Go West young man...
A certain percentage of humanity is driven by the need to explore and/or move away from the teeming masses.
The need to explore has been stifled. Space is the only frontier available and at this point we can only dream.
I have no doubt that I would have moved West when there was a western frontier. I detest the rules and regulations of polite society.
As for the German rocket program, I believe that Wernher von Braun and others had their eyes on the stars but they knew what they were doing. I am pretty sure I would have been all in as well.
There are lots of slippery slopes when you are working for the military, especially in a time of total war.