List of Germans transported to the USSR via the Operation Osoaviakhim explained

Operation Osoaviakhim was a secret Soviet operation under which more than 2,500 former Nazi German specialists (; i.e. scientists, engineers and technicians who worked in specialist areas) from companies and institutions relevant to military and economic policy in the Soviet occupation zone of Germany (SBZ) and Berlin, as well as around 4,000 more family members, totalling more than 6,000 people, were transported from former Nazi Germany as war reparations to the Soviet Union. It took place in the early morning hours of October 22, 1946 when MVD (previously NKVD) and Soviet Army units under the direction of the Soviet Military Administration in Germany (SMAD), headed by Ivan Serov, rounded up German scientists and transported them by rail to the USSR.^{[1] [2] [3]}

Much related equipment was also moved, the aim being to literally transplant research and production research centers such as the V-2 rocket center of Mittelwerk, from Germany to the Soviet Union, and collect as much material as possible from test centers such as the Luftwaffe's central military aviation test center at Erprobungstelle Rechlin, taken by the Red Army on 2 May 1945.

In the night of 21 October 1946, the day following the 1946 Soviet occupation zone state elections as well as the 1946 Berlin state election until 22. October 1946, soviet officers accompanied by a translator as well as an armed soldier stopped by the homes of German specialists, ordering them to pack their belongings. Trucks and trains had been prepared and were standing ready for the immediate transport of around 6,500 people against their will.

• 1,385 of these specialists had worked in the Ministry of Aviation developing planes as well as jet engines and Surface-to-air missiles,
• 515 in the Ministry of Armaments, primary concerned with development of liquid rocket engines,
• 358 in the Ministry of Telecommunications Industry (Radar and Telemetry),
• 81 in the Ministry of Chemical Industry,
• 62 in the Ministry of Shipbuilding (gyro and navigation systems),
• 27 in the Ministry of Agricultural Machinery (solid rocket engines),
• 14 in the Ministry of Cinema and Photographic Industry,
• 3 in the Ministry of Petroleum Industry and
• 107 in establishments of the Ministry of Light Industry.^[1]

Key recruits by Operation Osoaviakhim (incomplete list)

• Hugo Schmeisser - arms designer, developed the first successful assault rifle, StG 44.
• Werner Gruner - arms designer, known for designing the MG 42, one of Nazi Germany's main general-purpose machine guns. Became an emeritus professor at TU Dresden in East Germany.
• Karl-Hermann Geib - physical chemist who, in 1943, developed the Girdler sulfide process which is regarded as the most cost-effective process for producing heavy water.
• Erich Apel - former rocket engineer at the Peenemünde Army Research Center, worked in the V-2 rocket program with Wernher von Braun. Apel later became a high-ranking East German party official and minister.
• Helmut Gröttrup - engineer and rocket scientist, worked in the V-2 rocket program. Invented the smart card in 1967.
• Brunolf Baade - aeronautical engineer and former Nazi party member, led the development of the East German Baade 152, the first jet airliner to be developed in Germany.
• Ferdinand Brandner - aerospace designer and former SS Standartenführer (colonel), played a major role in the development of the Kuznetsov NK-12 turboprop engine used on Tupolev Tu-95 bombers.
• Hans Wocke - airplane designer, former chief developer at Junkers Aircraft and Motor Works.
• Siegfried Günter - aircraft designer responsible for the world's first rocket-powered and turbojet airframes, father of the "thrust modulation theory".
• Friedrich Asinger - chemist and former Nazi party member well known for his development of a multi-component reaction, the Asinger reaction for the synthesis of 3-thiazolines.
• Alfred Rieche - chemist who discovered the Rieche formylation, a type of formylation reaction.
• Fritz Karl Preikschat - electrical and telecommunications engineer, invented an improved dot matrix printing teletypewriter.

Jet engine and aviation industry

Affected facilities

• Arado Flugzeugwerke, Branch Brandenburg-Briest
• Askania Werke AG, Berlin-Friedenau
• BMW, Unseburg bei Staßfurt
• DVL, Berlin-Adlershof
• Junkers, Dessau
• Heinkel-Werke Oranienburg, Oranienburg
• Heinkel-Werke, Rostock
• Zentralwerke Bleicherode (Merger of Institut Rabe and Institut Nordhausen, and Montania AG, Nordhausen)
• Siebel Flugzeugwerke, Halle
• Siemens & Halske, Berlin
• Airplane-OKB from Halle
• Instrumentation-OKB from Berlin
• OKB for Engines from Dessau
• OKB for Engines from Unseburg
• OKB for Diesel from Dessau

