Blowback: America's Recruitment of Nazis and Its Effects on the Cold War

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful insight for the start of the Cold War
Review: I have to say that this is a great examination of the inadvertent effects in American policy and ideology following the recruitment of Nazi intelligence officers. This book should be read not only by those interested in the origins of the Cold War, but also by those who want to study Operation Paperclip, the recruitment of Nazi scientists by the American government. This is not revisionist history, and it is not one of those quasi-historical books that try to sell themselves on a controversial and speculative thesis. It is well documented, and a very worthy book for anyone interested in mid-20th century history.

Rating:
Summary: Bring this book back in print!
Review: It's a shame that Christopher Simpson's "Blowback: America's Recruitment of Nazis and Its Effects on the Cold War" has gone out of print. While portions of this book smack of revisionist history, the truth at the heart of it is nothing short of harrowing and infuriating. Most significantly, it's an important part of post-War American history that needs further discussion: the carte blanche treatment given to some of the Nazi party's worst war criminals in exchange for dubious (at best) information on the Russians.

According to Simpson's exhaustive research, brutal mass murderers whose technical and/or espionage value saved them from the Nuremburg trials, were given new lives, lots of money, and immunity in America in order to aid in our fight against the communists. While it seems that some of the information they gave us tilted the Cold War in our favor, the fact remains that these men had the blood of countless concentration camp victims on their hands. The photos of the death camps, including a poignant photograph of four generations of Jewish women in their underwear, moments before their execution, underscores Simpson's outrage at the cheapness America placed on their lives.

Lastly, I would point out that the subtitle is slightly misleading. While Simpson does discuss the effects these informants had on the Cold War, the subtext really has to do with the effects they had on American society. And it's not a pretty picture. I hope this book is brought back in print. Until then, picked up one of the used copies available here.

Rating:
Summary: We Have Met the Enemy and He Is Us....
Review: Very scary stuff. The bottom line is that for the sake of enhancing national security and national competitiveness, the U.S. Government, with approval from the highest levels, funded the wholesale introduction into U.S. citizenship of both Nazi scientists and Nazi participants in genocidal programs who were viewed in many cases as "essential" to our anti-Communist endeavors. The loss of perspective among selected senior intelligence and policy officials, and the long-term influence of this program on our obsession with Communism, give one pause.

Rating:
Summary: We Have Met the Enemy and He Is Us....
Review: Very scary stuff. The bottom line is that for the sake of enhancing national security and national competitiveness, the U.S. Government, with approval from the highest levels, funded the wholesale introduction into U.S. citizenship of both Nazi scientists and Nazi participants in genocidal programs who were viewed in many cases as "essential" to our anti-Communist endeavors. The loss of perspective among selected senior intelligence and policy officials, and the long-term influence of this program on our obsession with Communism, give one pause.