Georg Rickhey
One of the German engineers brought to the United States was the Director of the German company which manufactured the V-1 and V-2 rockets, Mittelwerk GmbH. Mittelwerk was located in Mittelbau-Dora, a concentration camp which operated as a sub-camp of Buchenwald. Mittelwerk used slave labor from the camp to build the weapons which would later be launched against the allies. Approximately one third of the prisoners sent to Mittelbau-Dora died there.
Rickhey joined the Nazi Party in 1931. He held several different engineering positions in pre-war Germany, rising in both his career and in the Nazi hierarchy. During the war he worked in the Reich Ministry for Armament and Munitions. Rickhey became one of Germany’s leading technical experts in the construction of underground bunkers.
Rickhey became the Director of Mittelwerk in 1944, as production of the V-2 rocket was increasing. Using the slave labor provided by the concentration camp he introduced draconian measures to increase production. His work led to his being awarded the Knight’s Cross of the War Merit Cross – an award which was available to both civilian and military personnel. Hermann Goering requested that Hitler grant him the same award, as its rarity gave it a special panache in German society. Hitler refused.
Rickhey was taken into custody by the Americans in 1945 and due to his expertise in setting up and operating the production lines for rockets he was transferred under Operation Paperclip to Wright Field in Ohio in 1945. The United States meanwhile established the Dachau Trials – which were held by the United States Military rather than by an International Tribunal as at Nuremberg – which included trials of defendants from Mittelbau-Dora. As a result of testimony given there Rickhey was indicted and returned to Germany under arrest in 1947.
Rickhey was charged with creating the appalling working conditions at Mittelwerk, the use of slave labor, and the witnessing of Gestapo and SS executions of laborers. At the end of December 1947 he was acquitted of all charges and following his release he opted to remain in Germany.