Operation Paperclip and the Use of National Security: Si vis pacem, para bellum

Author

Kirsten Hawkins, Chapman UniversityFollow

Date of Award

Fall 12-2025

Document Type

Thesis

Department

War, Diplomacy and Society

First Advisor

Charissa Threat

Second Advisor

Mateo Jarquín

Third Advisor

Jeffrey Koerber

Abstract

National security is a term that many are familiar with in the twenty-first century. In the United States it is commonly believed that its widespread use began after the attacks on the World Trade Center in New York on September 11, 2001. However, this work examines how the United States government has used the term and changed its definition in its application during Operation Paperclip. Operation Paperclip was a Second World War operation created to secure the scientific and technical research of German scientists at the end of the war in 1945.

This thesis examines Operation Paperclip and its expansion in the postwar period to include not just the collection of scientists and technical research but the exploitations and immigration of German scientists to the United States. The arrival of these scientists caused tension among some Americans once the intention to give them U.S. citizenship was made public. Those who opposed this move argued that this was the equivalent of rewarding former enemies and could open the United States and its citizens to unnecessary risk.

By looking at Operation Paperclip and the government's implementation of national security after the Second World War and the response by those who opposed the governments actions we can begin to see how the liberal definition and use of national security in the twenty-first century caused many to question the government's use and authority of national security as a means on interest of the elites over the security of the nation.

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

Recommended Citation

Hawkins, Kirsten. "Operation Paperclip and the Use of National Security: Si vis pacem, para bellum." Master's thesis, Chapman University, 2025. https://doi.org/10.36837/chapman.000707