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.
","abstract_html":"<p>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.</p> <p>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.</p> <p>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.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Hawkins, Kirsten"],"institution":null,"degree_name":null,"degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"War, Diplomacy and Society","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Charissa Threat","Mateo Jarquín","Jeffrey Koerber"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2025,"date_issued":"2025-12-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2025-12-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:38:43Z","subjects":["Operation Paperclip","National Security","Samuel Klaus","German Scientists","History of Science, Technology, and Medicine","Military History","Political History","United States History"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://digitalcommons.chapman.edu/war_and_society_theses/49","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Charissa Threat","Mateo Jarquín","Jeffrey Koerber"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Hawkins, Kirsten"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["War, Diplomacy and Society"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Operation Paperclip","National Security","Samuel Klaus","German Scientists","History of Science, Technology, and Medicine","Military History","Political History","United States History"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://digitalcommons.chapman.edu/war_and_society_theses/49"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["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.
"]},{"key":"dc:source","label":"Dc Source","values":["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"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Operation Paperclip and the Use of National Security: Si vis pacem, para bellum"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Charissa Threat","Mateo Jarquín","Jeffrey Koerber"],"dc:creator":["Hawkins, Kirsten"],"dc:description.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.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://digitalcommons.chapman.edu/war_and_society_theses/49"],"dc:source":["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"],"dc:subject":["Operation Paperclip","National Security","Samuel Klaus","German Scientists","History of Science, Technology, and Medicine","Military History","Political History","United States History"],"dc:title":["Operation Paperclip and the Use of National Security: Si vis pacem, para bellum"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["War, Diplomacy and Society"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:38:43Z"}