Camp Confidential: America's Secret Nazis, directed by Daniel Sivan and Mor Loushy, is a historical documentary that sheds light on one of America’s top secret missions during World War II.
The 34 minute animated documentary investigates the American military facility that was set up during World War II - PO Box 1142, located near Washington DC. For over fifty years, those associated with the mission remained tight-lipped about the proceedings here. It was only in 2006 that the entire mission was declassified and interviews were conducted of the few remaining Jewish veterans who were associated with it.
Camp Confidential: America's Secret Nazis was nominated for a Critics Choice Documentary Award in the Best Short Documentary category. Here are a few takeaways from the short documentary, which is available to watch on Netflix.
What factors played into sending the first man to the Moon?
This wartime mission, which was launched to defeat Hitler and overthrow his Nazi empire, ended up deciding the fate of America’s space mission. The high-security military facility PO Box 1142 was set up to keep German rocket scientists who were allegedly developing the V2 rocket. Apparently, the weapon had the capability to destroy the leading World powers.
The mission was a diplomatic approach to win over these scientists who would then help the US win the war.
After the war was over, these scientists were given high-profile jobs and the opportunity to establish themselves in the US. They played a major role in America’s space mission, helping develop the Apollo project that would send the first man to the moon.
'Camp Confidential: America's Secret Nazis': A look into the emotional turmoil of the Jewish refugee soldiers who were a part of the mission
Camp Confidential: America's Secret Nazis also attempt to tell the story of the Jewish refugee soldiers who were deployed on this classified mission to extract intelligence from German scientists. Their task was to guard the top-secret interrogation center PO Box 1142 and look after a group of German scientists, including Wernher von Braun, who were brought over illegally from Germany to the United States during World War II.
These soldiers had mostly enlisted themselves in the army with the hope of going to war against the Nazis. However, they ended up being sent on a unique assignment where they had to look after the needs of these men who had been part of the mission to eradicate their entire race.
In such a situation, the soldiers found themselves questioning their integrity. Arno and Peter, the two veteran interviewees, narrate their pain and emotional turmoil in being made to ‘serve’ the men involved in the murder of their families.
Camp Confidential: America's Secret Nazis is a short but extremely dense documentary packed with facts that played an important role in shaping world history. Don't give this documentary a miss. It is available for streaming on Netflix.