The Soviet Union’s Acquisition And Utilization Of German Scientific And Technological Achievements(1945-1949)

This article focuses on the period from February 25 th,1945,when the Special Committee was established by the Soviet Defense Committee,to November 17 th,1949,when the Soviet Military Administration in Germany was dissolved.During this time,Soviet institutions in the occupied areas searched for,evaluated,researched,and utilized German scientific and technological achievements.The article also examines the positive effects of these actions on the post-war recovery and development of the Soviet economy,particularly the enhancement of military strength.This article consists of an introduction,five chapters of main content,and a conclusion.The introduction of this article defines the concepts involved in this study,explains the reasons for selecting the specific time period for research,reviews the domestic and foreign research status of Soviet acquisition and utilization of German scientific and technological achievements after World War II,clarifies the writing approach and research methods used in this article,and points out the innovations and shortcomings of this research.Chapter 1 analyzes why the Soviet Union and the United States competed for German scientific and technological achievements after World War II,and how they did so.Before World War II,Germany was a world leader in basic theoretical research,applied research,and technological achievements.However,the scientific and technological achievements that Germany accumulated during the war were transformed into the "claws" of Nazi aggression and expansion.After the war,German scientific and technological achievements became spoils of war,and were objects of competition among the Allied powers.The scientific potential of Germany was not destroyed by its defeat in the war,and still had high strategic and practical value.The Soviet Union and the United States both tried their best to maximize the utilization of German scientific and technological achievements.Therefore,in the Soviet occupation zone,they fiercely competed for material and intellectual resources IV such as German experts,advanced military technology,strategic materials,and invention patents.As a victorious country,the Soviet Union aimed to obtain German scientific and technological achievements in order to restore the national economy damaged by the war,strengthen the military-industrial complex,and gain advantages in future political and military confrontations with Western allies.Chapter 2 outlines the historical evolution of the Soviet Union’s establishment and improvement of institutions for acquiring German technological achievements.Three types of institutions established by the Soviet Union in the occupied zones played a significant role in the comprehensive acquisition and utilization of German technological achievements.The first type included the Soviet Defense Committee and its subordinated institutions,such as the Loot Committee,the Special Committee,and specialized committees.The Special Committee was the highest coordinating institution for dismantling German military and economic affairs and conducting various forms of transportation and removal work on German soil.Two months after the war ended,the Special Committee launched a large-scale dismantling wave that lasted for several weeks in the Soviet occupied zone,and the Soviet Union sent back a large number of urgently needed scientific resources in various forms,such as German scientists and materials related to missile manufacturing and nuclear physics.All of these were equivalent to military war booty and were not included in the Soviet Union’s official compensation list.The second type of institution was the representative offices of Soviet functional ministries and departments and the Scientific and Technical Bureau and the Experimental Design Bureau established by the Soviet Union in Germany to study German technological achievements on-site,using the equipment that was not dismantled and the experts who remained in Germany.The third type of institution was the Soviet Military Administration in Germany and its subordinated specialized institutions,such as the German Technological Achievement Research Management Bureau,the Patent and Invention Department,and others,which completed the practical management work of acquiring and utilizing German technological achievements in the Soviet occupied zone in Germany.Chapter 3 describes the "hunting" of German scientists by the United States and the Soviet Union.With the advantage of occupying Germany,the United States took the lead in identifying and taking away German scientists with close ties to themilitary industry.The Soviet Union,unwilling to fall behind,also targeted German scientists,especially nuclear experts,as an important means of obtaining German technological achievements.They utilized various means and channels to identify and recruit German scientists from German territory,and selected valuable experts from prisoner-of-war camps to work in the Soviet Union.Chapter 4 illustrates the dismantling and on-site research of German technological achievements by the Soviet Union.In order to prevent Germany from conducting military-related research or applying German technological achievements in the military field,as a victorious country,the Soviet Union obtained the ownership and disposal rights of all German technological resources,including experts in all fields in Germany’s occupied areas.On the one hand,the Soviet Union confiscated experimental and production equipment with military-industrial production potential to eliminate Germany’s military-industrial potential.On the other hand,the Soviet-German mixed expert group repaired advanced German weapons and continued to research military issues using the remaining equipment of German military research bases.At the same time,the Soviet Union supervised German research institutions to prevent them from engaging in military research not under Soviet control or producing adverse consequences of topic leakage.Chapter 5 summarizes the Soviet Union’s full use of German applied technological achievements.Excellent German scholars and technical experts were recruited voluntarily or involuntarily on German or Soviet territory to participate in work favorable to the Soviet Union.The Soviet Union borrowed German scientists’ research results and German advanced technology and materials in many fields,providing material and intellectual support for the post-war national economic recovery and development,driving technological innovation in the Soviet Union,enabling some key industries to escape from backwardness and promoting progress in production,especially promoting the formation of the Soviet military-industrial complex.The conclusion considers that the research and utilization of German technological achievements by the Soviet Military Administration in Germany and other Soviet institutions have achieved significant results.The Soviet Union used German technological achievements to develop high-tech products with stronger competitiveness,unique technical performance,and higher efficiency and lower costs,which shortened the time required for the Soviet Union’s economic recovery,promoted the intergenerational transfer of technology and technology in several industrial sectors,and had a positive impact on the development of the Soviet industry,science,and defense.