New Swabia
New
Swabia is a section of the continent
Antarctica between 20?E and 10?W , which was claimed by
Germany between 19 January 1939 and 8 May 1945.
Encyclopedia
New Swabia is a section of the continent
Antarctica between 20°E and 10°W , which was claimed by
Germany between 19 January 1939 and 8 May 1945.
Early expeditions
Like many other countries,
Germany sent several expeditions to the
Antarctic region in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Most of them were scientific. The expeditions in the late 19th century were astronomical, meteorological and hydrological, and took place in the
Southern Ocean and on
South Georgia,
Kerguelen Islands and
Crozet Islands, mostly in close collaboration with scientific teams from other countries. However, at the end of the 19th century, the Germans started to focus on Antarctica itself.
The first German Antarctic Expedition , led by Arctic veteran and geology professor
Erich von Drygalski, was the first to use a
hot-air balloon in Antarctica. It also discovered and named Kaiser Wilhelm II Land.
The second German Antarctic Expedition , led by Wilhelm Filchner, aimed to cross Antarctica in an attempt to determine if Antarctica was one piece of land. The crossing-attempt failed before it even started but the expedition discovered and named the Luitpold Coast and the
Filchner Ice Shelf.
A German
whaling fleet had put to sea in 1937 and when it successfully returned in the spring of 1938, plans for a third German Antarctic Expedition were drawn up.
New Swabia expedition
The third German Antarctic Expedition was led by Alfred Ritscher . The main purpose was to secure an area in Antarctica for a German whaling station, as part of a plan 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 tons annually. Besides the disadvantage of being dependent on foreign sources, especially since it was likely Germany soon would be at war, this put considerable pressure on Germany’s foreign currency assets.
On December 17 1938 the New Swabia Expedition departed Hamburg for Antarctica aboard the
Schwabenland, a freighter capable of carrying and catapulting aircraft. The expedition had 33 members plus the
Schwabenlands crew of 24. In January 1939 the ship arrived in an area already claimed in 1938 by Norway as Dronning Maud Land and began charting the region. In the following weeks 15 flights were made by the ship’s two Dornier Wal aircraft named Passat
and Boreas
over an area reported to be about 600,000 square km . The result was more than 11,000 aerial photographs. To assert Germany’s claim to newly-named Neu-Schwabenland three German flags were placed along the coast and 13 more were air-dropped further inland. Teams also walked along the coast recording claim reservations on hills and other significant landmarks. The expedition established a temporary base and also reported the discovery by air of
hot springs with vegetation in some areas of the so-called Schirmacher Oasis which now hosts
Maitri station. The place was named after captain Schirmacher, who conducted the flight during which the freshwater lakes were discovered shortly before the
Schwabenland's return to Germany in February 1939.
Two more expeditions were scheduled for 1939-1940 and 1940-1941. These expeditions were expected to search for suitable whaling grounds and more importantly, extend Germany’s territorial claims in the Antarctic. The second expedition would also address some military issues, probably investigating the feasibility of naval bases from which Germany could control the
South Atlantic and
Indian Ocean along with the
Drake Passage. Both were cancelled with the outbreak of
World War II.
The name
Neuschwabenland is still used for the region on some maps, as are many of the German names given to its geographic features. Neumayer Station, Germany's current Antarctic research facility, is located in the New Swabia area.
Legal standing
No country ever recognized Germany's claim. Although some have insisted that through a legal loophole the German
Third Reich still exists judicially within the former borders of New Swabia, this is not supported by either German or international law nor by the terms of unconditional surrender to the Allied Powers signed by representatives of the German government on 8 May 1945, the date usually given for Germany's abandonment of the claim.
Nazi mythology
...
base under the ice in New Swabia during the early 1950s where he either disappeared into the
hollow earth or resumed his career as a painter. According to this account, Operation Highjump, the largest expedition mounted to the Antarctic, is claimed to have been sent to wipe out the Nazi presence.
See also
Sources, References & External links
- Scott Polar Research Institute
- Scott Polar Research Institute
- Abstract from research paper by Cornelia Lüdecke 2003, about the 1938–39 German Antarctic Expedition
- Dresden University of Technology
