Technical Experts
The Soviet Union exploited the technical expertise of the German specialists who were resident in the Soviet occupation zone of Germany and held as POW in the USSR. In October 1946 the Soviet NKVD forcibly deported from East Germany "a few hundred" selected German experts to work in the USSR. They were held under favorable conditions and most were released by 1948. They worked in the aviation industry and the development of submarines. A selected few remained in the USSR during the 1950s including German scientists who worked in the Soviet Union on the development of ballistic missiles, Helmut Gröttrup was among this group. They were not directly involved in the missile program but were only consulted by Soviet engineers.
Read more about this topic: Forced Labor Of Germans In The Soviet Union
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