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* Implied to be Doctor Scott's background in ''Film/TheRockyHorrorPictureShow''. He works for the American government, and Dr. Frank N. Furter alludes to it by asking him, "Or is it Professor ''[[TheVonTropeFamily von]]'' Scott?"
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* Implied to be Doctor Scott's background in ''Film/TheRockyHorrorPictureShow''. He works for the American government, and Dr. Frank N. Furter alludes to it by asking him, "Or is it Professor should I say: Doktor ''[[TheVonTropeFamily von]]'' Scott?"Scott?" Given that Scott reflexively seig heils in response, Frank appears to be correct.
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-->''Don't say that he's hypocritical\\
Say rather that he's... apolitical\\
"Once ze rockets go up, who cares vhere zey come down?\\
Zat's not my department!" says Wernher von Braun!''
Say rather that he's... apolitical\\
"Once ze rockets go up, who cares vhere zey come down?\\
Zat's not my department!" says Wernher von Braun!''
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* PlayedWith in ''WesternAnimation/{{Exosquad}}'' with Prof. Algernon. He is a genius Terran scientist who was captured by the [[ArtificialHuman Neosapien]] [[TurnedAgainstTheirMasters regime]] and put to work in their Venusian R&D, despite the Neos otherwise treating Terrans captured on Venus more akin to cattle. When the Terran armed forces recapture Algernon, they put him to work in their own R&D, despite him not only having built weapons for the enemy that killed thousands of Terrans, but also expressing zero remorse for that or [[MorallyAmbiguousDoctorate even concern about who payrolls his research, as long as he can carry it out]].
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Invincible}}'': D.A. Sinclair, a student and scientist at Upstate University, is defeated by Invincible after he kidnaps several of his peers to [[UnwillingRoboticisation turn them into cyborgs]]. Cecil later recruits him to the Global Defense Agency so he can [[spoiler:continue making cyborgs for them, which are later used to slow down Omni-Man's rampage.]]
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Invincible}}'': D.A. Sinclair, a student and scientist at Upstate University, is defeated by Invincible after he kidnaps several of his peers to [[UnwillingRoboticisation turn them into cyborgs]]. Cecil later recruits him to the Global Defense Agency so he can [[spoiler:continue making cyborgs for them, which are later used to slow down Omni-Man's rampage.]]
to:
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Exosquad}}'': PlayedWith in ''WesternAnimation/{{Exosquad}}'' with Prof. Algernon. He is a genius Terran scientist who was captured by the [[ArtificialHuman Neosapien]] [[TurnedAgainstTheirMasters regime]] and put to work in their Venusian R&D, despite the Neos otherwise treating Terrans captured on Venus more akin to cattle. When the Terran armed forces recapture Algernon, they put him to work in their own R&D, despite him not only having built weapons for the enemy that killed thousands of Terrans, but also expressing zero remorse for that or [[MorallyAmbiguousDoctorate even concern about who payrolls his research, as long as he can carry it out]].
*''WesternAnimation/{{Invincible}}'': ''WesternAnimation/{{Invincible|2021}}'': D.A. Sinclair, a student and scientist at Upstate University, is defeated by Invincible after he kidnaps several of his peers to [[UnwillingRoboticisation turn them into cyborgs]]. Cecil later recruits him to the Global Defense Agency so he can [[spoiler:continue making cyborgs for them, which are later used to slow down Omni-Man's rampage.]]
*
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This was actually said by Terrance Brooks. https://callofduty.fandom.com/wiki/Terrance_Brooks
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--->'''Mason:''' Poor bastards...
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* ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheDialOfDestiny'': The BigBad of the film is Dr. Jürgen Voller, a former German scientist who was poached by Operation Paperclip to help the United States win the Space Race and has built himself a reputation as one of America's leading astrophysicists. He is still a very ardent follower of the Nazi ethos and decries the fact that Germany lost because Adolf Hitler was a GeneralFailure, so he seeks the titular device to [[MakeWrongWhatOnceWentRight go back in time]] and [[GodwinsLawOfTimeTravel "correct" things]].
* Implied to be Doctor Scott's background in ''Film/TheRockyHorrorPictureShow''. He works for the American government and Dr. Frank N. Furter alludes to it by asking him, "Or is it Professor ''[[TheVonTropeFamily von]]'' Scott?"
* Implied to be Doctor Scott's background in ''Film/TheRockyHorrorPictureShow''. He works for the American government and Dr. Frank N. Furter alludes to it by asking him, "Or is it Professor ''[[TheVonTropeFamily von]]'' Scott?"
to:
* ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheDialOfDestiny'': The BigBad of the film is Dr. Jürgen Voller, a former German scientist Nazi mathematician who was poached by Operation Paperclip to help with the United States win Apollo Program and teaches at the Space Race and has built himself a reputation as one University of America's leading astrophysicists. Alabama (whose Huntsville campus was home to many real Project Paperclip scientists). He is still a very ardent follower of the Nazi ethos and decries the fact that Germany lost because blames Germany's loss in World War II on Adolf Hitler was being a GeneralFailure, so he seeks the titular device eponymous Dial to [[MakeWrongWhatOnceWentRight go back in time]] and [[GodwinsLawOfTimeTravel "correct" things]].
* Implied to be Doctor Scott's background in ''Film/TheRockyHorrorPictureShow''. He works for the Americangovernment government, and Dr. Frank N. Furter alludes to it by asking him, "Or is it Professor ''[[TheVonTropeFamily von]]'' Scott?"
