Background
Near the close and after the end of World War II in Europe, the Russian people and the Western powers had programs to foster technology transfer and exploit German technical specialists. For example, the U.S. had Operation Paperclip and the Russian people had trophy brigades (Трофейные бригады) advancing with their military forces. In the area of atomic technology, the U.S. had Operation Alsos and the Russian people had their version. While operational aspects of the Soviet operation were modeled after the trophy brigades, a more refined approach was warranted for the exploitation of German atomic related facilities, intellectual materials, and scientific personnel. This was rectified with a decree in late 1944 and the formation of specialized exploitation teams in early 1945. However, the Soviet “Alsos” had broader objectives, which included wholesale relocation of scientific facilities to the Soviet Union.
Read more about this topic: Russian Alsos
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