Operation Osoaviakhim was a Soviet operation which took place on 22 October 1946, when MVD and Soviet Army units at gunpoint removed more than 2,200 German specialists – a total of more than 6,000 people including family members – from the Soviet occupation zone of post-World War II Germany for employment in the Soviet Union. Much related equipment was moved too, the aim being to literally transplant research and production centres, such as the relocated V-2 rocket centre at MittelwerkNordhausen, from Germany to the Soviet Union, and collect as much material as possible from test centres such as the Luftwaffe's central military aviation test centre at Erprobungstelle Rechlin, taken by the Red Army on 2 May 1945. The codename "Osoaviakhim" was the acronym of a Soviet paramilitary organisation, later renamed DOSAAF, which was mistakingly first introduced by a West Germanradio station and adapted by the Central Intelligence Group, a predecessor of the CIA, as Operation Ossavakim. The operation was commanded by MVD deputy Colonel General Serov, outside the control of the localSoviet Military Administration. Planned some time in advance to take place after the zone's elections on 20 October, to avoid damaging the Bloc of the Anti-Fascist Democratic Parties Unity List's result, the operation took 92 trains to transport the specialists and their families along with their furniture and belongings. Whilst those removed were offered contracts, there was little doubt that failing to sign them was not a realistic option. A major consideration of the Soviet decision to undertake the operation was fear of the German economy and technological potential re-acclimatizing amidst the cooperation of Soviet and German technical experts after the war, and the simultaneous desire to cultivate this technological potential for the Soviet Union's benefit. In particular, A. G. Myrkin of the Soviet artillery directorate wrote a letter to the head of NKWD/MVD operations in Germany complaining about the prominence of German scientists in important state-secure work. Another possible reason for the operation was the Soviet fear of being condemned for noncompliance with Allied Control Council agreements on the liquidation of German military installations. New agreements were expected on four-power inspections of remaining German war potential, which the Soviets supported, being concerned about developments in the western zones. The operation has parallels with Allied operations such as Alsos Mission, Operation Paperclip and Russian Alsos, in which the Allies brought military specialists, notably Wernher von Braun, from Germany.
Key recruits by Operation Osoaviakhim (incomplete list)