* Implied to be Doctor Scott's background in ''Film/TheRockyHorrorPictureShow''. He works for the American
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* ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheDialOfDestiny'': The BigBad of the film is Dr. Jürgen Voller, a former German scientist who was poached by Operation Paperclip to help the United States win the Space Race and has built himself a reputation as one of America's leading astrophysicists. He is still a very ardent follower of the Nazi ethos and decries the fact that Germany lost because Adolf Hitler was a GeneralFailure, so he seeks the titular device to [[SetWrongWhatOnceWentRight go back in time]] and [[GodwinsLawOfTimeTravel "correct" things]].
to:
* ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheDialOfDestiny'': The BigBad of the film is Dr. Jürgen Voller, a former German scientist who was poached by Operation Paperclip to help the United States win the Space Race and has built himself a reputation as one of America's leading astrophysicists. He is still a very ardent follower of the Nazi ethos and decries the fact that Germany lost because Adolf Hitler was a GeneralFailure, so he seeks the titular device to [[SetWrongWhatOnceWentRight [[MakeWrongWhatOnceWentRight go back in time]] and [[GodwinsLawOfTimeTravel "correct" things]].
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* ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheDialOfDestiny'': The BigBad of the film is Dr. Jürgen Voller, a former German scientist who was poached by Operation Paperclip to help the United States win the Space Race and has built himself a reputation as one of America's leading astrophysicists. He is still a very ardent follower of the Nazi ethos and decries the fact that Germany lost because Adolf Hitler was a GeneralFailure, so he seeks the titular device to [[SetWrongWhatOnceWentRight go back in time]] and [[GodwinsLawOfTimeTravel "correct" things]].
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* Implied to be Doctor Scott's background in ''Film/RockyHorrorPictureShow''. He works for the American government and Dr. Frank N. Furter alludes to it by asking him, "Or is it Professor ''[[TheVonTropeFamily von]]'' Scott?"
to:
* Implied to be Doctor Scott's background in ''Film/RockyHorrorPictureShow''.''Film/TheRockyHorrorPictureShow''. He works for the American government and Dr. Frank N. Furter alludes to it by asking him, "Or is it Professor ''[[TheVonTropeFamily von]]'' Scott?"
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* ''Film/RockyHorrorPictureShow'': Implied to be Professor Scott's background. Dr. Frank N. Furter alludes to it by asking him, "Or is it Professor ''[[TheVonTropeFamily von]]'' Scott?"
to:
* ''Film/RockyHorrorPictureShow'': Implied to be Professor Doctor Scott's background. background in ''Film/RockyHorrorPictureShow''. He works for the American government and Dr. Frank N. Furter alludes to it by asking him, "Or is it Professor ''[[TheVonTropeFamily von]]'' Scott?"
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* ''Series/TheMandalorian'': Inverted by Dr. Penn Pershing, a former genetic and cloning researcher for the Imperial Remnant, who is finds employment with the New Republic at the start of season 3. However, the New Republic's laws explicitly ''forbid'' him from doing any more research in his area of expertise, resulting in him getting stuck in a dead-end office drone job instead.
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* ''Series/TheFalconAndTheWinterSoldier'': Wilfred Nagel, a HYDRA scientist, was recruited by the CIA to work on their super-soldier program. He doesn't succeed before the program is scrapped, so he goes to work for someone else.
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* In the backstory of ''ComicBook/TopTen'', the US government recruited several Nazi scientists to help them build Neopolis, the first city entirely populated by super-powered individuals.
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* In the backstory of ''ComicBook/TopTen'', the US government recruited several Nazi scientists to help them build Neopolis, the first city entirely populated by super-powered individuals. [[spoiler:This went sideways when the Nazi scientists tried to [[GodwinsLawOfTimeTravel use time travel to win WWII for the Nazis]].]]
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* ''VideoGame/AceCombat'': Following [[VideoGame/AceCombatZeroTheBelkanWar the Belkan War]] many scientists and engineers left the country to develop weapons and technology for other nations. [[SubvertedTrope However]], in ''[[VideoGame/AceCombat7SkiesUnknown Skies Unknown]]'', Dr. Schroeder reveals that most of them secretly worked behind the scenes to escalate conflicts across the globe to avenge the fall of their homeland.
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->''Now I will sing you of Wernher von Braun\\
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-->'''Mason:''' Poor bastards...
-->'''Woods:''' They're Nazi bastards, they don't deserve sympathy.
-->'''Woods:''' They're Nazi bastards, they don't deserve sympathy.
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* ''Fanfic/CodeGeassPaladinsOfVoltron'': After the Galra invade and occupy Earth, Lloyd Asphund jumps at the opportunity to join the Voltron Coalition. After the Coalition liberates the Olkari from the Galra, Lloyd is shown to get along quite well with them, even when they call the Lancelot primitive.
* ''Fanfic/CodePrime'': After Britannia falls to the Decepticons at the end of ''R1'', Lloyd Asphund defects to the Autobot/Black Knights alliance, primarily because the Autobots will grant him more freedom to improve the Lancelot with Cybertronian technology.
* ''Fanfic/CodePrime'': After Britannia falls to the Decepticons at the end of ''R1'', Lloyd Asphund defects to the Autobot/Black Knights alliance, primarily because the Autobots will grant him more freedom to improve the Lancelot with Cybertronian technology.
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* Referenced by Music/FlandersAndSwann in the introduction to their song "The Wompom", in which the eponymous... ''thing'' is said to have been created by "a British scientist, Professor Wernher Von Lebensraum."
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* The Kugelstadt mission in ''VideoGame/ReturnToCastleWolfenstein'' features a top-level nazi scientist serving under "Deathshead" who, as the OSA director puts it, wishes to defect and is desperately seeking asylum. Naturally one of your objectives becomes covering his ass so he can be extracted safely.
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->''Now I will sing you of Wernher von Braun''
->''A man whose allegiance was ruled by expedience''
->''Call him a Nazi, he won't even frown''
->''"Ah, Nazi, Schmazi!" says Wernher von Braun!''
