New Swabia

Neuschwabenland (map)

New Swabia (German: Neuschwabenland; also Neu-Schwabenland) is a coastal region in East Antarctica that extends from approximately 12° West to 18° East and from 70° to 75° South over an area of ​​600,000 km². The name is derived from the ship "Schwabenland", the expedition ship of the German Antarctic Expedition 1938/39. Neuschwabenland forms the western part of Queen Maud's Land, claimed by Norway. This claim by Norway is not recognized internationally due to it being contrary to international law.

German Antarctic expeditions

Motif of a commemorative medal presented to expedition members in October 1939

Flags hoisted on the ground and from the plane

• Gauß Expedition
  • The Gauß expedition of 1901–1903 (also known as the Deutsche Südpolar-Expedition 1901–1903) was the first German expedition to Antarctica. It was led by geologist Erich von Drygalski in the ship "Gauß", named after the mathematician and physicist Johann Carl Friedrich Gauß. The geographer, geophysicist, geodesist and polar explorer Erich Dagobert von Drygalski (1865–1949) had already led the Greenland expedition of the Society for Geography in Berlin from 1891 to 1893. In November 1903 the tall ship "Gauß" arrived back in Kiel. Erich von Drygalski subsequently wrote the report on the expedition and processed the extensive scientific data. Between 1905 and 1931 he published 20 volumes and two atlases documenting the expedition Although the Amundsen and Scott expeditions are much better known than the German South Polar Expedition, von Drygalski's long-term contribution to polar research in the form of the work “German South Polar Expedition 1901–1903” was significantly greater.
• Second German Antarctic Expedition
  • The Second German Antarctic Expedition from 1911 to 1912 was a research trip with the aim of clarifying the question of whether the continent of Antarctica consists of two parts separated by an inlet running between the Ross and Weddell Seas. To do this, a land expedition should advance south from the coast of the Weddel Sea. The expedition was led by geophysicist Wilhelm Filchner (1877–1957). Due to profound differences between the leader and some of the officers and scientists, the expedition was canceled prematurely. Despite this scandal, and although the actual expedition goal could not be achieved, the Second German Antarctic Expedition is by no means considered a fiasco, but rather a success. After all, Filchner and his team had collected enormous amounts of scientific data and gained important new insights into the topography of Antarctica with the discovery of the Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf and the Prinzregent-Luitpold Land.
• Third German Antarctic Expedition
  • The German Antarctic Expedition 1938/39 was the third official Antarctic expedition of the German Reich after the Gauß Expedition and the Filchner Expedition. It was ordered by the “Representative for the Four-Year Plan” Hermann Göring; Planning and preparation was the responsibility of Ministerial Councilor Helmuth Wohlthat. The expedition was carried out primarily for economic reasons in order to secure new fishing grounds for the German whaling fleet and thus fill the “fat gap”, that is, to reduce the German Reich's dependence on the import of technical fats and dietary fats. The intention was to create a basis for a later German seizure of an Antarctic sector, so the preparations for this expedition were made in the strictest secrecy. The target area of ​​the expedition was the region between 20° West and 20° East.

New Swabia Expedition 1938/39

In July 1938, Captain Alfred Ritscher (1879–1963) was entrusted with leading an expedition to Antarctica. Within a few months it was possible to assemble and equip an expedition whose aim was to create topographical knowledge for the German whaling fleet, while at the same time carrying out a scientific program along the coast, taking into account biology, meteorology, oceanography, geomagnetics and the previously unknown hinterland to explore through survey flights.

Since there was only six months to prepare, Ritscher had to rely on existing ships and aircraft that were previously in Deutsche Lufthansa's Atlantic service. After urgent renovation work on the ship "Schwabenland" and the two Dornier whale flying boats "Boreas" and "Passat", the expedition left Hamburg on 17 December 1938.

