12. Did Wernher von Braun’s Good Outweigh His Evil?
Wernher von Braun was put in charge of the Saturn V rockets that sent the Apollo Program’s spacecraft to the Moon. In recognition of his services, he was awarded the National Medal of Science in 1975. Von Braun thus presents a conundrum and a moral dilemma. He is a pioneer who undoubtedly contributed much to the advancement of mankind in the space sciences. If our species ever become a multi-planetary one – something many scientists see as the only safeguard against our extinction in the next millennium – it will be thanks in large part to von Braun.
It is no exaggeration to say that von Braun was history’s most important and influential rocket engineer and space advocate. So there is no question that the man did a lot of good in his life. However, does that absolve him of his personal responsibility for having gone along with the Nazis? Does it wash away the stain of having been a loyal Nazi and member of the SS? Does it cleanse him of the evil of having been responsible for the deaths of tens of thousands of slave workers who perished while building his precious rockets? Was Wernher von Braun a Nazi villain, space hero, or both?