->''A man whose allegiance was ruled by expedience''
->''Call him a Nazi, he won't even frown''
->''"Ah, Nazi, Schmazi!" says Wernher von Braun!''
to:
->''Now I will sing you of Wernher von Braun''
->''ABraun\\
A man whose allegiance was ruled byexpedience''
->''Callexpedience\\
Call him a Nazi, he won't evenfrown''
->''"Ah,frown\\
"Ah, Nazi, Schmazi!" says Wernher von Braun!''
->''A
A man whose allegiance was ruled by
->''Call
Call him a Nazi, he won't even
->''"Ah,
"Ah, Nazi, Schmazi!" says Wernher von Braun!''
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(Indices: {{Reichstropen}}, DoctorIndex, TropesOnScienceAndUnscience, MakeMyIndexLive, MilitaryAndWarfareTropes, QuoteSource/Music)
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->''You, too, can be a big hero''
->''Once you learn to count backwards to zero''
->''"In German, und Anglish, I know how to count down''
->''Und I'm learning Chinese," says Wernher von Braun!''
->''Once you learn to count backwards to zero''
->''"In German, und Anglish, I know how to count down''
->''Und I'm learning Chinese," says Wernher von Braun!''
to:
->''You, too, can be a big hero''
->''Oncehero\\
Once you learn to count backwards tozero''
->''"Inzero\\
"In German, und Anglish, I know how to countdown''
->''Unddown\\
Und I'm learning Chinese," says Wernher von Braun!''
->''Once
Once you learn to count backwards to
->''"In
"In German, und Anglish, I know how to count
->''Und
Und I'm learning Chinese," says Wernher von Braun!''
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Created from YKTTW
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->''Now I will sing you of Wernher von Braun''
->''A man whose allegiance was ruled by expedience''
->''Call him a Nazi, he won't even frown''
->''"Ah, Nazi, Schmazi!" says Wernher von Braun!''
-->-- '''Music/TomLehrer''', "[[Music/ThatWasTheYearThatWas Wernher von Braun]]"
It's the final stages of the war, and the army has captured the MadScientist responsible for building all the BigBad's {{Doomsday Device}}s! At last, he'll face justice for the crimes his unholy inventions have wrought! The general is marching up to him, and they're... shaking hands?
Doctor von Turncoat is an enemy scientist or inventor (typically involved in the design of cutting-edge technology or top-secret weaponry) who switches sides during or immediately after a conflict, and is accepted with open arms by the receiving side. This is generally driven less by moral scruples and more by simple pragmatism--they can read the writing on the wall and want to be on the winning side, or will gladly work for anyone who funds their research. If they're faced with threats of prosecution by the victors, a choice between employment and prison (or execution) is [[AnOfferYouCantRefuse An Offer They Can't Refuse]].
There's a good amount of TruthInTelevision for this: in [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Paperclip Operation Paperclip]], the United States government clandestinely recruited over a thousand UsefulNotes/{{Nazi German|y}} scientists in the closing months of World War II--initially to help win the war against Japan, but later to win UsefulNotes/TheSpaceRace against the Soviet Union. Expect any characters who are based on real Project Paperclip scientists to be portrayed as HerrDoktor with a MorallyAmbiguousDoctorate, and their arsenals of inventions including some StupidJetpackHitler-tier technology.
Other characters' reactions to Doctor von Turncoat are rarely positive. The only people excited to work with them tend to be {{General Ripper}}s, salivating at the thought of turning their shiny new weapons against their unsuspecting enemies. The people who previously fought the Doctor or their employer, especially if they've lost comrades to the Doctor's weapons, may see letting them go scot-free as a betrayal of the values they fought and bled for. Things may also be awkward in their new working environment, especially if some of their new coworkers had previously fled the regime Doctor von Turncoat previously worked for. Sure, the Doctor can swear up and down that they were [[ReluctantMadScientist forced to work for the regime]] or JustFollowingOrders, but there'll always be suspicions about how easily they were coerced.
A SubTrope of RecruitingTheCriminal and KarmaHoudini. Sister trope to BoxedCrook. Compare RetiredMonster, NaziGrandpa, CantKillYouStillNeedYou, GetOutOfJailFreeCard, and IndispensableScoundrel. Compare and contrast ReluctantMadScientist, KidnappedScientist, and LeonineContract.
(Indices: {{Reichstropen}}, DoctorIndex, TropesOnScienceAndUnscience, MakeMyIndexLive, MilitaryAndWarfareTropes, QuoteSource/Music)
----
!!Examples
[[foldercontrol]]
[[folder:Comic Books]]
* In ''ComicBook/AvengersTheInitiative'', Baron Werner von Blitzschlag is an unapologetic former Nazi scientist who was scooped up by the American government after the war under Operation Paperclip. During the days of the Initiative, he offered his expertise in cloning and genetic engineering to help create the Thor clone and cover up the death of recruit Michael Van Patrick.
* In the alternate-history comic miniseries ''[[Creator/WarrenEllis Ministry of Space]]'', it's the British rather than the USA who recruit Wernher von Braun and his associates, leading to a highly successful British space program and large-scale colonization of the solar system by the early 21st century. It's also revealed that the program was largely financed with stolen NaziGold.
* In John Byrne's ''ComicBook/{{NextMen}}'', a scientist named Fleming Jorgenson works in an American base in Antarctica in the 1950s (seen in a flashback in Vol. 1). In Vol. 2, it is revealed he was previously a [[spoiler:surgeon working for the Nazis and operating in a concentration camp some eugenics experiment]].
