Vast Nazi Facility Uncovered In Austria; Purported A-Bomb Development Site

schwit1 (797399) writes "Suspiciously high radiation levels around the Austrian town of St. Georgen an der Gusen had long fueled theories that there was a buried bunker nearby where Nazis had tested nuclear weapons during WWII. Those suspicions came one step closer to being confirmed last week after the opening of a 75-acre underground complex was dug out from below the earth and granite used to seal off the entrance, the Times of Israel reports. The excavation team was led by Austrian filmmaker Andreas Sulzer, who says the site was "likely the biggest secret weapons production facility of the Third Reich" — a facility that probably relied on forced labor from the nearby Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp and may have even been the testing location for a nuclear bomb, the Daily Mirror reports. The weapons facility was believed to have been manned by SS General Hans Kammler and situated near the B8 Bergkristall factory, where the first working jet-powered fighter was created, International Business Times reports; Sulzer first got wind of the site after seeing references to it in an Austrian physicist's diary. The Washington Post cautions that while "the full scope of what occurred inside those reported chambers in the Austrian town of St. Georgen remains unclear and Sulzer’s conclusions are speculative, some analysts are already trumpeting the findings. ... The reported findings, if corroborated by further inquiry, could add fresh fodder to an ongoing debate over the Third Reich’s ultimately failed attempt to secure an atomic weapon."

Comments

Non-scientist at work

[Anonymous Coward]

Film-maker digs through granite, measures radiation, concludes there have been nuclear weapons. Right. It's not like granite is one of the most radioactive materials in the world.

Re: Non-scientist at work

[TWX]

It's complicated. von Braun was the foremost rocket scientist of his time, and possibly of all time. Had there not been a war he probably would have continued to push rocket technology. Assuming he was just as nationalistic for his country as you are for yours, would you find it wrong to join professional associations that would allow you to pursue your career interests or to advance your military through your professional capabilities in support of your country against its foes? Remember, the Nazis didn't start killing Jews and other civilians en-masse right away, and my guess is that by the time Jewish slave labor was being applied to projects this technical he really didn't have a choice but to continue if he wanted to remain alive.

It's very easy, in hind-sight, to judge people for decisions or actions they took when they didn't know what the outcome of that decision, or of combined decisions and outcomes several combinations later, would be. Did von Braun get off easy? Yes. Could he have been prosecuted for his participation in an entity that engaged in war crimes? Probably. Would he have had a defense much better than, "just following orders," or, "I would have been killed if I didn't continue," or such? Probably not. Had the Soviet Union not gotten their hands on their own slate of Nazi rocket scientists he probably would have been prosecuted rather than embraced, but once the decision was made to embrace him, that was that. He did go on to make the most historic and arguably significant human achievement possible.

von Braun's legacy will always be complicated. His name will probably only be applied to celebrate things that are related to his field, as his name is forever tarnished by his Nazi past and unsuitable for celebration as any kind of hero outside of his field.

Tunnels everywhere, A-bombs nowhere

[mailuefterl]

Some of these claims seem to be overblown.
If you take a look at the Manhattan Project, you get an idea what efforts in research and production (i.e. uranium enrichment) were required.
The Nazis never had a programm that came anywhere near these dimensions.
All they had was a handfull of phsysicists (most of the best had emmigrated to the US anyway) and a small research reactor.
So while there was some nuclear research, there never was a atomic bomb or anything close to it in Germany.

And the tunnels? The whole 3rd Reich and it's occupied territories were tunneled mostly for the purpose of weapons production.

Re: Hitler and the NAZIs were so stupid.

[prefec2]

I do not believe that she is only a puppet. She is doing her job too well. However, she is a friend of Friede Springer (a German news corporation) which has in its charter to be anti communist and to foster the bonds towards the US. Merkel has perfectly understood how to stay in power in a democracy when backed by media and other influential figures of the upper class/global elite. However, she is not a democrat of her own. She is also not interested in the idea of a united Europe. She is more interested in free trade, as this suits herself and her cast. She also only opposed Cameron when he was against open borders, as this would hinder free movement of the poor people and be anti-neoliberal.

BTW: Cameron only promised a vote on EU membership, as straight conservatives in his party and UKIP required that from him. And in Germany votes on such topics are not expressed in the constitution, because when the constitution was written, allies and German politicians did not trust the population enough to give the people so much power.