Locations of stay in the USSR

• Babuschkin near Moscow
• Yubileyny,
• Khimki,^[4] OKB-456
• Dserschinsk^[5]
• Gorodomlya Island – Island located on Lake Seliger,^[6] today Solnetschny, also referred to as Gorodomlya Branch of NII-88.
• Ilyinsky near Moscow
• Liskhimstroi, today Sievierodonetsk and the neighboring town of Rubizhne located in modern-day Ukraine
• Dubna,^[7] today Dubna 3, part of Dubna
• Podlipki, today Korolyov, sometimes referred to as Podlipki Branch of NII-88^{[8] [9]}
• Orekhovo-Zuyevo at the Klyazma River located in Moscow Oblast
• Sawjolowo, today part of Kimry located in Tver Oblast
• Tushino, north of Moscow
• Uprawlentschesk, today part of Samara short called Upra.
• Walentinowka
• Podberesje

Affected specialists (selection)

In the following List, duration of stay in the USSR is stated, if known.

• Dr., University of Hanover, Hannover (Aerodynamics Expert) (until June 1952)^{[10] [11]}
• Erich Apel, Linke-Hofmann-Werke, Breslau (until June 1952)^[12]
• Friedrich Asinger, Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg (until 1954)
• Brunolf Baade, Junkers, Dessau (from October 1946 to 1954)^[13]
• Georg Backhaus, Junkers, Dessau
• Werner Baum,^[4] Peenemünde Army Research Center, Karlshagen
• Josef Blass,^[12] Arado Flugzeugwerke, Branch Brandenburg an der Havel
• , Deutsche Versuchsanstalt für Luftfahrt, Berlin-Adlershof (until 1954)
• Hans Ulrich Brancke, Junkers, Dessau (until June 1952)^[14]
• Helmut Breuninger, Askania Werke AG, Berlin-Friedenau (until February 1958)
• Werner Buschbeck (1900–1974), Telefunken (Head of Transmitter development), Berlin
• Rudolf Coermann, Deutsche Versuchsanstalt für Luftfahrt, Berlin-Adlershof (Telemetry Specialist) (until June 1952)^[1]
• Gerhard Cordes, Junkers, Dessau
• , Radarspezialist, Institut Berlin (until 1958)
• Norbert Elsner, TH Dresden, Dresden (until June 1952)
• , AEG-Kabelwerk Oberspree, Berlin-Oberschöneweide (until 1951)
• , Ernst-Orlich Institut, Danzig (until 1956)
• Hellmut Frieser, TH Dresden, Dresden (until June 1952)
• Karl-Hermann Geib, Leunawerke, Leuna
• Siegfried Günter, Heinkel-Werke Oranienburg, Oranienburg (until 1954)
• Helmut Gröttrup, Peenemünde Army Research Center, Karlshagen (until November 1953)^[15]
• Heinz Hartlepp, Askania Werke AG, Berlin
• , TH Dresden, Dresden, und Junkers, Dessau (until June 1954)
• Paul Herold, Leunawerke, Leuna
• Dr. Johannes (Hans) Hoch, University of Göttingen, Göttingen (Chief Designer - Guidance and Control) (Died 1955 in the USSR)^{[1] [11] [12]}
• Heinz Jaffke (Construction of Testing Facilities) (until June 1952)^{[1] [12]}
• Alois Jasper, Mittelwerk GmbH (Final assembly) (until November 1953)^[1]
• , Telefunken and Askania Werke AG, Berlin (until February 1953)
• Prof. Alfred Klose, Versuchsstelle des Heereswaffenamts für Raketenversuche, Gottow (until June 1952)^[12]
• Kurt Kracheel, Ingenieurschule Gauß, Berlin^[1]
• Peter Lertes, Askania Werke AG, Berlin
• Dr. Kurt Magnus, University of Göttingen (until November 1953)^{[16] [12]}
• , TH Dresden, Dresden (until June 1952)
• Fritz Preikschat, Gesellschaft für elektroakustische und mechanische Apparate (GEMA), Berlin-Köpenick (until June 1952)^{[1] [12]}
• Karl Prestel, BMW, Unseburg bei Staßfurt
• Heinz Rössing, Siebel, Halle
• Alfred Scheibe, Junkers, Dessau
• Rudolf Scheinost, BMW, Staßfurt
• Prof., University of Greifswald, Greifswald (Guidance) (until November 1953)^[11]
• , Ernst Heinkel Flugzeugwerke, Rostock (until 1954)
• Werner Schulz, Peenemünde Army Research Center, Karlshagen (until June 1952)
• , Junkers, Dessau (until 1954)
• Willi Schwarz,^[4] Peenemünde Army Research Center, Karlshagen
• Heinrich Singer
• Karl Viktor Stahl (Specialist for starting procedures)^[1]
• Konrad Toebe, Arado Flugzeugwerke (Structural design of rockets, Statics)(until June 1952)^{[4] [11]}
• Dr. Karl-Joachim Umpfenbach, Physikalisch-Technische Reichsanstalt, Berlin (Chief Designer - Propulsion) (until November 1953)^[12]
• Fritz Viebach, Peenemünde Army Research Center, Karlshagen (until November 1953)^{[1] [12]}
• , DeTeWe Deutsche Telephonwerke und Kabelindustrie AG, Berlin (until June 1952)
• Hans Wocke, Junkers, Dessau
• Kurt Wohlfahrt (until November 1953)
• Dr. Waldemar Wolff, Krupp, Essen (Chief Designer) (until June 1952)^[11]

