Questions about Wernher von Braun

Short answers, pulled from the story.

When was Wernher von Braun born and where did he grow up?

Wernher von Braun was born on the 23rd of March 1912 in the small town of Wirsitz within the Province of Posen. His family moved to Berlin in 1915 where his father worked at the Ministry of the Interior.

What role did Wernher von Braun play during World War II regarding Nazi Germany?

Wernher von Braun joined the Nazi Party on the 12th of November 1937 receiving membership number 5,738,692 to continue his work on rockets for Nazi Germany. He became a technical advisor at Peenemünde Army Research Center on the Baltic Sea in 1939 and led the development of the V-2 rocket which Hitler ordered as a vengeance weapon on the 22nd of December 1942.

How did Wernher von Braun contribute to the United States space program after 1945?

U.S. Secretary of State Edward Stettinius Jr. approved transfer of Wernher von Braun and specialists to the United States on the 20th of June 1945. He later established the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville Alabama and directed the Saturn V rocket program that enabled six teams of astronauts to reach the surface of the Moon during the Apollo missions.

When was Wernher von Braun naturalized as a citizen of the United States?

Wernher von Braun became a naturalized citizen of the United States on the 15th of April 1955. This occurred after he had worked with the U.S. Army Ordnance Corps since September 1945 and moved his team from Fort Bliss Texas to Huntsville Alabama in 1950.

What were the religious beliefs and family life of Wernher von Braun?

Wernher von Braun underwent a religious conversion to Evangelical Christianity in 1946 at the church in El Paso County Texas. He married Maria Luise von Quistorp on the 1st of March 1947 and they had three children including Iris Careen born on the 8th of December 1948, Margrit Cécile born in 1952, and Peter Constantine born in 1960.