After World War I, domestic agriculture in Germany was unable to satisfy the increased demands for dietary and industrial fats with its own produce. In 1932, the consumption of margarine and artificial dietary fats was covered by foreign imports amounting to 524,000 tons, compared with 2000 tons of domestic production (0.6%). Whale oil (train oil) had already been secretly used as a basic ingredient in margarine during World War I and was increasingly needed as a raw material for lubricants and soaps. The growing demand produced a so-called fat gap, which cost the country important foreign currency—an expense that needed to be avoided after the National Socialists seized power. In line with the “fat plan,” consumption was to be gradually switched to domestic fats. As a first step, the need to produce industrial greases, soap, and dietary fats was to be satisfied by increased domestic oilseed production. However, whale oil had to be imported as long as the agricultural economy was unable to achieve this objective. This soon resulted in an acute lack of foreign currency. Import quotas on train oils were therefore put in place to protect domestic production.

The German Antarctic Expedition reached the working area on the Princess Martha Coast on 19 January 1939. In seven measurement image flights between 20 January and 5 February 1939, an area of ​​approximately 350,000 km² was photogrammetrically recorded using series cameras. Previously completely unknown, ice-free mountain regions in the coastal hinterland were discovered. Metal arrows with national emblems were dropped at the turning points of the flight polygons in order to establish German claims of ownership. During eight additional special flights, in which Ritscher also took part, particularly interesting regions were filmed and taken with color photos. Biological investigations could be carried out on board the Schwabenland and on the coast on the sea ice. However, the equipment did not allow sled expeditions onto the ice shelf or landings of flying boats in the mountainous region. The explorations took place without a single expedition member entering the territory.

The region viewed and flown over between 10° W and 15° E was named “Neuschwabenland” by the expedition management. In the meantime, the Norwegian government had received information about German activities through an indiscretion by the wife of the deputy expedition leader Ernst Herrmann to the Norwegian geologist Adolf Hoel and declared the entire sector between 20° W and 45° E as Dronning Maud Land (English: Queen Maud Land) on 14 January 1939 Norwegian territory without defining its southern extent.

The expedition left the coast of Antarctica on 6 February 1939 and on the return journey carried out further oceanographic surveys in the area of ​​Bouvet Island and Fernando de Noronha. At the request of the Navy High Command of the Kriegsmarine, crew members landed on the Brazilian island of Trindade on 18 March 1939 to check whether U-Boots could be discreetly supplied with fresh water and food there. The landing party was shipwrecked in a small bay and had to be rescued after a climb. Since the landing took place in the strictest secrecy, nothing about it appeared in Ritscher's printed report. On 11 April 1939, the "Schwabenland" entered the port of Hamburg again.

As a result of the secret preparation, the public did not know anything about the expedition in advance. On the return journey, an initial report was telegraphed from Cape Town to Helmut Wohlthat, who issued a press release on 6 March 1939. While in Great Britain the Daily Telegraph and in the United States the New York Times reported on the expedition, each with a reference to the illegal Norwegian seizure of the area shortly before, only the local Hamburg press took notice when it returned to Germany. On 25 May 1939, a small-format map of the discovered mountains and the flight polygons, which was not authorized by the expedition leader, appeared in the Berliner Illustrirte Zeitung. The map was drawn by the aircraft mechanic Franz Preuschoff and is therefore referred to as the “Preuschoff map”. This map was incorporated by Australian cartographer E. P. Bayliss into his 1:10,000,000 scale map of Antarctica published in 1939.

In Berlin, a reference to the expedition was posted on a sign in the Zoological Garden. This was set up in front of the enclosure of the emperor penguins, which were caught on the expedition by Lufthansa flight captain Rudolf Mayr, the flight mechanic Franz Preuschoff and the expedition's zoologist Erich Barkley and arrived in Cuxhaven on 12 April 1939. The expedition's geologist, Ernst Herrmann, published a popular science book in 1941, which was the only report for a wider audience for more than 60 years.

