American Historical Ephemera and Photography

Archive of approximately 27 printed and manuscript documents all in German recording the duties and actions of Rudolf Vohmann, dating from the construction of the plant to its capture by the Red Army. Documents signed by various people, including two of von Braun's team members. Provenance: Acquired Bonhams New York, 13 April 2010, sale 17778 lot 1016. Highlights include:

1) Document dated 3 September 1943 granting Vohmann permission by government authorities to use his personal bicycle at work.

2) Typed document dated 6 June 1944 describing a meeting in Berlin regarding the energy supply contract for Peenemünde. 

3) Memo issued on 25 May 1945 from the Commander General of the Russian Army authorizing Heinrich Nimwegen to take control as Plant Manager at the Peenemünde complex; unknown to the Russian Army, Nimwegen had already begun moving German scientists, equipment, and data further west in order to allow them to surrender to the Americans rather than to the Russians.

Other documents record Vohmann's service draft and discharge, personnel matters, the aftermath of the War, and the Russian operation of the power station. Several documents in Russian and German request that Vohmann be supported in his efforts and allowed to travel unhindered. Rudolf Vohmann (1908-2002) worked as an engineer at the Peenemünde power station from its construction in 1940 to its capture by the Russian Army five years later. In 1942 Vohmann was assigned by Wernher von Braun to Test Stand 7, where on 20 June 1944 the V-2 rocket became the first manmade object to reach the edge of space. Because the Allied forces lacked defense against weapons such as those being developed at the Peenemünde facility it was of the utmost importance that all German weapons facilities be captured and placed under Allied control as quickly as possible. The last V-2 rocket was tested at Peenemünde in February 1945; three months later the Soviet 2nd Belorussian Front commanded by General Konstantin Rokossovsky captured the facility, only to find that three quarters of it had been destroyed by fleeing Nazi forces. On 2 May 1945 some of the most prominent scientists employed at the Peenemünde facility, including Wernher von Braun and Walter Dornberger, surrendered to Allied forces. They were later recruited by the United States as part of Operation Paperclip to continue the research carried out at the Peenemünde facility, which would lead directly to the development of the American space program.