"Nazis vs. Aliens" has little of either

It has long been speculated.

The upper echelons of Nazi Germany were said to be fascinated with the occult and the paranormal.  From the Thule Society, whose beliefs included that Germans were descended from a master race headquartered in Greenland, to the lightning bolt designs of the SS, there is a certain occult bouquet that surrounds the Nazis.  Hey, just look at Raiders of the Lost Ark.  The idea is based on actual attempts by Hitler to acquire the Spear of Destiny and yes, the Ark of the Covenant.  And let us not forget all those dastardly Nazi-occult schemes foiled by the Justice Society of America and the All-Star Squadron in DC Comics.  (warm, contented sigh)

A bit less well-known is the apparent connection between the Nazis and UFOs.  Or at least flying saucer-like craft.  So when I saw a program called "Nazis vs. Aliens" listed on The Military Channel, I eagerly indulged.

I was, however, nothing but a pawn.  A dupe.
Why?  Well, let's take a look at the show.

Among its guests were Nick Pope, formerly of the British Ministry of Defense and now a UFO researcher.  There was also Seth Shostak (joy!)  Anyway, the program opens in a logical place, that being the sightings of Foo Fighters (no, not the band) that took place during World War II.  It is pointed out, and rightfully so, that several of these sightings can be attributed to the few jet aircraft that the Nazis were able to get airborne towards the end of the war.  Several...but not all.

As an editor from Popular Mechanics pointed out in the program, German aviation at that time was far beyond any other nation in the world.  The had the first jet aircraft, the first guided missiles and "smart bombs," and then there is the Horton flying wing that bears a serious resemblance to today's B-2 stealth bomber.  All of this was, luckily for our side, too little too late.

We cut away from that, however, and move to the development of the atomic bomb in New Mexico.  This leads into an exploration of the testing of captured V2 rockets and Werner Von Braun getting a space program underway...with the help of Nazi scientists granted immunity of course.  Given that it is New Mexico, a quick rundown of the Roswell incident is then issued.  It's an overview, but it centers on the "official" Air Force explanation of Project Mogul while giving just enough time for Seth Shostak to mock UFO researchers.  How fortunate we are to have a boniface such as he.

Transition then into the UFO flap of the 1950s, including the mass UFO sightings over Washington D.C. in July of 1952.  They talk about UFOs and pop sci-fi of the 50s for a while (what this has to do with Nazis I have no idea) and then...wrap it all up.

As you might imagine, I'm still trying to see the connection the title attempts to make between Nazis and aliens or even just UFOs for that matter.  There certainly isn't any sense of "versus" at work.  I mean it's not like we see Messerschmits in dogfights with flying saucers or anything.  What little connection that is made is weak at best.

I am not saying that there is no connection.  There are those who even assert that Hitler et. al. had cooperation from aliens (doubtful, but intriguing just the same.)  I'm simply pointing out that you're not going to find the connection on The Military Channel at this point.
  

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