The Fate of Nazi Germany’s Jet Engineers

In April 1945, American forces were sweeping eastwards toward Berlin, in part advancing across territory that would eventually become part of the Soviet Occupation Zone. As they advanced, US troops uncovered major parts of the manufacturing facilities and the people associated with the engines that powered Germany’s last generation of miliary aircraft: the jet fighters and bombers. Understandably, the engine technology involved in powering these aircraft, such as the Messerschmitt Me 262 and the