November 13, 2008
Camp Dora
Germany's World War II cruise missile, the V-1 Buzz Bomb, rained terror on western Europe. Today it is a disarmed shell parked in the Great Gallery at Seattle's Museum of Flight. But unlike the other historic aircraft housed here, the V-1 isn't a warm, welcoming presence. The weapon on display was restored with parts salvaged from the notorious Mittelwerk factory in Nordhausen, Germany. Slave laborers from the adjoining Dora concentration camp assembled the V-1 and V-2 ballistic missiles in harsh, degrading conditions.
Readers might recognize the names Dora and Nordhausen. Six months ago I posted an entry about Private John Galione, an American soldier who discovered the missile factory and prisoner camp by accident. Galione's actions led to the liberation of concentration camps across Europe and the seizing of Germany's rocket technology, beating the advancing Russian army by mere hours. I visited the Great Gallery last weekend to photograph airplanes. I had read about the V-1 exhibit on the museum's website, but was unaware of the Camp Dora connection until I was standing a few feet away. The sign informed visitors that 20,000 to 30,000 Dora prisoners died in the inhuman conditions at Mittelwerk. Workers who were caught sabotaging missiles were hanged. The V-weapons are the only weapons in history to have killed more people assembling them than on the battlefield.
As a friend of Israel, my heart ached. Many of the laborers were Jewish. It's likely some had worked on the missile I was staring at. The museum should be commended for including this murderous weapon in its aviation hall of fame, if only to honor the Dora prisoners who were brutally exploited and killed. I won't forget them, and neither will the God of Israel. The Jews remain the apple of His eye.
Addendum – Mary Nahas, the daughter of John Galione, emailed me this interesting footnote: stealth technology also was captured by the Americans at Mittelwerk, although "it sat in a pile for 20 years before they realized what they had."Posted by Jeff King at November 13, 2008 09:19 AM