At the end of World War II, there was an intense scramble to plunder Nazi Germany's technological secrets. The Allies hoped to assume as much equipment and expertise from the Third Reich as possible while simultaneously preventing others from doing the same. A mere twelve days after the unconditional surrender of the German forces a stream of Nazi scientists were being flown into the U.S. capital, without the State Department's review and approval, by the intelligence and military services under the code name "Operation Paperclip". Today they are honored and revered for their tremendous contributions to scientific, technological, and medical advancements, but in the 1940s they were convicted Nazi criminals who were being smuggled into the United States to work for the government. Bringing former Nazis into the United States speaks to the triumph of pragmatism and self-interest over justice for the unthinkable atrocities these men carried out.