Conspiracy: The CIA and the Nazis

In 1945, the US had an inadequate spy network and very little information on the Soviets. Nazis had the specialized scientific and intelligence knowledge the US desperately needed to face the growing Soviet threat.

Reinhard Gehlen, an intelligence officer for Hitler's German General staff was appointed head of the US intelligence program in Germany to spy on the Russians. His reports influenced much of the information the US was receiving about the Soviets.

At the same time, hundreds of former Nazi scientists and engineers were welcomed onto American soil in September of 1946. President Truman's guideline for what became known as Project Paperclip was that no war criminals were to be accepted into the program. But this restriction was not followed.

One of the scientists brought to the United States was Arthur Rudolph. Rudolph had been in charge of slave laborers forced to work under horrendous conditions in order to mass produce the V-2 rocket. All this was done underground in the Mittelwerk tunnels near the Dora Nordhausen concentration camp in Germany. Historians estimate more than 20,000 men died under Rudolph's management.

In the waning days of the Cold War, new questions emerged about the United States' covert relationships with former Nazi scientists and intelligence officers. A decade later, on June 19, 1998, a bill was signed into law mandating that documents concerning the recruitment of former Nazis into various sectors of the US government be declassified. The law forced the CIA, the US Army and other government organizations to hand over their documents.

This information revealed to the public that many of the reports from Gehlen's spy organization were indeed false. Did the ends justify the means? Just how far should the US go to partner with one former enemy to fight another?

http://www.thehistorychannel.co.uk/site/tv_guide/full_details/Crime/programme_2708.php