At Peenemünde, Werner von Braun called a meeting with the other scientists to decide whether to wait for the Russians or move upstream, hoping to surrender to the Americans. They all unanimously decided to go south, with only one dissenting voice: that of Helmut Grottrup, who would later decide to join the Soviets. Von Braun declared: “Germany lost the war. But our dream of going to the moon and other planets is still alive. The V-2s are not just weapons of war: they can be used for space travel. One way or another, the Russians and Americans will want to know what we know. To whom shall we give our inheritance and our dreams? We absolutely must place this child in the right hands.” Of the 4,325 employees at Peenemünde, more than two-thirds left the base for the West, with the Soviets just 80 kilometers to the east.