* In the backstory of ''ComicBook/TopTen'', the US government recruited several Nazi scientists to help them build Neopolis, the first city entirely populated by super-powered individuals.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Fan Works]]
* ''Fanfic/WithThisRing'': With several of his family members drifting toward legitimate and semi-legitimate lines of work, and with the possibility of reuniting with his ex-wife whom he still loves, supervillain Doctor Silvana negotiates a worldwide pardon for his past crimes in exchange for his expertise in defeating the Sheeda invasion.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Film--Live-Action]]
* ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheWinterSoldier'':
** After Hydra's defeat and the Red Skull's disappearance at the end of World War II, former Hydra second-in-command Dr. Arnim Zola was brought to the United States as part of Operation Paperclip. [[spoiler:He was able to refound Hydra with a clique of fellow ex-Nazi scientists inside S.H.I.E.L.D., which thoroughly infiltrated its highest echelons in the ensuing decades.]]
** [[spoiler:Hydra scientists taken by the Soviet Union established a branch in Russia as well, eventually linking back up with their American counterparts. They took over the Winter Soldier program, using him for decades to assassinate enemies of Hydra in secrecy.]]
* ''Film/CSATheConfederateStatesOfAmerica'': It's stated that the slave-owning Confederate States of America disapproved of the Nazis killing Jews instead of enslaving them, but decided to stay neutral in Europe when UsefulNotes/WorldWarII broke out, with the [=C.S.A.=] focusing on conquering, and enslaving, Japan. When the war in Europe ended, the [=C.S.A.=] enacted "Operation Aryan Angel," with the aim of bringing as many former Nazi scientists over to the [=C.S.A.=] as possible and using their technical know-how to expand their empire.
* ''Film/DrStrangelove'': Keeping in line with the film's satire of the UsefulNotes/ColdWar, the title character is a Nazi scientist who was hired as President Muffley's scientific advisor in the hopes that his skills would give America an upper hand against the Soviet Union. As it turns out, Strangelove is more "mad" than "scientist" and is more than happy to relish in the aftermath of a nuclear war if it means being able to establish a Fourth Reich.
* ''Film/RockyHorrorPictureShow'': Implied to be Professor Scott's background. Dr. Frank N. Furter alludes to it by asking him, "Or is it Professor ''[[TheVonTropeFamily von]]'' Scott?"
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Literature]]
* In Creator/WilliamGibson's ''Literature/SprawlTrilogy'' universe {{Mega Corp}}s keep their top scientists in ironclad contracts that essentially make them [[IndenturedServitude Indentured Servants]], resulting in a whole underworld industry of persuading scientists to defect to a rival corporation with deniable assets faking kidnappings to bring them over. The short story (and movie) "New Rose Hotel" and Turner's plot in the novel ''Literature/CountZero'' are about how such jobs can go horribly wrong.
* {{Subverted}} in ''[[Literature/XWingSeries X-Wing: Solo Command]]''. The New Republic captures a scientist working for Warlord Zsinj and gets her to reverse-engineer the chemical brainwashing protocols she developed to turn people into {{Manchurian Agent}}s, granting immunity from prosecution in exchange for the cure. [[spoiler:Nawara Ven then tricks her into [[JusticeByOtherLegalMeans getting caught trying to transit a New Republic port carrying sufficient Imperial currency to incur a life sentence for sedition]].]]
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
* ''Series/AgentsOfSHIELD'': Discussed in the flashback scenes involving [[Series/AgentCarter Peggy Carter]] and Dr. Werner Reinhardt. He offers his services to the U.S. government in exchange for a pardon, noting that many other Hydra scientists were offered the same, but his human vivisection experiments were so horrifying that the he's soundly rejected.
* ''Series/BabylonFive'': Jha'dur, the title character of "[[Recap/BabylonFiveS01E09Deathwalker Deathwalker]]," is a MadScientist from the [[GreatOffscreenWar Dilgar War]] notorious for producing bioweapons and experimenting on prisoners. After being sheltered by a RenegadeSplinterFaction of the Minbari warrior caste since the war's end and the destruction of the Dilgar homeworld in a supernova, she appears on Babylon 5 carrying an ImmortalityInducer she plans to sell to the Earth Alliance. After a diplomatic standoff between the senior members of the Advisory Council and the Dilgars' former victims in the League of Non-Aligned Worlds, the League agrees to let her leave in exchange for the fruits of her research. [[spoiler:Then [[ShaggyDogStory her ship is destroyed leaving the station on orders from Vorlon Ambassador Kosh]], who--not inaccurately--tells the rest of the cast, "You are not ready for immortality."]]
* ''Series/{{The Boys|2019}}'': Frederick Vought, the inventor of Compound V, was an ardent Nazi who defected to the United States with his wife and daughter when the course of the war started to turn against Germany. He worked with the US government to create Soldier Boy, the world's first costumed superhero, and went on to found Vought International.
* ''Series/ForAllMankind'': Wernher von Braun becomes the scapegoat for NASA's failure to beat the Soviets to the moon, especially when the full extent of his involvement with the Nazis is revealed in a Congressional hearing. He ends up resigning in ignominy.
* ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000:'' In "[[Recap/MysteryScienceTheater3000S03E21SantaClausConquersTheMartians Santa Claus Conquers the Martians]]," the eponymous movie features a NASA scientist named Wernher von Green, [[NoCelebritiesWereHarmed an obvious parody of Wernher von Braun]]. Crow cracks a few joke implying than von Green was also recruited by Operation Paperclip: he dubs von Green starting an interview (about Santa Claus' recent abduction) with an unprompted defense of his actions in the war, and later has the von Green refer to the interviewer as "mein Führer."
-->'''Crow:''' ''(as Wernher von Green)'' I'm innocent! I was only following orders-- Oh.
* ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'': Allegorized in "[[Recap/StarTrekVoyagerS5E8NothingHuman Nothing Human]]". In order to treat a crewmate, the ''Voyager'''s Doctor generates a hologram of Dr. Crell Moset, a Cardassian xenobiologist renowned across the Federation. The Doctor learns to his horror that Moset got his medical expertise from experimenting on Bajoran civilians during Cardassia's occupation. One crew member even lost family members to Moset's experiments. The whole episode is an allegory for the real-world debate on the relative merits of Operation Paperclip, and whether it is ethical to use information gained through atrocities in peaceful applications.
