Von Braun was one of the most important rocket developers and champions of space exploration during the period between the 1930s and the 1970s, encouraged by reading the science fiction of Jules Verne and H.G. Wells, and the science study of Oberth, "Die Rakete zu den Planetenräumen" (By Rocket to Space) (1923). Beginning as a teenager, von Braun worked on space flight, becoming involved as early as 1929 in the German rocket society, Verein fur Raumschiffarht (VfR).<ref>http://history.msfc.nasa.gov/vonbraun/bio.html</ref> As a means of furthering his desire to build large and capable rockets, in 1932 he went to work for the German army to develop ballistic missiles. He received a Ph.D. in physics on July 27, 1934.
[[File:Himmler and von Braun.PNG|right|250px|thumb|[[Heinrich Himmler]] (foreground) von Braun (behind)<ref>[https://youtu.be/wrKmDUNi6sY NASA's Nazi Memorials - Honouring War Criminals 2024], Mark Felton Productions, Apr 20, 2024. [[YouTube]]</ref>]]
Von Braun led the “rocket team” which developed the [[V-2]] ballistic missile for the Nazis during [[World War II]]. The V-2's, used to bomb England with devastating effect, were manufactured at a forced labor factory called Mittelwerk.