• oatscoop@midwest.social
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          2 days ago

          Despite this, the affected specialists and their families were doing well compared to citizens of the Soviet Union and the Soviet Zone, apart from the suffering of deportation and isolation. The specialists earned more than their Soviet counterparts. The scientists, technicians and skilled workers were assigned to individual projects and working groups, primarily in the areas of Aeronautics and rocket technology, nuclear research, Chemistry and Optics. The stay was given for about five years.

          After this period of intellectual quarantine had passed, the specialists returned to Germany between 1950 and 1958, the majority of them before 1954. Before leaving, they were taught to keep their years in the Soviet Union secret. Some specialists received chairs in GDR universities (e.g., Werner Albring, Waldemar Wolff), became an East German party official like Erich Apel. Otherwise the GDR had difficulties to offer adequate jobs because the industry was mostly down. Brunolf Baade was given responsibility for developing and producing a passenger jet. A portion of about 10% made it to West Germany, Austria or the US, among them Fritz Karl Preikschat, Helmut Gröttrup and Kurt Magnus.

          Yeah, sounds like the Soviets punished them harshly. Totally treated them like “resources” and not better than most of their own citizens.

    • dogbert@lemmy.zipOP
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      4 days ago

      lmao this is literally the USSR using Nazis for labour. Big fucking deal 🤣

      They’d be workin my camps too. No shame in that.

      Comparing this to high ranked, influential positions they got in America is just a coping mechanism. Look what they’ve done to your brain dude…

    • Brave Little Hitachi Wand@feddit.uk
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      2 days ago

      Part of the trouble is that Nazism had co-opted so many people by then that to literally murder them all would be another Holocaust. At the end of hostilities, nobody had the stomach to murder like 10% of all Germans.

      The third reich did have its fifth columnists however, and people too often give them short shrift in their recollections. If there were a few more in the right place, I like to think a lot of lives could have been saved, maybe the whole thing stopped earlier.

  • Lembot_0005@lemy.lol
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    4 days ago

    But what is the result? Where are more nazies nowadays, in Europe or in Russia, hmm?

    • NoneOfUrBusiness@fedia.io
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      2 days ago

      Gee, I wonder if there’s a formative event in the early 90s that could’ve had some effect on this. Maybe a decline in quality of life that would make people liable to embrace a rightwing dictator. Perhaps neoliberals could be involved? Nah, no way.

    • dogbert@lemmy.zipOP
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      4 days ago

      Just so we’re clear, you think giving Nazis high ranking positions in western countries was a good idea?