* ''Series/{{Taken}}'': Dr. Kreutz is a former Nazi scientist brought in by Colonel Owen Crawford to study the alien ship recovered from Roswell. He first appears in "Jacob and Jesse" and is killed in "High Hopes."
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Music]]
* Satirized by Music/TomLehrer in his song "Wernher von Braun," on his album ''Music/ThatWasTheYearThatWas''. He sardonically praises von Braun's political flexibility, as well as the damage his V2 rockets caused to London.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
* ''TabletopGame/{{Shadowrun}}'': "Extraction" jobs are a standard variety of shadowrun inspired by Gibson's stories where runners grab one corporation's scientist and bring them to another. But, rollplayers being who they are they often skip the "persuade the scientist" stage and go straight to the [[TranquillizerDart Narcoject]].
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Video Games]]
* ''VideoGame/{{Bioshock}}'' gives us Dr. Yi Suchong, who started out designing plasmids (gene-based weapons) for crime lord Frank Fontaine. When Andrew Ryan finally moved in and crushed Fontaine's forces, Suchong defected to Ryan's side and began making plasmids for him as well.
* ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOps'':
** Dr. Friedrich Steiner was a German scientist who helped develop Nova 6 nerve gas for the Nazis, then offered to surrender his research to the Soviets in exchange for his life. He came under the protection of General Nikita Dragovich, developing both a refined version of Nova 6 as well as brainwashing techniques for creating {{Manchurian Agent}}s. [[spoiler:When Hudson and the CIA start closing in on Steiner, he makes another offer to defect, this time to betray Dragovich, in exchange for his protection. Unfortunately for him, Alex Mason finds him first.]]
** During the mission "Executive Order," the CIA agents are sent into Soviet Kazakhstan to sabotage the launch of Soyuz Two. The resulting blast sets the scientists in the control room on fire, whom Woods points out were Nazi scientists recruited by the Soviets.
-->'''Mason:''' Poor bastards...
-->'''Woods:''' They're Nazi bastards, they don't deserve sympathy.
* ''VideoGame/{{Dishonored}}'': The Loyalists task Corvo with kidnapping Anton Sokolov, a brilliant inventor, doctor and artist who works as the Lord Regent's physician. Though he initially shows contempt for his captors, Sokolov begins working with the Loyalists and eventually forms a partnership with fellow scientist Piero. In the low-chaos ending, [[spoiler:the two work together to create a cure to the Rat Plague]].
* ''VideoGame/Fallout3:'' Anna Holt assists Dr. Li with her Project Purity to help bring fresh water back to the Capital Wasteland. She defects to the Enclave the first chance she gets because she genuinely believes that they will actually help the wastelanders. The player still loses karma if they kill her at this point.
* ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemPathOfRadiance Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance]]'': Izuka is a mad scientist employed by Mad King Ashnard, who experiments on [[BeastMan laguz]] to turn them into feral, weaponized beasts. The [[VideoGame/FireEmblemRadiantDawn sequel]] reveals that after the war, Izuka is given a position as Prince Pelleas' advisor, with his tactical and scientific knowledge considered too valuable to let him go.
* The plot of both ''VideoGame/SniperElite'' and its reboot ''VideoGame/SniperEliteV2'' deals with tracking down Nazi officers involved in the German nuclear program in the final weeks of the war, making sure to kill the ones who intend to defect to the Soviet Union. ''V2'' also includes missions where the player protects a scientist willing to defect to the US.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Western Animation]]
* PlayedWith in ''WesternAnimation/{{Exosquad}}'' with Prof. Algernon. He is a genius Terran scientist who was captured by the [[ArtificialHuman Neosapien]] [[TurnedAgainstTheirMasters regime]] and put to work in their Venusian R&D, despite the Neos otherwise treating Terrans captured on Venus more akin to cattle. When the Terran armed forces recapture Algernon, they put him to work in their own R&D, despite him not only having built weapons for the enemy that killed thousands of Terrans, but also expressing zero remorse for that or [[MorallyAmbiguousDoctorate even concern about who payrolls his research, as long as he can carry it out]].
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Invincible}}'': D.A. Sinclair, a student and scientist at Upstate University, is defeated by Invincible after he kidnaps several of his peers to [[UnwillingRoboticisation turn them into cyborgs]]. Cecil later recruits him to the Global Defense Agency so he can [[spoiler:continue making cyborgs for them, which are later used to slow down Omni-Man's rampage.]]
* ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'': In "The O.W.C.A. Files", Dr. Doofenshmirtz is allowed to become an O.W.C.A. agent, despite being O.W.C.A.'s Public Enemy no. 3 for the entirety of the main series.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Real Life]]
* After World War II, the US government's Operation Overcast and Operation Paperclip recruited some 1,600 Nazi scientists, many of them involved in aeronautics and rocketry. This included Wernher and Magnus von Braun, Kurt Debus, and Arthur Rudolph, who later became instrumental in the foundation of NASA and the Apollo rocket program. While many of those involved portrayed themselves as working for the Nazis {{reluctant|MadScientist}}ly, scholarship in recent decades revealed that a good many of them were aware of or complicit in UsefulNotes/TheHolocaust, mainly in the form of using slave labor from concentration camps in the construction of V-2 rockets. Few of them faced prosecution, and then only decades after the war's end.
* Similarly, the US granted immunity to the heads of Unit 731, a Japanese bioweapons research unit whose experiments involved extensive [[TestedOnHumans human experimentation]] on Chinese civilians. The pardon was because American scientists believed that the Unit's discoveries would be invaluable in treating diseases and injuries, but it turned out that the quality of recorded data was rather poor, and its actual usefulness was nebulous.
