Dark Side of the Moon: Wernher von Braun, the Third Reich, and the Space Race

Dark Side of the Moon: Wernher von Braun, the Third Reich, and th...

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Editorial Reviews

A stunning investigation of the roots of the first moon landing forty years ago. This illuminating story of the dawn of the space age reaches back to the reactionary modernism of the Third Reich, using the life of “rocket scientist” Wernher von Braun as its narrative path through the crumbling of Weimar Germany and the rise of the Nazi regime. Von Braun, a blinkered opportunist who could apply only tunnel vision to his meteoric career, stands as an archetype of myriad twentieth century technologists who thrived under regimes of military secrecy and unlimited money. His seamless transformation from developer of the deadly V-2 ballistic missile for Hitler to an American celebrity as the supposed genius behind the golden years of the U.S. space program in the 1950s and 1960s raises haunting questions about the culture of the Cold War, the shared values of technology in totalitarian and democratic societies, and the imperatives of material progress.12 illustrations.

Customer Reviews

dark side of the moon--excellent and true

Reviewed by John H. Rubel, 2010-03-09

This book does an excellent and enlightening job of portraying the social and political environment out of which von Braun emerged, and placing his meteoric career in both Hitler's Germany and the US into far more understandable context that any previously published work that I have encountered. von Braun's split personality and identities is well worth study, but unknown to the general public, partly because of his effectiveness in re-inventing himself to suit dramatically changed and changing socio-political circumstances. None of this gainsays his acknowledged effectiveness in leading extraordinary rocket developments, from the first extra-atomospheric ballistic missle (the V-2) through the Saturn V lunar rocket, the greatest rocket achievement of all time to date. A chapter in my book,REFLECTIONS ON FAME and Some Famous Men, written before DARK SIDE OF THE MOON, includes much of the remarkable, while morally puzzling, aspects of von Braun's careers as a darling of both Hitler and the US Congress.

History, Mystery and Nazis

Reviewed by Heavy P, 2010-03-04

very good book on a subject i was happy to see someone finally shedding light on, i have no doubt wernher von braun when exactly what the reich was doing as evidenced by several facts none more obvious than him personally requesting jewish labor to build his rockets. He was obviously a man with a dream but no conscience the same may be said for the americans who smuggled him out and washed him clean of his sins allowing him to live out his life with respect and dignity, SHAME ON THEM! the book is a very good fast read of a interesting subject a story that needs to be told

Elusive German space puzzle

Reviewed by wogan, 2010-01-22

Wayne Biddle attempts to solve some of the lingering questions concerning Wernher von Braun's work during WWII. `Dark side of the Moon' is short, in that there are less than 152 pages written about von Braun. There are almost 70 pages of notes and an index which even includes indexed notes. With so much information and Biddle's statement in the introduction that there is new information since von Braun's death and time elapsed after the war and the opening of especially East Germany, one would think that you would find some of that new information in his work. It seems to be sadly lacking. Biddle bases most of his premise that von Braun was not the innocent rocket scientist in his work at Peenemunde; most of the accusations concern von Braun's knowledge of the use of slave labor. All of this has been brought up before, including the photograph of von Braun in an SS uniform.
Who knows for sure what happened or what is in the heart of a man? What is certain is that von Braun used both the German and US government to satisfy his desire to build rockets, but that is not news either. The Americans wanted to believe his innocence in WWII atrocities and Biddle claims this has been covered up; but seems to present no new evidence. What he does write are many snide comments and innuendos such as commenting on von Braun's arm cast, when he was captured, saying it resembled the `party salute'; he states Redstone Arsenal was well on its' way to resembling Peenemunde and then states Cape Canaveral shows a remarkable resemblance as well.
Biddle dismisses von Braun's arrest during the war as a lucky break...`no one has been inclined to shed light on the story`s factual basis or historical context', even stating the recollections of Albert Speer might not believed concerning this episode where von Braun claimed pressure to join the SS.
I found this book to be sadly lacking any new information and much of what is written becomes contradictory.

What a strange book

Reviewed by Bradley J. Knapp, 2009-10-23

I bought this book thinking it was something different, and could present another view of Von Braun. I believe that the author is correct to an extent about the unquestioning adoration of Von Braun over the years, but he loses momentum with a writing style that is full of pretense. He does not develop his case against Von Braun well, or completely, and the reader is left with asking: "why this, and why now?" It's very clear that he's not educated or particularly interested in the science that was involved with taking our country from zero capability in rocketry to landing men on the moon a few decades later. His bent is very obvious to the reader.....defame Von Braun at all cost, even with a very weak case. I think it's a poor work, and don't recommend it.

Interesting, But Inconclusive in Von Braun's Case

Reviewed by ancientexplorer, 2009-10-21

Having recently read the excellent biography Von Braun: Dreamer of Space, Engineer of War, I wondered how much more this book would add. The questions about Von Braun are: How much did Von Braun know about what was going on in Nazi Germany and how much was he a part of it?

The first question is easy, obviously he to some extent knew what the Nazis were doing. The second, and the one this book focuses on, is the harder question to answer. Von Braun was always evasive, at times contradictory, and reluctant to talk about pre-1945.

The reasons may be: 1. He wanted to forget the horrors of the war, 2. He was ashamed that he couldn't or didn't change things at the time, or 3. He was more part of the Reich than he admitted. If #3 is true, perhaps he changed, and perhaps he didn't. He left virtually nothing to answer these questions. Ultimately, Biddle's book doesn't contain any smoking guns, and most of the circumstantial evidence is already known, but it does cause doubt.

Taken as a whole, Biddle's argument seems to point to Von Braun hiding things. But which of the three reasons were behind his evasiveness? Was it really #3? We may never know. However, our acceptance of thousands of Nazis, and the blackout of their pasts (some of which were problems), is a troubling part of our history. How did we choose which Nazis to prosecute and which to protect?