Episode 2: 'Technology Transfer and Scientific Espionage in Occupied Germany' with Douglas O'Reagan

In this episode, the interviewer and interviewee from Episode 1 have switched places, with Ashely Leyba interviewing Douglas O'Reagan about his research on the history of post-WWII efforts to exploit German science and technology.

Topics include the logistics and aims of efforts to benefit home economies by investigating German science and technology, including bringing over 'Nazi scientists' and investigating factories and patent records; the different attitudes towards reparations and technology transfer in the different countries attempting this technical espionage; and how Cold War diplomacy was shaped by these changing ideas of tech transfer.

Douglas O’Reagan is a seventh-year PhD candidate who studies the intersection of the history of science and technology, and the history of espionage and intelligence in the 20th century. His dissertation focuses on the American, British, and French efforts to extract German scientists and technology following the Second World War for their own economies’ benefit.



Interviewer: Ashley Leyba
Runtime: 41:57