* The British had several operations of their own, such as the Fedden Mission and Operation Surgeon, with the goal of rounding up any Nazis they could find of particular scientific or technical expertise. They also did numerous joint programs with the US military like the Alsos Mission, which targeted the German nuclear program.
* The Soviets had Operation Osoaviakhim, which saw the deportation of over 2,500 Nazi scientists and technicians from the Red Army's German and Austrian occupation zones to the Soviet Union. They also seized the entirety of the Mittelwerk rocket center, the main production site for the V-2 rocket.
[[/folder]]
----
->''You, too, can be a big hero''
->''Once you learn to count backwards to zero''
->''"In German, und Anglish, I know how to count down''
->''Und I'm learning Chinese," says Wernher von Braun!''
->''A man whose allegiance was ruled by expedience''
->''Call him a Nazi, he won't even frown''
->''"Ah, Nazi, Schmazi!" says Wernher von Braun!''
-->-- '''Music/TomLehrer''', "[[Music/ThatWasTheYearThatWas Wernher von Braun]]"
It's the final stages of the war, and the army has captured the MadScientist responsible for building all the BigBad's {{Doomsday Device}}s! At last, he'll face justice for the crimes his unholy inventions have wrought! The general is marching up to him, and they're... shaking hands?
Doctor von Turncoat is an enemy scientist or inventor (typically involved in the design of cutting-edge technology or top-secret weaponry) who switches sides during or immediately after a conflict, and is accepted with open arms by the receiving side. This is generally driven less by moral scruples and more by simple pragmatism--they can read the writing on the wall and want to be on the winning side, or will gladly work for anyone who funds their research. If they're faced with threats of prosecution by the victors, a choice between employment and prison (or execution) is [[AnOfferYouCantRefuse An Offer They Can't Refuse]].
There's a good amount of TruthInTelevision for this: in [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Paperclip Operation Paperclip]], the United States government clandestinely recruited over a thousand UsefulNotes/{{Nazi German|y}} scientists in the closing months of World War II--initially to help win the war against Japan, but later to win UsefulNotes/TheSpaceRace against the Soviet Union. Expect any characters who are based on real Project Paperclip scientists to be portrayed as HerrDoktor with a MorallyAmbiguousDoctorate, and their arsenals of inventions including some StupidJetpackHitler-tier technology.
Other characters' reactions to Doctor von Turncoat are rarely positive. The only people excited to work with them tend to be {{General Ripper}}s, salivating at the thought of turning their shiny new weapons against their unsuspecting enemies. The people who previously fought the Doctor or their employer, especially if they've lost comrades to the Doctor's weapons, may see letting them go scot-free as a betrayal of the values they fought and bled for. Things may also be awkward in their new working environment, especially if some of their new coworkers had previously fled the regime Doctor von Turncoat previously worked for. Sure, the Doctor can swear up and down that they were [[ReluctantMadScientist forced to work for the regime]] or JustFollowingOrders, but there'll always be suspicions about how easily they were coerced.
A SubTrope of RecruitingTheCriminal and KarmaHoudini. Sister trope to BoxedCrook. Compare RetiredMonster, NaziGrandpa, CantKillYouStillNeedYou, GetOutOfJailFreeCard, and IndispensableScoundrel. Compare and contrast ReluctantMadScientist, KidnappedScientist, and LeonineContract.
(Indices: {{Reichstropen}}, DoctorIndex, TropesOnScienceAndUnscience, MakeMyIndexLive, MilitaryAndWarfareTropes, QuoteSource/Music)
----
!!Examples
[[foldercontrol]]
[[folder:Comic Books]]
* In ''ComicBook/AvengersTheInitiative'', Baron Werner von Blitzschlag is an unapologetic former Nazi scientist who was scooped up by the American government after the war under Operation Paperclip. During the days of the Initiative, he offered his expertise in cloning and genetic engineering to help create the Thor clone and cover up the death of recruit Michael Van Patrick.
* In the alternate-history comic miniseries ''[[Creator/WarrenEllis Ministry of Space]]'', it's the British rather than the USA who recruit Wernher von Braun and his associates, leading to a highly successful British space program and large-scale colonization of the solar system by the early 21st century. It's also revealed that the program was largely financed with stolen NaziGold.
* In John Byrne's ''ComicBook/{{NextMen}}'', a scientist named Fleming Jorgenson works in an American base in Antarctica in the 1950s (seen in a flashback in Vol. 1). In Vol. 2, it is revealed he was previously a [[spoiler:surgeon working for the Nazis and operating in a concentration camp some eugenics experiment]].
* In the backstory of ''ComicBook/TopTen'', the US government recruited several Nazi scientists to help them build Neopolis, the first city entirely populated by super-powered individuals.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Fan Works]]
* ''Fanfic/WithThisRing'': With several of his family members drifting toward legitimate and semi-legitimate lines of work, and with the possibility of reuniting with his ex-wife whom he still loves, supervillain Doctor Silvana negotiates a worldwide pardon for his past crimes in exchange for his expertise in defeating the Sheeda invasion.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Film--Live-Action]]
* ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheWinterSoldier'':
** After Hydra's defeat and the Red Skull's disappearance at the end of World War II, former Hydra second-in-command Dr. Arnim Zola was brought to the United States as part of Operation Paperclip. [[spoiler:He was able to refound Hydra with a clique of fellow ex-Nazi scientists inside S.H.I.E.L.D., which thoroughly infiltrated its highest echelons in the ensuing decades.]]
** [[spoiler:Hydra scientists taken by the Soviet Union established a branch in Russia as well, eventually linking back up with their American counterparts. They took over the Winter Soldier program, using him for decades to assassinate enemies of Hydra in secrecy.]]
