During World War II, Smakula collaborated with the Nazi regime and worked on infrared guidance for missiles. After the end of World War II Smakula went to the US with other German physicists, where he first worked in Virginia investigating materials for infrared technology. In 1951 he was offered a professorship at MIT, where he mainly did research into crystalline materials. Olexander Smakula died on May 17, 1983, and is buried in Auburn, Massachusetts, USA.
