[8] Immediately after the war under the auspices of the Soviet Military Administration in Germany and other agencies in the Leunawerke had assembled a group of experts, led by Paul Herold, a former Director on science.
[9] At 4:15 a.m. on 21 October 1946, Geib, and all of the other German scientists who had worked on heavy water production during World War II, were rounded up in Leunawerke by the NKVD in "Operation Osoaviakhim"[3] as part of the Russian Alsos and deported to the Soviet Union.
They were housed in the town of Babushkin (presently Babushkinsky District of Moscow) and put to work at the Karpov Institute of Physical Chemistry under the leadership of Max Volmer until mid-1948 when they were then sent to Rubizhne in Ukraine.
[10] Scientific work on heavy water and its production in both Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union were conducted in strict secrecy, so many facts remain unclear.
After applying to the Canadian Embassy in Moscow for asylum (exact date classified) giving the name of Professor E. W. R. Steacie as a reference, he was told to come back the next day.