New Swabia

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New Swabia
Neuschwabenland
Defunct Antarctic claim of Nazi Germany
Emblem of the Nazi German Antarctic Expedition.svg
Expedition logo
(1938–39)
NewSwabiaMap.jpg
Territory comprising New Swabia shown in red
Historical era World War II
19 January 1939
9 April 1940
8 May 1945
Today part ofFlag of Norway.svg  Queen Maud Land

New Swabia (Norwegian and German : Neuschwabenland) was an area of Antarctica explored, with the intention to claim it, by Nazi Germany between 1938 and 1939, within the Norwegian territorial claim of Queen Maud Land . The region was named after the expedition's ship, Schwabenland, itself named after the German region of Swabia. [1] [2] Although the name "New Swabia" is occasionally mentioned in historical contexts, it is not an officially recognized cartographic name in modern use. The area is now part of Queen Maud Land, governed under the Antarctic Treaty System.

Contents

Background

Like many other countries, Germany sent expeditions to the Antarctic region in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, most of which were scientific. The late 19th century expeditions to the Southern Ocean, South Georgia, the Kerguelen Islands, and the Crozet Islands were astronomical, meteorological, and hydrological, mostly in close collaboration with scientific teams from other countries. As the 19th century ended, Germany began to focus on Antarctica.

The first German expedition to Antarctica was the Gauss expedition from 1901 to 1903. Led by Arctic veteran and geology professor Erich von Drygalski, this was the second expedition to use a hot-air balloon in Antarctica. It also found and named Kaiser Wilhelm II Land. The second German Antarctic expedition (1911–1912) was led by Wilhelm Filchner with a goal of crossing Antarctica to learn if it was one piece of land. As happened with other such early attempts, the crossing failed before it even began. The expedition discovered and named the Luitpold Coast and the Filchner Ice Shelf. A German whaling fleet was put to sea in 1937 and, upon its successful return in early 1938, plans for a third German Antarctic expedition were drawn up. [3]

German Antarctic Expedition (1938–1939)

The third German Antarctic Expedition (1938–1939) was led by Alfred Ritscher (1879–1963), a captain in the German Navy. The main purpose was to find an area in Antarctica for a German whaling station, as a way to increase Germany's production of fat. Whale oil was then the most important raw material for the production of margarine and soap in Germany and the country was the second largest purchaser of Norwegian whale oil, importing some 200,000 metric tonnes annually. Besides the disadvantage of being dependent on imports, it was thought that Germany would soon be at war, which was considered to put too much strain on Germany's foreign currency reserves. Another goal was to scout possible locations for a German naval base. [4] [5]

Flag of the Reichskolonialbund and the common flag for all German colonies during the Nazi period. Although attributed to New Swabia by some sources, there is no evidence the flag was ever used in the territory. Flagge Reichskolonialbund2.svg
Flag of the Reichskolonialbund and the common flag for all German colonies during the Nazi period. Although attributed to New Swabia by some sources, there is no evidence the flag was ever used in the territory.

On 17 December 1938, the New Swabia Expedition left Hamburg for Antarctica aboard MS Schwabenland (a freighter built in 1925 and renamed in 1934 after the Swabia region in southern Germany) which could also carry and catapult aircraft. The secret [5] expedition had 33 members plus Schwabenland's crew of 24. On 19 January 1939, the ship arrived at the Princess Martha Coast, in an area which had lately been claimed by Norway as Queen Maud Land, and began charting the region. Nazi German flags were placed on the sea ice along the coast. Naming the area Neu-Schwabenland after the ship, the expedition established a temporary base and in the following weeks teams walked along the coast recording claim reservations on hills and other significant landmarks. Seven photographic survey flights were made by the ship's two Dornier Wal seaplanes named Passat and Boreas. [1] [7] About a dozen 1.2-meter (3.9 ft)-long aluminum arrows, with 30-centimeter (12 in) steel cones and three upper stabilizer wings embossed with swastikas, were airdropped onto the ice at turning points of the flight polygons (these arrows had been tested on the Pasterze glacier in Austria before the expedition). [1] [7] [8] None of these have ever been recovered. Eight more flights were made to areas of keen interest and on these trips, some of the photos were taken with colour film. Altogether they flew over hundreds of thousands of square kilometers and took more than 16,000 aerial photographs, some of which were published after the war by Ritscher. The ice-free Schirmacher Oasis, which now hosts the Maitri and Novolazarevskaya research stations, was spotted from the air by Richard Heinrich Schirmacher (who named it after himself) shortly before the Schwabenland left the Antarctic coast on 6 February 1939. [9]

