Nordwestdeutsche Gesellschaft für Weltraumforschung

From The Space Library

Post-war German astronautical group based in the city of Stade. Officially registered in the British zone on June 28, 1949 and headed by Hans K. Kaiser a rocket engineer who had worked at Peenemünde during the war.

The NWGfW, or Northwest German Society for Space Research, had Kaiser as president based in Brackwede; H.J. Rückert as vice-president based in Stade; R.J. Rudat, secretary based in Friedrichstadt; and Ing. Gerhard E. Janzon, technical director based in Dortmund.

Publications included Benachrichtigungen der NWGfW (July 1948) and Vortragsreihe der NWGfW Folge Nr 1 (August 1949), Forschungsreihe NWGfW (a series of research reports) (December 1950 with an article by Krafft Ehricke titled Die Grundlagen des Interplanetaren Fluges-I) and Raketenflug (Rocket flight) a monthly publication.

According to a letter by Kaiser published by the GfW in Weltraumfahrt the NWGfW discontinued business on June 24 1950 due to lack of funds, but work continued erratically.

By 1951 branches of the NWGfW were established in Bremen, Hannover and Hildesheim. Offices were in Eider by 1953 although the organisation had merged with the Stuttgart based GfW in September 1952.