Alfred Johannes Finzel

 German Rocket Scientist

Nickname:Johannes
Born:July 25, 1916, Leipzig, East Germany
Died:December 1, 1984, Huntsville, Alabama
Buried:Maple Hill Cemetery, Huntsville, Alabama

Notes:

•  Peter Finzel, son of Alfred Johannes, wrote a special article and committed several paragraphs to the telling of his family's history. In it he tells of how his family fled Peenemunde and the trials that they endured before settling in Huntsville in 1950 with von Braun's team. - Finzel

•  "German engineer in WW2, member of the Rocket Team in the United States thereafter. German expert in guided missiles during World War II. Member of the German rocket team, arrived in America under Project Paperclip on 16 November 1945 aboard the Argentina from La Havre. As of January 1947, working at Fort Bliss, Texas. Worked his entire life with the rocket team, at Fort Bliss, White Stands, and then at Huntsville." - EA

•  From the coded chart:
Group (1) arrived on the SS Argentina on 11/15/1945
MSFC (Marshall Space Flight Center)
Industrial (Contracts)DIR Staff to Director, Industrial Operations
Building 4201 - Woodard

•  Lutheran and members of St. Mark's Lutheran Church - Finzel

•  Lived in Blossomwood (a neighborhood in Huntsville, AL) - Finzel

•  Married to Brigitte Gertrude Michalik (Nov. 30, 1913 - Dec. 20, 2001) from Danzig (part of Poland). - Finzel & Find A Grave

•  Alfred J. Finzel
     "Alfred Johannes Finzel, 68, of 1413 Dale Circle, died Saturday at his residence. A memorial service will be Wednesday at 10 am. at St. Marks Lutheran Church with the Rev. Henry William officiating.
     Burial will be in Maple Hill Cemetery with Laughlin-Service Funeral Home in charge.
     Mr. Finzel was a member of the Von Braun team and retired from NASA. Survivors include his wife, Mrs. Brigitte Finzel; a daughter Mrs. Ursula F. Scriven of Indiana; two sons, Peter Finzel of Huntsville and Hans Finzel of Austria; and seven grandchild.
     In lieu of flowers the family requests donations be made to Hospice of Huntsville." - The Huntsville Times


Related Links:

•  EA - Encyclopedia Astronautic

•  Find A Grave - Page created by Heather

•  Finzel - A Mighty Fortress of Faith: A History of St. Mary of the Visitation Church, 1861-2011, by Edited by Pat Tumminello, 2012, pages 184 & 185.

•  National Archives - Article about the mass naturalization process for the scientist coming from Nazi Germany. (Finzel's name is specifically mentioned) (Originally found at http://www.archives.gov/locations/calendar/08-january.pdf#search=Finzel&zoom=100.)

•  The Huntsville Times - The Huntsville Times Obituary Monday, December 3, 1984

•  Woodard - Names of the "Original 118 Team" at Redstone Arsenal, Huntsville, Alabama. List found here at Lunarpedia.org. Page under "Pioneers, Schemers and Dreamers" submitted by Grady Woodard. List shows names after Ft. Bliss with their reference work location and building number, from Redstone-Army Missile Command Roster - June 1966, MSFC 1960-1967 Charts, Organization Roster - June 1967


"Group of 104 German rocket scientists in 1946, including Wernher von Braun,[1] Ludwig Roth and Arthur Rudolph, at Fort Bliss, Texas. The group had been subdivided into two sections: a smaller one at White Sands Proving Grounds for test launches and the larger at Fort Bliss for research.[2] Many had worked to develop the V-2 Rocket at Peenemünde Germany and came to the U.S. after World War II, subsequently working on various rockets including the Explorer 1 Space rocket and the Saturn (rocket) at NASA." Image and caption from Wikipedia.

"This is the key to identifying the Von Braun Team and his fellow German Rocket Experts before moving from Fort Bliss, Texas, to Huntsville, Alabama." Key from history.msfc.nasa.gov.