So that they would not be left to the tender mercies of the Russians? That's hardly a selfless act.
“So that they would not be left to the tender mercies of the Russians? That’s hardly a selfless act.”
Many other scientists among the Peenemunde team chose to go to the Russians. There were many instances where von Braun risked life and limb to protect people against the threats of the NAZIs. After von Braun’s serious injuries in the automobile accident during their evacuation, von Braun could have simply stayed in the hospital and let everyone else fend for themselves and the technical documentation to be destroyed or captured by the Russians. Instead von Braun endured tremendous pain and risks to see his people were safely in American custody along with the technical documentation needed to resume a future space program built upon the foundation started by Robert Goddard.