* ''Film/CSATheConfederateStatesOfAmerica'': It's stated that the slave-owning Confederate States of America disapproved of the Nazis killing Jews instead of enslaving them, but decided to stay neutral in Europe when UsefulNotes/WorldWarII broke out, with the [=C.S.A.=] focusing on conquering, and enslaving, Japan. When the war in Europe ended, the [=C.S.A.=] enacted "Operation Aryan Angel," with the aim of bringing as many former Nazi scientists over to the [=C.S.A.=] as possible and using their technical know-how to expand their empire.
* ''Film/DrStrangelove'': Keeping in line with the film's satire of the UsefulNotes/ColdWar, the title character is a Nazi scientist who was hired as President Muffley's scientific advisor in the hopes that his skills would give America an upper hand against the Soviet Union. As it turns out, Strangelove is more "mad" than "scientist" and is more than happy to relish in the aftermath of a nuclear war if it means being able to establish a Fourth Reich.
* ''Film/RockyHorrorPictureShow'': Implied to be Professor Scott's background. Dr. Frank N. Furter alludes to it by asking him, "Or is it Professor ''[[TheVonTropeFamily von]]'' Scott?"
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Literature]]
* In Creator/WilliamGibson's ''Literature/SprawlTrilogy'' universe {{Mega Corp}}s keep their top scientists in ironclad contracts that essentially make them [[IndenturedServitude Indentured Servants]], resulting in a whole underworld industry of persuading scientists to defect to a rival corporation with deniable assets faking kidnappings to bring them over. The short story (and movie) "New Rose Hotel" and Turner's plot in the novel ''Literature/CountZero'' are about how such jobs can go horribly wrong.
* {{Subverted}} in ''[[Literature/XWingSeries X-Wing: Solo Command]]''. The New Republic captures a scientist working for Warlord Zsinj and gets her to reverse-engineer the chemical brainwashing protocols she developed to turn people into {{Manchurian Agent}}s, granting immunity from prosecution in exchange for the cure. [[spoiler:Nawara Ven then tricks her into [[JusticeByOtherLegalMeans getting caught trying to transit a New Republic port carrying sufficient Imperial currency to incur a life sentence for sedition]].]]
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
* ''Series/AgentsOfSHIELD'': Discussed in the flashback scenes involving [[Series/AgentCarter Peggy Carter]] and Dr. Werner Reinhardt. He offers his services to the U.S. government in exchange for a pardon, noting that many other Hydra scientists were offered the same, but his human vivisection experiments were so horrifying that the he's soundly rejected.
* ''Series/BabylonFive'': Jha'dur, the title character of "[[Recap/BabylonFiveS01E09Deathwalker Deathwalker]]," is a MadScientist from the [[GreatOffscreenWar Dilgar War]] notorious for producing bioweapons and experimenting on prisoners. After being sheltered by a RenegadeSplinterFaction of the Minbari warrior caste since the war's end and the destruction of the Dilgar homeworld in a supernova, she appears on Babylon 5 carrying an ImmortalityInducer she plans to sell to the Earth Alliance. After a diplomatic standoff between the senior members of the Advisory Council and the Dilgars' former victims in the League of Non-Aligned Worlds, the League agrees to let her leave in exchange for the fruits of her research. [[spoiler:Then [[ShaggyDogStory her ship is destroyed leaving the station on orders from Vorlon Ambassador Kosh]], who--not inaccurately--tells the rest of the cast, "You are not ready for immortality."]]
* ''Series/{{The Boys|2019}}'': Frederick Vought, the inventor of Compound V, was an ardent Nazi who defected to the United States with his wife and daughter when the course of the war started to turn against Germany. He worked with the US government to create Soldier Boy, the world's first costumed superhero, and went on to found Vought International.
* ''Series/ForAllMankind'': Wernher von Braun becomes the scapegoat for NASA's failure to beat the Soviets to the moon, especially when the full extent of his involvement with the Nazis is revealed in a Congressional hearing. He ends up resigning in ignominy.
* ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000:'' In "[[Recap/MysteryScienceTheater3000S03E21SantaClausConquersTheMartians Santa Claus Conquers the Martians]]," the eponymous movie features a NASA scientist named Wernher von Green, [[NoCelebritiesWereHarmed an obvious parody of Wernher von Braun]]. Crow cracks a few joke implying than von Green was also recruited by Operation Paperclip: he dubs von Green starting an interview (about Santa Claus' recent abduction) with an unprompted defense of his actions in the war, and later has the von Green refer to the interviewer as "mein Führer."
-->'''Crow:''' ''(as Wernher von Green)'' I'm innocent! I was only following orders-- Oh.
* ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'': Allegorized in "[[Recap/StarTrekVoyagerS5E8NothingHuman Nothing Human]]". In order to treat a crewmate, the ''Voyager'''s Doctor generates a hologram of Dr. Crell Moset, a Cardassian xenobiologist renowned across the Federation. The Doctor learns to his horror that Moset got his medical expertise from experimenting on Bajoran civilians during Cardassia's occupation. One crew member even lost family members to Moset's experiments. The whole episode is an allegory for the real-world debate on the relative merits of Operation Paperclip, and whether it is ethical to use information gained through atrocities in peaceful applications.
* ''Series/{{Taken}}'': Dr. Kreutz is a former Nazi scientist brought in by Colonel Owen Crawford to study the alien ship recovered from Roswell. He first appears in "Jacob and Jesse" and is killed in "High Hopes."
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Music]]
* Satirized by Music/TomLehrer in his song "Wernher von Braun," on his album ''Music/ThatWasTheYearThatWas''. He sardonically praises von Braun's political flexibility, as well as the damage his V2 rockets caused to London.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
* ''TabletopGame/{{Shadowrun}}'': "Extraction" jobs are a standard variety of shadowrun inspired by Gibson's stories where runners grab one corporation's scientist and bring them to another. But, rollplayers being who they are they often skip the "persuade the scientist" stage and go straight to the [[TranquillizerDart Narcoject]].