Optical and glass industry

Affected facilities

• Carl Zeiss AG, Jena
• Jenaer Glaswerk Schott & Gen., Jena

Locations of stay in the USSR

• Izium
• Leningrad, NII-380^{[17] [18]}
• Lytkarino
• Moscow
• Novosibirsk
• Kyiv^[19]
• Krasnogorsk^[20]
• Kolomna
• Zagorsk, today Sergiyev Posad

Affected specialists (selection)

• Horst Anschütz
• Oskar Bihlmeier
• Paul Gänswein^[20]
• Dr., TH Dresden und Zeiss Ikon, Dresden (until 1952)^{[11] [20]}
• Karl Gundlach
• Georg Günzerodt
• Prof. (until 1952)^[18]
• (until 1953)
• , Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, Jena (until 1953)
• Alfred Krohs
• Dr. Konrad Kühne^[18]
• Karl Linnemann
• Franz Peter
• Artur Pulz
• Willy Röger, Carl Zeiss Jena
• Herbet Schorch
• Wilhelm Friedrich Gottfried Schütz,^{[11] [21]} Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena
  • Harald Straubel
• Walter Süss
• Robert Tiedecken
• Hermann Weber (DKW Engineer) who died in captivity on 23 February 1948)
• Fritz Winter
• Karl Papello, Carl Zeiss Jena (until 1952)

Other affected facilities (incomplete)

Details as mentioned above are not known in this section.

• AEG-Kabelwerk Oberspree
• Hentschel, Staßfurt
• Filmfabrik Wolfen
• Farbfilmkopierwerk Sovexportfilm Berlin
• Telefunken, Berlin
• Wirkwarenfabrik Kötschen, Apolda
• Rheinmetall, Sömmerda
• Heavy Industry located in Chemnitz
• GEMA (Gesellschaft für elektroakustische und mechanische Apparate), Berlin-Köpenick
• Werke der IG Farbenindustrie AG: Leuna-Werke in Leuna, Buna-Werke in Schkopau, Farbenfabrik Wolfen, Elektrochemisches Kombinat Bitterfeld in Bitterfeld, Werke Ammendorf in Ammendorf, Werk Böhlen in Böhlen

Locations of stay in the USSR (selection)

• Svema in Shostka, Ukrainian SSR, Filmfabrik Wolfen#After World War II^[22]
• Gorki
• Zheleznodorozhnaya

Affected specialists (selection)

• , AEG-Kabelwerk Oberspree
• Paul Kotowski, Telefunken, AEG-Kabelwerk Oberspree
• , AEG-Kabelwerk Oberspree (until 1952)
• , Labor, Konstruktionsbüro und Versuchswerk Oberspree (LKVO) (until 1952)
• Alfred Rieche, I.G. Farben, Wolfen (until 1951)
• , Farbfilmkopierwerk Sovexportfilm Berlin (until 1950)
• , Technisches Projektbüro Berlin, Berlin-Schöneweide (until 1952)

See also

• Allied plans for German industry after World War II
• German influence on the Soviet space program
• Russian Alsos– German influence in Soviet program of nuclear weapons
• Operation Paperclip, US operation on German specialists
  • List of Germans relocated to the US via the Operation Paperclip

