Operation Osoaviakhim

Operation Osoaviakhim was a Soviet operation which took place on 22 October 1946, with NKVD and Soviet army units recruiting thousands of military-related technical specialists 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 virtually transplant research and production centres, such as the relocated V-2 rocket centre at Mittelwerk Nordhausen, from Germany to the Soviet Union, and collect as much materiel as possible from test centers like the Luftwaffe's central military aviation test center at Erprobungstelle Rechlin, taken by the Red Army on May 2, 1945. The codename "Osoaviakhim" was the acronym of a Soviet paramilitary organisation, later renamed DOSAAF.

The operation was commanded by NKVD deputy Colonel General Serov, outside the control of the local Soviet Military Administration (which in a few cases, such as Carl Zeiss AG, tried to prevent the removal of specialists and equipment of vital economic significance for the occupation zone, unsuccessfully, as it turned out, with reportedly only 582 of 10,000 machines left in place at Zeiss ). Planned some time in advance to take place after the zone's elections on 20 October, to avoid damaging the Socialist Unity Party's chances (which in any event lost the election), the operation took 92 trains to transport the specialists and their families (perhaps 10,000-15,000 people in all ) along with their furniture and belongings. Whilst those removed were offered generous contracts (the specialists were told that they would be paid on the same terms as equivalent Soviet workers, which in post-war Germany was seen as a gain ), there was little doubt that failing to sign them was not a realistic option.

The major 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 Operation Overcast, Operation Paperclip, and Operation Alsos, in which the Allies brought military specialists, notably Wernher von Braun, from Germany (primarily to the United States).