MS Schwabenland in 1938 Schwabenland.jpg
MS Schwabenland in 1938
German map of Antarctica (1941) showing Neuschwabenland claim Map of Antarctica with Neuschwabenland.jpg
German map of Antarctica (1941) showing Neuschwabenland claim

On its return trip to Germany, the expedition made oceanographic studies near Bouvet Island and Fernando de Noronha, arriving back in Hamburg on 11 April 1939. Meanwhile, the Norwegian government had learned about the expedition through reports from whalers along the coast of Queen Maud Land.

Shortly after the expedition's return, World War II broke out in Europe, with Germany occupying Norway in April of 1940. This occupation technically extended to the Norwegian Antarctic Dependencies, nearby to New Swabia. Additionally, the fall of France to Germany later that year also technically brought the French Antarctic territory of Adélie Land under German influence. However, no attempt at controlling or incorporating these territories were made, and any German territory in Antarctica was relinquished following the defeat of Germany in May 1945.

Germany never advanced any territorial claims to the region, which were abandoned in 1945. [10]

Geographic features mapped by the expedition

Because the area was first explored by a German expedition, the name Neuschwabenland (New Swabia) is still used for the region on some maps, as are many of the German names given to its geographic features. [11] Some geographic features mapped by the expedition were not named until the Norwegian-British-Swedish Antarctic Expedition (NBSAE) (1949–1952), led by John Schjelderup Giæver. Others were not named until they were remapped from aerial photographs taken by the Norwegian Antarctic Expedition (1958–1959). [12]

The exact location of objects in italics could not yet be determined because the position was given too imprecisely in the expedition report due to navigation problems with the aircraft, and most of the aerial photographs that would have allowed identification were lost during World War II. The names of objects that could be clearly located were used in the Norwegian translation of the topographical map Dronning Maud Land 1:250,000 published by the Norwegian Polar Institute in 1966.