Notes and References

1. Book: Uhl , Matthias . 2001 . Stalins V-2. Der Technologietransfer der deutschen Fernlenkwaffentechnik in die UdSSR und der Aufbau der sowjetischen Raketenindustrie 1945 bis 1959 . German . live . Bernard & Graefe Verlag . 978-3-7637-6214-9 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220503063042/http://epizodsspace.airbase.ru/bibl/inostr-yazyki/nemets/Uhl_Stalins_V-2_2001.pdf . 3 May 2022.
2. Web site: Operation "Osoaviakhim". Russian space historian Anatoly Zak. May 4, 2018.
3. Exorcising Hitler; The Occupation and Denazification of Germany, Frederick Taylor, Bloomsbury Press
4. Web site: Olaf Przybilski. 2002-08-13. 2020-07-20. The Germans and the Development of Rocket Engines in the USSR (Journal of the British Interplanetary Society, Vol. 55, pg. 404 - 427). live. https://web.archive.org/web/20220524124749/http://www.raketenspezialisten.de/pdf/jbisdruckvorlage.pdf. 24 May 2022.
5. Web site: Research Work on Rocket Propellants By German Scientists at the Oka Chemical Plant In Dzerzhinsk. CIA. dead. PDF; 659 kB. 2020-06-11. https://web.archive.org/web/20220506135201/https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP80-00810A000900540010-2.pdf. 6 May 2022. 1953-05-13. en. Dokument CIA-RDP80-00810A000900540010-2
6. Web site: News and history of astronautics in the former USSR – German team on Gorodomlya Island. 2016-12-01. Anatoly Zak. en.
7. Web site: Repatriation of Junkers and Siebel Specialists from Podberezhe, USSR. CIA. dead. 2020-06-11. https://web.archive.org/web/20220506141430/https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP82-00457R011600040010-2.pdf. 6 May 2022. 1952-04-26. en.
8. Web site: News and history of astronautics in the former USSR – German team on Moscow. 2016-12-01. Anatoly Zak. en.
9. Web site: Return of German Specialists from the USSR. CIA. dead. PDF; 212 kB. 2020-06-11. https://web.archive.org/web/20220608142538/https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP82-00457R007200170003-8.pdf. 8 June 2022. 1951-03-12. en. Dokument CIA-RDP82-00457R007200170003-8
10. Book: Albring, Werner . Gorodomlya Island. German Rocket Scientists in Russia . Books on Demand . 2016-12-07 . 978-3-74121823-1 . Kuhlmann-Walter . Ursula . 1991 in Germany as Gorodomlia, Deutsche Raketenforscher in Russland.
11. Web site: Organization and Personnel at Branch No. 1, Institute 88, Gorodomlya Island. 3 July 1953. CIA. 16 June 2022. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20220506144134/https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP80-00810A001500470005-9.pdf. 6 May 2022.
12. Web site: Personnel at Branch No. 1 of NII 88 at Gorodomlya Island. 1 June 1953. CIA. 16 June 2022. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20220506144527/https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP80-00810A000900720008-5.pdf. 6 May 2022.
13. Book: Mick, Christoph . Forschen für Stalin. Deutsche Fachleute in der sowjetischen Rüstungsindustrie 1945-1958 . . 2000 . 3-486-29003-7 . Munich . de . Research for Stalin. German Specialists in the Soviet Armaments Industry..
14. Book: Brancke, Käte . Im goldenen Käfig. Unfreiwillig in Russland 1946 - 1952 . R. G. Fischer Verlag . 1989 . 3-89406-064-6 . de . In the golden cage. Involuntarily in Russia.
15. Book: Gröttrup, Irmgard . Rocket Wive . Andre Deutsch . 1959 . Hughes . Susan . 1958 in Germany as "Die Besessenen und die Mächtigen. Im Schatten der roten Rakete".
16. Book: Magnus, Kurt . Raketensklaven. Deutsche Forscher hinter rotem Stacheldraht . Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt . 1993 . 3-933395-61-5 . de . Rocketry slaves. German scientist behind red barwire.
17. Web site: Return of German Specialists From NII-380 in Leningrad to Germany. CIA. dead. PDF; 205 kB. 2020-06-11. https://web.archive.org/web/20170123063209/https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP82-00457R009100450006-0.pdf. January 23, 2017. 1951-11-10. en. Dokument CIA-RDP82-00457R009100450006-0
18. Web site: ZEISS SPECIALISTS AND RESEARCH AT THE PROGRESS WORKS IN LENINGRAD. 4 September 1952. CIA. 16 June 2022. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20220616171655/https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP82-00457R013500390006-8.pdf. 16 June 2022.
19. Web site: Personnel, Production, and Organization at Arsenal No. 1 at Kiev. 28 August 1952. CIA. 16 June 2022. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20220616175935/https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP82-00457R013600320003-7.pdf. 16 June 2022.
20. Web site: Development Activities at Zavod 393 Krasnogorsk. 29 June 1955. CIA. 16 June 2022. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20220616170628/https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP80-00810A007200590003-8.pdf. 16 June 2022.
21. Web site: Wilhelm Schütz. 2016-03-05. 2016-01-20. https://web.archive.org/web/20160120100712/http://www.physik.uni-jena.de/Fakult%C3%A4t/Historisches/Professoren+_+Galerie/20_+Jahrhundert/Sch%C3%BCtz_+Wilhelm+Friedrich+Gottfried+(1900_1972).html. dead.
22. Web site: Zavod No. 3, Film Plant, at Shostka. 1 December 1952. CIA. 18 June 2022. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20220618201658/https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP82-00457R015000210001-5.pdf. 18 June 2022.