mexico and Texas. With an area of about , it is the Army's second-largest installation behind the adjacent White Sands Missile Range. It is FORSCOM's largest installation, and has the Army's largest Maneuver Area behind the...
. He was the brother of Wernher von Braun
Wernher von Braun
Wernher Magnus Maximilian, Freiherr von Braun was a German rocket scientist, aerospace engineer, space architect, and one of the leading figures in the development of rocket technology in Nazi Germany during World War II and in the United States after that.A former member of the Nazi party,...
.
Biography
Von Braun was born in GreifswaldGreifswald
Greifswald , officially, the University and Hanseatic City of Greifswald is a town in northeastern Germany. It is situated in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, at an equal distance of about from Germany's two largest cities, Berlin and Hamburg. The town borders the Baltic Sea, and is crossed...
, Pomerania, to Magnus Freiherr von Braun
Magnus von Braun (senior)
Magnus Alexander Maximilian Freiherr von Braun was a German jurist and politician.-Biography:Braun was born at his family's manor of Neucken, an estate the von Brauns had owned since 1803, near Pr...
and Emmy von Quistrop. After completing boarding school at Hermann Lietz-Schule in Spiekeroog
Spiekeroog
Spiekeroog is one of the East Frisian Islands, off the North Sea coast of Germany. It is situated between Langeoog to its west, and Wangerooge to its east. The island belongs to the district of Wittmund, in Lower Saxony in Germany. The only village on the island is also called...
, he began his studies in 1937 at Technische Universität München. There he remained after receiving his Masters degree in organic chemistry, and became an assistant to Nobel laureate Hans Fischer
Hans Fischer
Hans Fischer was a German organic chemist and the recipient of the 1930 Nobel Prize for Chemistry.-Early years:...
.
Von Braun arrived at Peenemünde in July 1943 at the request of Wernher von Braun. In March 1944 he was arrested with fellow rocket specialists Wernher von Braun, Klaus Riedel, Helmut Gröttrup, and Hannes Lüersen, but was later released. In late summer 1944 he transferred to the Mittelwerk
Mittelwerk
Central Works was a World War II factory that used Mittelbau-Dora forced labor in 2 main tunnels in the Kohnstein. The underground facility produced V-2 rockets, V-1 flying bombs, and other Nazi weapons.-Mittelwerk GmbH:...
where he engineered V-2 rocket
V-2 rocket
The V-2 rocket , technical name Aggregat-4 , was a ballistic missile that was developed at the beginning of the Second World War in Germany, specifically targeted at London and later Antwerp. The liquid-propellant rocket was the world's first long-range combat-ballistic missile and first known...
gyroscopes, servomotors, and turbopumps:
Surrender at Reutte
After evacuating from NordhausenNordhausen
Nordhausen is a town at the southern edge of the Harz Mountains, in the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Nordhausen...
, Magnus von Braun was at the Behelfsheim in Weilheim
Weilheim
Weilheim is the name of several towns in Germany:*Weilheim in Oberbayern, capital of the district Weilheim-Schongau*Weilheim, Baden-Württemberg, a municipality in the district of Waldshut*Weilheim an der Teck, a town in the district Esslingen...
when Wernher von Braun arrived there from Oberammergau
Oberammergau
Oberammergau is a municipality in the district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, in Bavaria, Germany. The town is famous for its production of a Passion Play, its woodcarvers, and the NATO School.-Passion Play:...
on April 14, 1945. The next day, Magnus had arrived at the Haus Ingeborg in Oberjoch by the end of the day. When Huzel became von Braun's assistant, Dr. Kurt Debus became Engineer in Charge of Test Stand VII
Test Stand VII
Test Stand VII was the principal V-2 rocket testing facility at Peenemünde Airfield and was capable of static firing of rocket motors up to 200 tons thrust...
-- Huzel had served since May 1944 after replacing his old friend Hartmut Kuechen. The Mittelwerk was designated for production after the August 17, 1944 Operation Hydra
Bombing of Peenemünde in World War II
Operation Hydra was a Royal Air Force attack on the Peenemünde Army Research Center on the night of 17/18 August 1943. It began the Operation Crossbow strategic bombing campaign against Nazi Germany's V-weapon programme...
bombing of Peenemunde, and production started well afterward, so Magnus von Braun's claim that he was selected to transfer in October 1943 is inaccurate. After hearing the radio report of Hitler's death, Wernher von Braun announced to his group early in the morning of May 3, 1945 that "Magnus, who speaks English, has just left by bicycle to establish contact with the American forces at Reutte. We cannot wait here forever." "It was quite courageous for Magnus to come down on his bicycle and find the American troops," said Dr. Ernst Stuhlinger, member of the V-2 team. "He had a white handkerchief tied to the handlebars of the bicycle and that was all he had to protect him."
About two in the afternoon, Magnus returned, "I think it went well, I have safe conduct passes and they want us for further interrogation." The Mission Accomplished: The Battle History of the 44th Infantry Division claim that there was a "hectic night of interrogation, plans and counter-proposals" after Magnus von Braun rode his bike downhill in the morning and met members of the "Anti-tank Company, 324th Infantry" "before he went out and in a short time returned with his brother" is inaccurate: Huzel, McGovern, & Ordway, in their researched works, distinctly state Magnus returned about 2 in the afternoon the same day.