NameName on the Norwegian MapPosition (Informationen in the "Bundesanzeiger")Named after / Note
Alexander-von-Humboldt-Mountains Humboldtfjella71° 24′–72° S, 11°–12° O Alexander von Humboldt
Humboldt BasinHumboldtsøkketNear the eastern border of the Alexander-von-Humboldt-MountainsAlexander von Humboldt
AltarAltaret71° 36′ S, 11° 18′ Odistinctive mountain shape
Amelang PlateauLadfjella74° S, 6° 12′–6° 30′ WHerbert Amelang, 1. Officer of the "Schwabenland“
Am Überlauf (At the Overflow)GrautrennaEasterly to the Eckhörner (Corner Horns)glaciated pass
Barkley MountainsBarkleyfjella72° 48′ S, 1° 30′–0° 48′ OErich Barkley (1912–1944), biologist
BastionBastionen71° 18′ S, 13° 36′ O
Bludau MountainsHallgrenskarvet und HeksegrytaPart Iof a 150 km mountain range 72° 42′ S, 3° 30′ W und 74° S, 5° WJosef Bludau (1889–1967), ships surgeon
Mount Bolle72° 18′ S, 6° 30′ OHerbert Bolle, Deutsche Lufthansa, foreman of the aircraft assemblers
Boreas Boreas Dornier Wal D-AGAT „Boreas“
Brandt Mountain72° 13′ S, 1° 0′ OEmil Brandt (* 1900), Sailor, saved an expedition member from drowning
Mount Bruns72° 05′ S, 1° 0′ OHerbert Bruns (* 1908), electrical engineer of the expedition ship
Buddenbrock Range71° 42′ S, 6° OFriedrich Freiherr von Buddenbrock, Operations Manager of Atlantic Flights at Deutsche Lufthansa
Bundermann RangeGrytøyrfjellet71° 48′–72° S, 3° 24′ OMax Bundermann (* 1904), aerial photographer
Conrad MountainsConradfjella71° 42′–72° 18′ S, 10° 30′ O Fritz Conrad
Dallmann Mountains Dallmannfjellet71° 42′–72° S, closely west 11° O Eduard Dallmann
Drygalski Mountains Drygalskifjella71° 6′–71° 48′ S, 7° 6′–9° 30′ O [13] Erich von Drygalski
Eckhörner (Corner Horns)HjørnehornaNorth end of the Alexander-von-Humboldt-Gebirgesmarkante Bergform
Filchner Mountains Filchnerfjella71° 6′–71° 48′ S, 7° 6′–9° 30′ O [13] Wilhelm Filchner
Gablenz-Ridge72°–72° 18′ S, 5° O Carl August von Gablenz
Gburek Peaks Gburektoppane72° 42′ S, 0° 48′–1° 10′ W Leo Gburek (1910–1941), geomagnetist
Geßner Peak Gessnertind71° 54′ S, 6° 54′ OWilhelm Geßner (1890–1945), Director of Hansa Luftbild
Gneiskopf Peak Gneisskolten71° 54′ S, 12° 12′ Opromintent peak
Gockel-Ridge Vorrkulten73° 12′ S, 0° 12′ WWilhelm Gockel, meteorologist of the expedition
Graue Hörner (Grey Horns)GråhornaSouthern corner of the Petermann mountain range
Gruber Mountains Slokstallen und Petrellfjellet 72° S, 4° OErich Gruber (1912–1940), radio operator on D-AGAT „Boreas“
Habermehl Peak HabermehltoppenWesternly to the Geßnerpeak Richard Habermehl, head of the Reich Weather Service
Mount Hädrich 71° 57′ S, 6° 12′ OWilly Hädrich, Authorized officer at Deutsche Lufthansa, responsible for the accounting of the expedition
Mount Hedden 72° 8′ S, 1° 10′ OKarl Hedden, Sailor, saved an expedition member from drowning
Herrmann Mountains 73° S, 0°–1° OErnst Herrmann, geologist of the expedition
In der Schüssel (In the Bowl)Grautfatetin the North of the Alexander-von-Humboldt-Gebirgesglaciated valley
Johannes Müller RidgeMüllerkammenJohannes Müller († 1941), Participant in the 2nd German South Polar Expedition in 1911/12, Head of the Nautical Department of the North German Lloyd
Kaye Peak Langfloget 72° 30′ S, 4° 48′ OGeorg Kaye, Naval architect, looked after the ships of Lufthansa
Kleinschmidt PeakEndenPart of a 150 km long ridge between 72°42′ S, 3°30′ W and 74° S, 5° WErnst Kleinschmidt, German Maritime Observatory
Kottas MountainsMilorgfjella74° 6′–74° 18′ S, 8° 12′–9° W Alfred Kottas, Captain of the "Schwabenland"
Kraul Mountains Vestfjella Otto Kraul, ice pilot
Krüger MountainsKvitskarvet73° 6′ S, 1° 18′ OWalter Krüger, meteorologist of the expedition
Kubus Kubus72° 24′ S, 7° 30′ Odistinctive mountain shape
Kurze Mountain RangeKurzefjella72° 6′–72° 30′ S, 9° 30′–10° OFriedrich Kurze,Vice Admiral, Head of the Nautical Department of the Naval High Command
Lange-Plateau71° 58′ S, 0° 25′ OHeinz Lange (1908–1943), meteorlogical assistant
Loesener Plateau Skorvetangen, Hamarskorvene und Kvithamaren 72° S, 4° 18′ OKurt Loesener, airplane mechanic of D-AGAT „Boreas“
Lose PlateauLausflæetdistinctive mountain shape