Post-WWII theories

Neuschwabenland has been the subject of conspiracy theories for decades, some of them related to Third Reich 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 National Socialists, 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 three nuclear weapons against the second German ice fortress "Neu-Berchtesgaden" (Operation Argus, secretly conducted from 27 August to 9 September 1958) in this effort. Proponents claim, the covert bases were sustained by hot springs providing energy and warmth.

Operation Highjump

Operation “Highjump” was a major military operation by the USA in the German territory of Neuschwabenland (Antarctica) in 1946/47 under the direction of polar explorer Richard Evelyn Byrd, who's first Antarctic expedition was from 1928 to 1930 (his second during the summer of 1933/34, his third 1939/40), and the command of Rear Admiral Richard Harold Cruzen. Officially, the Operation was disguised as “The United States Navy Antarctic Developments Program, 1946–1947” (also called Task Force 68). However, according to Byrd's own statement, this operation was "primarily military in nature."

The fleet consisted of thirteen US Navy support ships (besides the flagship USS "Mount Olympus" and the aircraft carrier USS "Philippine Sea"), six flying boats, two seaplane tenders, and 15 other aircraft were used as well as six helicopters, which were used here for the first time in significant military use and whose design documents had previously been stolen in Germany. Alltogether, Task Force 68 included 4,700 men, 70 ships, and 33 aircraft. It is hardly comprehensible that so many ships and men take part in a mere scientific expedition.

During the course of the operation, several aircraft “disappeared” and the Balao-class submarine USS "Sennet" was also damaged (supposedly through pack ice). The official explanation was that it was an accident. Wilhelm Landig said that the Americans were repelled by military means (“Hauneburg Devices”; Haunebu III) on 3 March 1947. Byrd discussed the lessons learned from the operation in an interview with Lee van Atta of International News Service held aboard the expedition's command ship, the USS "Mount Olympus". The interview appeared in the Wednesday, 5 March 1947, edition of the Chilean newspaper El Mercurio and read in part as follows:

Admiral Richard E. Byrd warned today that the United States should adopt measures of protection against the possibility of an invasion of the country by hostile planes coming from the polar regions. The admiral explained that he was not trying to scare anyone, but the cruel reality is that in case of a new war, the United States could be attacked by planes flying over one or both poles. This statement was made as part of a recapitulation of his own polar experience, in an exclusive interview with International News Service. Talking about the recently completed expedition, Byrd said that the most important result of his observations and discoveries is the potential effect that they have in relation to the security of the United States. The fantastic speed with which the world is shrinking – recalled the admiral – is one of the most important lessons learned during his recent Antarctic exploration. I have to warn my compatriots that the time has ended when we were able to take refuge in our isolation and rely on the certainty that the distances, the oceans, and the poles were a guarantee of safety.

Excerpts from his unpublished alleged journal The Inner Earth – My Secret Diary (1947) are also said to have been published in German. Operation “Highjump II” was prepared in 1950, but was canceled shortly before the expiry date under flimsy reasons.

World of Warships

World of Warships, the free-to-play naval warfare-themed massively multiplayer game from Wargaming, developed the video game "Battle in Antarctica" where, in the mode, a team of 12 ships face 12 UFOs.

Further reading

• Alfred Ritscher: Die Deutsche Antarktische Expedition 1938–1939, 3 Volumes, 1942–1958 (reproduced 2017 by Fines Mundi)
• Ned Harris: Operation Highjump, Universal Ship Cancellation Society
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• Heinz Schön: Mythos Neu-Schwabenland. Für Hitler am Südpol. Die deutsche Antarktisexpedition 1938/39, Bonus-Verlag, 2004
• Colin Summerhayes / Peter Beeching: Hitler’s Antarctic base: – The myth and the reality, 2006
• Timothy Green Beckley / William Reed: The Secret Lost Diary of Admiral Richard E. Byrd and The Phantom of the Poles, 2012

External links

In German

• Über NEUSCHWABENLAND (NSL)