The Nibelung Saga

During World War II, the Germans strafed cities in England, Belgium, and France with the deadly V2s, the flying bombs developed in Peenemunde by a group of Nazi scientists led by Wernher von Braun and built with the help of enslaved prisoners. The scion of a noble family, von Braun had been fascinated by the idea of space flight as a university student. His mentor had been Hermann Oberth, another space theorist of extraordinary charisma. His enthusiasm had “infected” a group of young bright Germans who, between the two world wars, gathered in the Society for Space Flight. Their activities, not unlike those undergoing in other European countries, had been noticed by the Reich’s Ministry of Defense, which, in its attempt to rearm Germany, had to deal with the constraints imposed by the Versailles peace. The rockets were not on the banned list because they were considered harmless. Hired by Hitler to build one of the “wonder weapons” and dressed in SS garb, von Braun had performed a miracle by creating a technological jewel that, after sowing death, served as a sure way for him to continue his victorious activities in America after the defeat of the Reich.