Luz Ridge72°–72° 18′ S, 5° 30′ OMartin Luz, commercial director at the German Lufthansa
Mayr Mountain Range Jutulsessen72°–72° 18′ S, 3° 24′ O Rudolf Mayr, Pilot of D-ALOX „Passat“
Matterhorn Ulvetannahighest peak in den Drygalski-Mountainsdistinctive mountain shape
Mentzel MountainsMentzelfjellet71° 18′ S, 13° 42′ O Rudolf Mentzel
Mühlig-Hofmann Mountains Mühlig-Hofmannfjella71° 48′–72° 36′ S, 3° O Albert Mühlig-Hofmann
Neumayer steep faceNeumayerskarvet Georg von Neumayer
New SwabiaExpeditionship „Schwabenland
Northwestern IslandNordvestøyaNorthend of the Alexander-von-Humboldt-Gebirgesisland-like nunatak group
Eastern HochfeldAustre Høgskeidetbetween the southern and central sections of the Petermann rangeIce tounge
Obersee (Upper Lake)Øvresjøen71° 12′ S, 13° 42′ Ofrozen lake
PassatPassatDonier Wal D-ALOX
Paulsen Mountains Brattskarvet, Vendeholten und Vendehø 72° 24′ S, 1° 30′ O Karl-Heinz Paulsen, oceanographer of the expedition
Payer Mountain groupPayerfjella72° 0′ S, 14° 42′ O Julius von Payer
Penck Trough Pencksøkket Albrecht Penck
Petermann Range PetermannkjedaBetween the Alexander-Humboldt-Mountains and the „zentralen Wohlthatmassiv“ [=Otto-von-Gruber-Mountains] on 71°18′–72°9′ S August Petermann
Preuschoff Ridge Hochlinfjellet 72° 18′–72° 30′ S, 4° 30′ OFranz Preuschoff, airplane Mechanic of D-ALOX „Passat“
Regula Mountain RangeRegulakjedaHerbert Regula (1910–1980), I. Meteorologist of the expedition
Ritscherpeak Ritschertind71° 24′ S, 13° 24′ O Alfred Ritscher
Ritscher Upland RitscherflyaAlfred Ritscher
Mount RöbkeIsbrynetKarl-Heinz Röbke (* 1909), II. Officer on the „Schwabenland“
Mount Ruhnke Festninga72° 30′ S, 4° OHerbert Ruhnke (1904–1944), Radio operator on D-ALOX „Passat“
Sauter Mountain bar Terningskarvet72° 36′ S, 3° 18′ O Siegfried Sauter, aerial photographer
Schirmacher Ponds [14] Schirmacher Oasis 70° 40′ S, 11° 40′ ORichardheinrich Schirmacher, Pilot of D-AGAT „Boreas“
Schneider-Riegel73° 42′ S, 3° 18′ WHans Schneider, Head of the Sea-Flight Department of the German Maritime Observatory and Professor of Meteorology
Schubertpeak Høgfonna und Ovbratten Part of a 150 km long ridge between 72°42′ S, 3°30′ W und 74° S, 5° W Otto von Schubert, Head of the Nautical Department of the German Maritime Observatory
Schulz HeightsLagfjella73° 42′ S, 7° 36′ WRobert Schulz, II. Engineer on the „Schwabenland“
Schicht MountainsSjiktberga71° 24′ S, 13° 12′ O
Schwarze Hörner (Black horns)Svarthornasouthern corner of the northern part of the Petermann rangedistinctive mountain range
See Kopf (Sea-Head)Sjøhausen71° 12′ S, 13° 48′ Odistinctive mountain
Seilkopf Mountains NäleggaPart of a 150 km long ridge between 72°42′ S, 3°30′ W and° S, 5° W Heinrich Seilkopf, Head of the Sea-Flight Department of the German Maritime Observatory and Professor of Meteorology
Sphinxkopf Peak SfinksskoltenOn the north end of the Petermann rangedistinctive mountain
Spieß Peak Huldreslottet Part of a 150 km long ridge between. 72°42′ S, 3°30′ W and 74° S, 5° WAdmiral Fritz Spieß, commander of the research vessel Meteor
Stein Peaks StraumsnutaneWilly Stein, Boatswain of the „Schwabenland“
Todt Mountain bar Todtskota71° 18′ S, 14° 18′ O Herbert Todt, Assistent of the expeditionleader
Uhligpeak UhligbergaPart of a 150 km long ridge between72°42′ S, 3°30′ W and 74° S, 5° WKarl Uhlig, Leading Engineer of the „Schwabenland“
Lake Untersee Nedresjøen71° 18′ S, 13° 30′ Ofrozen lake
Vorposten Peak Forposten71° 24′ S, 15° 48′ Oremote nunatak
Western HochfeldVestre Høgskeidetglaciated plain
Weyprecht MountainsWeyprechtfjella72° 0′ S, 13° 30′ O Carl Weyprecht
Wegener Inland IceWegenerisen Alfred Wegener
Wittepeaks Marsteinen, Valken, Krylen und KnottenDietrich Witte, engine attendant of the "Schwabenland“
Wohlthat Mountain Range Wohlthatmassivet Helmuth Wohlthat
Mount Zimmermann Zimmermannfjellet71° 18′ S, 13° 24′ OCarl Zimmermann, Vice President of the German Research Foundation
Zuckerhut (sugar loaf)Sukkertoppen71° 24′ S, 13° 30′ Odistinctive mountain shape
Zwiesel Mountain ZwieselhøgdaOn the southern ends of the Petermann range

