Lecture 16 Flashcards
What is technoscience and how did it differ from earlier use of technology
- Integrates scene, technology, government, universities, and private companies
- Focuses on destruction, money, control, contrasting with traditional technologies goals of solving environmental problems
How did WWI mark a shift in technological warfare?
- Professional engineers and scientist were involved in warfare for the first time
- The war caused 10 million deaths, reflecting the industrialization of war technologies
What was Trenchard’s doctrine, and how did it reflect changes in warfare?
Introduced in 1939, it emphasized targeting civilian populations to weaken enemy morale, a significant shift from traditional military tactics
What is eugenics and how was it connected to technoscience?
Eugenics aimed to improve the human race by eliminating ‘weak’ or ‘unwanted’ individuals often justified by Social Darwinism
What role did Kaiser Wilhelm Institute play in warfare?
Was the first to apply technoscience to mass murder, developing methods later used in the Holocaust
How did tanks shape WWII strategies?
- Heins Guderian pioneer Blitzkrieg tactics using Panzer tanks
- Panzer IV (1939): Early success.
- T-34/76 (1940): Soviet innovation.
- Panther (1943) and Tiger VI (1942): German advancements.
- IS-2 (Iosef Stalin): Soviet response to German tanks.
What were hitler’s super tanks and why did they fail?
Hitler obsessed over massive tanks like the Mouse (Porsche) and Rat but these design faced severe operational issues due to their size and weight
What were some of Germany’s secret technologies?
- Silver Bird (1940s): Experimental spaceplane.
- Ho 229 (1945): Early stealth aircraft.
- Ju 287 (1944): Jet bomber influencing Cold War designs.
How did the Manhattan Project and German efforts converge during WWII?
- The Manhattan Project in the US developed the atomic bomb
- German scientists including Werner Heisenberg worked on nuclear weapons but were hindered by resource limitations
What was the legacy of German wartime technology in the Cold War?
- German jet and rocket designs influenced post war advancements
- The US developed the Sabre while the USSR created the MiG-15, both inspired by wartime German designs
