WARNING: This documentary is for educational and historical purposes. We do NOT condone or promote hatred against any group of people, nor do we promote violence. We condemn these events so that they may never happen again. NEVER AGAIN. All images have been censored in accordance with YouTube's advertising policies. In the annals of human history, few technological breakthroughs have been as transformative and controversial as the development of the V2 rocket during World War II. This extraordinary achievement, born from the visionary mind of Wernher von Braun, forever changed the course of warfare and space exploration, leaving an indelible mark on the twentieth century and beyond. As Arthur C. Clarke, the renowned science fiction author, said, "The V2 rocket was the first man-made object to penetrate space. It was the ancestor and predecessor of all space rockets." Born on March 23, 1912, in what is now Wyrzysk, Poland, Wernher von Braun was an exceptionally talented child with an unbridled fascination for space travel. Inspired by the science fiction of Jules Verne and H.G. Wells, young von Braun dreamed of building rockets capable of reaching the stars. His passion grew even stronger when, at the age of twelve, his mother gave him a telescope that allowed him to admire the moon and planets. In 1930, at the age of just eighteen, he joined the German Space Travel Society (Verein für Raumschiffahrt), where he began to develop his rocketry skills, working with other enthusiasts such as Rudolf Nebel and Hermann Oberth, who became his mentor. Von Braun’s talents quickly caught the attention of the German military, and by 1932 he was working on liquid-fuel rocket engines for the German Army’s Armament Office. The rise of the Nazi Party in 1933 quickly transformed von Braun’s scientific pursuits into a military enterprise. As he later recalled, “I was interested in science, but I had to make a living.” This sentiment was reflected in his famous quote, “The rocket worked perfectly, except for landing on the wrong planet,” underscoring the moral ambiguity that would follow him throughout his career. The development of liquid-fuel rockets represented a major breakthrough in missile technology. Unlike solid-fuel rockets, which burn through their entire fuel supply upon ignition, liquid-fuel rockets could be regulated and controlled, allowing for greater range and precision. The V2, or “Vergeltungswaffe 2” (Revenge Weapon 2), became the world’s first intercontinental ballistic missile and the first man-made object to reach the edge of space. The concept of liquid-fueled rockets was not new—American Robert Goddard had successfully launched the first liquid-fueled rocket on March 16, 1926—but the V2 took the technology to unprecedented heights, both literally and figuratively. By 1936, von Braun and his team had moved their operations to Peenemünde, an isolated island on the Baltic coast. There, in secret, they spent the next eight years perfecting the V2. The project was not without its problems; early prototypes suffered from stability and guidance problems. 0:00 V2 Rocket 07:45 Peenemünde Revealed 16:58 Reign of Terror V2 Rocket 24:48 Mittelbau-Dora 31:59 Operation Paperclip