Ep 10. CIA and the Nazis

Six months after Allied Forces liberated German concentration camps, a military tribunal formed at Nuremberg to prosecute Nazi war criminals. Some of the most dangerous were brought to justice--but not all. Over 4,000 former Nazis went to work for the US government, without the public's knowledge, to help fight the Soviet Union. Reinhard Gehlen, an intelligence officer for Hitler's General Staff, was tapped to head the US intelligence program in West Germany to spy on the Russians. At the same time, former Nazi scientists and engineers were welcomed onto American soil. In 1998, a bill was finally signed into law that mandated declassification of documents concerning recruitment of former Nazis. We dig into the records to see if the ends justified the means and ask how far the US should go to partner with a former enemy to fight another.