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Video Games]]
* ''VideoGame/{{Bioshock}}'' gives us Dr. Yi Suchong, who started out designing plasmids (gene-based weapons) for crime lord Frank Fontaine. When Andrew Ryan finally moved in and crushed Fontaine's forces, Suchong defected to Ryan's side and began making plasmids for him as well.
* ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOps'':
** Dr. Friedrich Steiner was a German scientist who helped develop Nova 6 nerve gas for the Nazis, then offered to surrender his research to the Soviets in exchange for his life. He came under the protection of General Nikita Dragovich, developing both a refined version of Nova 6 as well as brainwashing techniques for creating {{Manchurian Agent}}s. [[spoiler:When Hudson and the CIA start closing in on Steiner, he makes another offer to defect, this time to betray Dragovich, in exchange for his protection. Unfortunately for him, Alex Mason finds him first.]]
** During the mission "Executive Order," the CIA agents are sent into Soviet Kazakhstan to sabotage the launch of Soyuz Two. The resulting blast sets the scientists in the control room on fire, whom Woods points out were Nazi scientists recruited by the Soviets.
-->'''Mason:''' Poor bastards...
-->'''Woods:''' They're Nazi bastards, they don't deserve sympathy.
* ''VideoGame/{{Dishonored}}'': The Loyalists task Corvo with kidnapping Anton Sokolov, a brilliant inventor, doctor and artist who works as the Lord Regent's physician. Though he initially shows contempt for his captors, Sokolov begins working with the Loyalists and eventually forms a partnership with fellow scientist Piero. In the low-chaos ending, [[spoiler:the two work together to create a cure to the Rat Plague]].
* ''VideoGame/Fallout3:'' Anna Holt assists Dr. Li with her Project Purity to help bring fresh water back to the Capital Wasteland. She defects to the Enclave the first chance she gets because she genuinely believes that they will actually help the wastelanders. The player still loses karma if they kill her at this point.
* ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemPathOfRadiance Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance]]'': Izuka is a mad scientist employed by Mad King Ashnard, who experiments on [[BeastMan laguz]] to turn them into feral, weaponized beasts. The [[VideoGame/FireEmblemRadiantDawn sequel]] reveals that after the war, Izuka is given a position as Prince Pelleas' advisor, with his tactical and scientific knowledge considered too valuable to let him go.
* The plot of both ''VideoGame/SniperElite'' and its reboot ''VideoGame/SniperEliteV2'' deals with tracking down Nazi officers involved in the German nuclear program in the final weeks of the war, making sure to kill the ones who intend to defect to the Soviet Union. ''V2'' also includes missions where the player protects a scientist willing to defect to the US.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Western Animation]]
* PlayedWith in ''WesternAnimation/{{Exosquad}}'' with Prof. Algernon. He is a genius Terran scientist who was captured by the [[ArtificialHuman Neosapien]] [[TurnedAgainstTheirMasters regime]] and put to work in their Venusian R&D, despite the Neos otherwise treating Terrans captured on Venus more akin to cattle. When the Terran armed forces recapture Algernon, they put him to work in their own R&D, despite him not only having built weapons for the enemy that killed thousands of Terrans, but also expressing zero remorse for that or [[MorallyAmbiguousDoctorate even concern about who payrolls his research, as long as he can carry it out]].
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Invincible}}'': D.A. Sinclair, a student and scientist at Upstate University, is defeated by Invincible after he kidnaps several of his peers to [[UnwillingRoboticisation turn them into cyborgs]]. Cecil later recruits him to the Global Defense Agency so he can [[spoiler:continue making cyborgs for them, which are later used to slow down Omni-Man's rampage.]]
* ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'': In "The O.W.C.A. Files", Dr. Doofenshmirtz is allowed to become an O.W.C.A. agent, despite being O.W.C.A.'s Public Enemy no. 3 for the entirety of the main series.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Real Life]]
* After World War II, the US government's Operation Overcast and Operation Paperclip recruited some 1,600 Nazi scientists, many of them involved in aeronautics and rocketry. This included Wernher and Magnus von Braun, Kurt Debus, and Arthur Rudolph, who later became instrumental in the foundation of NASA and the Apollo rocket program. While many of those involved portrayed themselves as working for the Nazis {{reluctant|MadScientist}}ly, scholarship in recent decades revealed that a good many of them were aware of or complicit in UsefulNotes/TheHolocaust, mainly in the form of using slave labor from concentration camps in the construction of V-2 rockets. Few of them faced prosecution, and then only decades after the war's end.
* Similarly, the US granted immunity to the heads of Unit 731, a Japanese bioweapons research unit whose experiments involved extensive [[TestedOnHumans human experimentation]] on Chinese civilians. The pardon was because American scientists believed that the Unit's discoveries would be invaluable in treating diseases and injuries, but it turned out that the quality of recorded data was rather poor, and its actual usefulness was nebulous.
* The British had several operations of their own, such as the Fedden Mission and Operation Surgeon, with the goal of rounding up any Nazis they could find of particular scientific or technical expertise. They also did numerous joint programs with the US military like the Alsos Mission, which targeted the German nuclear program.
* The Soviets had Operation Osoaviakhim, which saw the deportation of over 2,500 Nazi scientists and technicians from the Red Army's German and Austrian occupation zones to the Soviet Union. They also seized the entirety of the Mittelwerk rocket center, the main production site for the V-2 rocket.
[[/folder]]
----
->''You, too, can be a big hero''
->''Once you learn to count backwards to zero''
->''"In German, und Anglish, I know how to count down''
->''Und I'm learning Chinese," says Wernher von Braun!''
