Book ID: CBB009589111

German Rocketeers in the Heart of Dixie: Making Sense of the Nazi Past During the Civil Rights Era (2015)

unapi

This thought-provoking study by historian Monique Laney focuses on the U.S. government–assisted integration of German rocket specialists and their families into a small southern community soon after World War II. In 1950, Wernher von Braun and his team of rocket experts relocated to Huntsville, Alabama, a town that would celebrate the team, despite their essential role in the recent Nazi war effort, for their contributions to the U.S. Army missile program and later to NASA’s space program. Based on oral histories, provided by members of the African American and Jewish communities, and by the rocketeers’ families, co-workers, friends, and neighbors, Laney’s book demonstrates how the histories of German Nazism and Jim Crow in the American South intertwine in narratives about the past. This is a critical reassessment of a singular time that links the Cold War, the Space Race, and the Civil Rights era while addressing important issues of transnational science and technology, and asking Americans to consider their country’s own history of racism when reflecting on the Nazi past.

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Reviewed By

Review Jason Krupar (2016) Review of "German Rocketeers in the Heart of Dixie: Making Sense of the Nazi Past During the Civil Rights Era". Journal of Southern History (pp. 982-984). unapi

Review Mark Walker (2018) Review of "German Rocketeers in the Heart of Dixie: Making Sense of the Nazi Past During the Civil Rights Era". Isis: International Review Devoted to the History of Science and Its Cultural Influences (pp. 663-664). unapi

Review Martin Collins (July 2016) Review of "German Rocketeers in the Heart of Dixie: Making Sense of the Nazi Past During the Civil Rights Era". Technology and Culture (pp. 691-692). unapi

Review Jack Glazier (2016) Review of "German Rocketeers in the Heart of Dixie: Making Sense of the Nazi Past During the Civil Rights Era". Journal of American History (pp. 264-265). unapi

Citation URI
https://data.isiscb.org/isis/citation/CBB009589111/

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Authors & Contributors
Neufeld, Michael J.
Parker, Traci
Sonett, C. P.
John Sheesta
John H. Wyld
Marino, William
Concepts
Rockets; rocketry
Space programs
Space travel; space flight
Civil rights
Space research and exploration
Biographies
Time Periods
20th century
20th century, late
21st century
Places
United States
Germany
Western states (U.S.)
Southern states (U.S.)
Oregon (U.S.)
Nevada (U.S.)
Institutions
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration
United States Space Force (USSF)
United States. Department of Defense
UNESCO
United Nations
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