Wernher Magnus Maximilian, Freiherr von Braun (March 23, 1912 June 16, 1977) was a German (and later American) aerospace engineer and space architect credited with inventing the V-2 rocket for Nazi Germany and the Saturn V for the United States. He was one of the leading figures in the development of rocket technology in Nazi Germany, where he was a member of the Nazi Party and the SS. Following World War II he, as well as about 1500 other scientists, technicians, and engineers, were moved to the United States as part of Operation Paperclip, where he developed the rockets that launched America's first space satellite and first series of moon missions.In his twenties and early thirties, von Braun worked in Germany's rocket development program, where he helped design and develop the V-2 rocket at Peenem