Aftermath

Germany made no formal territorial claims to New Swabia. [15] No whaling station or other lasting bases were built there by Germany, and no permanent presence was established until the Georg von Neumayer Station, a research facility, was opened in 1981. Germany's current Neumayer Station III is also located in the region.

Although New Swabia is occasionally mentioned in historical contexts, it is not an officially recognized cartographic designation today. The region is part of Queen Maud Land, administered by Norway as a dependent territory under the Antarctic Treaty System, and overseen by the Polar Affairs Department of the Ministry of Justice and the Police. [16]

Conspiracy theories

Neuschwabenland has been the subject of conspiracy theories for decades, some of them related to Nazi UFO claims. Most assert that, in the wake of the German expedition of 1938–39, a huge military base was built there. After the war, high-ranking Nazis, scientists, and elite military units are claimed to have survived there. The US and UK have supposedly been trying to conquer the area for decades, and to have used nuclear weapons in this effort. Proponents claim the base is sustained by hot springs providing energy and warmth. [17]

The WDR radio play Neuschwabenland-Symphonie from 2012 takes up the conspiracy theories. [18]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 McGonigal, David, Antarctica , frances lincoln ltd, 2009, ISBN   0-7112-2980-5 , 978-0-7112-2980-8, p. 367
  2. Widerøe, Turi (2008). "Annekteringen av Dronning Maud Land". Norsk Polarhistorie (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 15 July 2011.
  3. Luke Fater (6 November 2019). "Hitler's Secret Antarctic Expedition for Whales". Atlas Obscura. Retrieved 27 February 2021.
  4. Eric Niiler. "Hitler Sent a Secret Expedition to Antarctica in a Hunt for Margarine Fat". A&E Television Networks, LLC. Retrieved 27 February 2021.
  5. 1 2 "Hitler's Antarctic base: the myth and the reality" Archived 13 December 2016 at the Wayback Machine , by Colin Summerhayes and Peter Beeching, Polar Record , Volume 43 Issue 1, pp. 1–21. Cambridge University Press, 2007.
  6. "Former German Colonies and Overseas Territories".
  7. 1 2 Boudewijn Büch. Eenzaam, Eilanden 2 ('Lonely, Islands 2'), Holland 1994
  8. Ritscher's expedition report, more information pending
  9. William James Mills (2003). Exploring Polar Frontiers: M-Z. ABC-CLIO. pp. 552–. ISBN   978-1-57607-422-0.
  10. Jacek Machowski (1977). The Status of Antarctica in the Light of International Law. Office of Polar Programs and the National Science Foundation.
  11. e.g., National Geographic Atlas of the World, Eighth Edition, 2005
  12. USGS GNIS
  13. 1 2 Angabe für Drygalski- und Filchnerberge
  14. Renamed to Schirmacher Oasis, after Antarctic Oasis was defines as an independent object type
  15. Heinz Schön, Mythos Neu-Schwabenland. Für Hitler am Südpol, Selent: Bonus, 2004, p. 106, ISBN   978-3935962056, OCLC   907129665
  16. "Queen Maud Land". Encyclopædia Britannica . Retrieved 25 April 2011.
  17. Holm Hümmler: Neuschwabenland – Verschwörung, Mythos oder Ammenmärchen? In: Skeptiker. Nr. 3, 2013, S. 100–106.
  18. "ARD-Hörspieldatenbank". hoerspiele.dra.de. Retrieved 19 December 2021.

Literature

72°S5°E / 72°S 5°E / -72; 5