Dieter Huzel described the surrender of the group: "Thus, in the dull, rainy, late afternoon of Wednesday, May 2, 1945, seven men [Magnus & Wernher, Walter Dornberger
Walter Dornberger
Major-General Dr Walter Robert Dornberger was a German Army artillery officer whose career spanned World Wars I and II. He was a leader of Germany's V-2 rocket program and other projects at the Peenemünde Army Research Center....
, Axster, Huzel, Lindenberg, & Tessman] ... began their lonely descent from Adolf Hitler Pass toward ... Schattwald
Schattwald
Schattwald is a municipality in the Austrian district of Reutte, Tyrol.Schattwald is home to Wannenjoch Mountain House, which is a tourist resort that overlooks the ski valley below....
. ... Suddenly, around a curve, an American soldier ... waved us to a stop. Magnus got out and showed a piece of paper to the guard ... After about a half an hour, ... we were flanked by two ... "jeeps," ... We reached Reutte after dark. ... The next morning ... we emerged from the mess hall ... several Army photographers were on hand and spent some time taking pictures." During a photo shoot the next day, Magnus von Braun commented "We're celebrating now, but I'll bet they will throw telephone books at us if we ever reach New York. By noon, Magnus von Braun (along with Axster, Huzel, Lindenberg, & Tessman) arrived in Peiting
Peiting
Peiting is a municipality in the Weilheim-Schongau district, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated on the right bank of the Lech, 3 km southeast of Schongau, and 17 km west of Weilheim in Oberbayern.- References :...
where forty other Peenemünde personnel already had arrived, and the Germans departed for Garmisch-Partenkirchen
Garmisch-Partenkirchen
Garmisch-Partenkirchen is a mountain resort town in Bavaria, southern Germany. It is the administrative centre of the district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, in the Oberbayern region, and the district is on the border with Austria...
on May 8. At that location, Magnus von Braun adapted The Importance of Being Earnest
The Importance of Being Earnest
The Importance of Being Earnest, A Trivial Comedy for Serious People is a play by Oscar Wilde. First performed on 14 February 1895 at St. James's Theatre in London, it is a farcical comedy in which the protagonists maintain fictitious personae in order to escape burdensome social obligations...
to a musical show and played the leading male role.
Operation Paperclip
Von Braun arrived in New York on 16 November 1945 aboard the SS ArgentinaSS Argentina (1929)
One of a trio of American-built passenger liners on the US-South America route, the Argentina was owned and operated by Moore-McCormack Steamship Lines and sailed this route until she was laid up in 1958.-The Pennsylvania:...
and was soon at work at Fort Bliss
Fort Bliss
Fort Bliss is a United States Army post in the U.S. states of New Mexico and Texas. With an area of about , it is the Army's second-largest installation behind the adjacent White Sands Missile Range. It is FORSCOM's largest installation, and has the Army's largest Maneuver Area behind the...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
and later at Redstone Arsenal
Redstone Arsenal
Redstone Arsenal is a United States Army base and a census-designated place adjacent to Huntsville in Madison County, Alabama, United States and is part of the Huntsville-Decatur Combined Statistical Area...
in Huntsville, Alabama
Huntsville, Alabama
Huntsville is a city located primarily in Madison County in the central part of the far northern region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Huntsville is the county seat of Madison County. The city extends west into neighboring Limestone County. Huntsville's population was 180,105 as of the 2010 Census....
. He became a US citizen and produced a version of A Christmas Carol
A Christmas Carol
A Christmas Carol is a novella by English author Charles Dickens first published by Chapman & Hall on 17 December 1843. The story tells of sour and stingy Ebenezer Scrooge's ideological, ethical, and emotional transformation after the supernatural visits of Jacob Marley and the Ghosts of...
, but with the future in the year 2000 and 88-year-old Wernher von Braun seeing man's first flight into space. Von Braun was interrogated as a witness for the Andrae war crimes trial in which Mittelwerk
Mittelwerk
Central Works was a World War II factory that used Mittelbau-Dora forced labor in 2 main tunnels in the Kohnstein. The underground facility produced V-2 rockets, V-1 flying bombs, and other Nazi weapons.-Mittelwerk GmbH:...
general manager Georg Rickhey was acquitted. Fort Bliss Army CIC agents believed Magnus von Braun was a "dangerous German Nazi", with one agent remarking, "his type is a worse threat to security than a half a dozen discredited SS Generals."
In 1955, he began a career with Chrysler
Chrysler
Chrysler Group LLC is a multinational automaker headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan, USA. Chrysler was first organized as the Chrysler Corporation in 1925....
-- first in the missile division and then in the automotive division. After living in Michigan, he relocated to Coventry
Coventry
Coventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although...
to serve as Chrysler UK export director. Magnus also resided in Huntsville, Alabama
Huntsville, Alabama
Huntsville is a city located primarily in Madison County in the central part of the far northern region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Huntsville is the county seat of Madison County. The city extends west into neighboring Limestone County. Huntsville's population was 180,105 as of the 2010 Census....
, for a while. He retired to Arizona in 1975, where he resided until his death.