Between 1945 and 1959, Operation Paperclip was a secret US intelligence program in which approximately 1,600 German scientists, engineers, and technicians were transferred from former Nazi Germany to the United States for government employment following the end of World War II in Europe. It was carried out mostly by special agents of the US Army's Counterintelligence Corps and was carried out by the Joint Intelligence Objectives Agency (JIOA) (CIC). Many of these persons were previous Nazi Party members, and others were previous Nazi Party leaders. ¹⁾