No, von Neumann does not deserve credit for stealing Eckerts and Mauchleys life work.

von Neumann deserves credit for many things, but not this.

He famously brought a lawyer with him to a meeting after they wanted to discuss the report and the rights of their invention. The whole ENIAC saga has made me reconsider von Neumann as a person. He was a talented mathematician, sure, but he seems to have also been a greedy scumbag.

Eckert and Mauchley did not try to conceal their inspiration from Atanasoff, although I believe there was a court case on this topic.

And it is completely ridiculous to claim that von Neumann would have been able to describe the computer better than its inventors.

It's eaually ridiculous to consider that they would not have published themselves. They were collaborating with von Neumann on the report after all.

Goldstine and von Neumann stole the credit from Eckert and Mauchley, that is documented history.