Werner Von Braun

1912-1977

Engineer

Werner von Braun was born in Wirsitz Prussia on March 23, 1912. From the time he was kid he was obsessed with rockets and space travel. He joined the Nazis party in November 1937. He developed rockets for the German Army.

After World War II, German-born rocket engineer Werner von Braun came to the US, where he developed rockets for the United States military and for NASA. His history of having been a member of the Nazi party and a key figure in the development of Germany's rocket program during the war made him a controversial figure. It was later calculated that thousands of people enslaved by the Nazis had been killed working in von Braun's missile projects, in addition to the thousands killed in London from the notorious V-2 missile, developed by von Braun. The V-2 was also used against Allied troops after D-Day.