RWSE Day 12: Closing in on the Continent

“The use of traveling is to regulate imagination by reality, and instead of thinking how things may be, to see them as they are.” ~~ Samuel Johnson ~~ (from the Daily Program)

Excited by yesterday’s announcement that we’d be reaching the Great White Continent this afternoon, we were up early! It was, of course, way too early to see anything outside. So, we breakfasted and then focused on the lectures on the Daily Program for this morning.

First up was Gary, who spoke about his experience overwintering at Australia’s Mawson Station in West Antarctica. He talked about the isolation that winter brings with it and the importance of camaraderie during the months of total darkness. You know, at one time — in my youth — I wanted to work in Antarctica and experience it for an entire year. Now … well, no thank you would be my response. I’ll stick to summertime visits!

Tennessee’s lecture was next … and the topic was especially interesting because it was directly connected to where we were going — Neuschwabenland … named by the German Antarctic Expedition of 1938-1939. This wasn’t the first German expedition to come down to the continent. There were two others that preceded it. This one, however, was associated with Nazi Germany.

The purpose of the expedition was mixed. There were scientists who wanted to explore and understand the continent. The Nazis had a different goal … they wanted to set up a whaling station of their own to reduce — if not eliminate — Germany’s dependence on Norway for whale oil. And acquire fishing grounds as well.

So, the Third Reich chartered a vessel from Lufthansa — Schwabenland — and set off for Antarctica. You can read details of the expedition on the web if interested in more information. Suffice to say that they arrived off what is Queen Maud Land — a territory claimed by Norway just a few days before the expedition’s arrival — and established a sector as New Swabia … aka Neuschwabenland. They never filed an official claim, however, and by 1945, the sector was abandoned.

The Nazis never built a whaling station on Neuschwabenland. Nor any other structures. That did not stop conspiracy theorists, however, from promoting the belief that a large-scale military base was constructed there for the high-ranking Nazis to flee to after they lost WWII … heated by hot springs under the ice, no less. They also furthered the claim that the UK and US tried to clear the land with nuclear weapons. Even more bizarre are the claims that — cue “Darth Vader’s Theme” from Star Wars … or any sci-fi movie theme of your choice — the Nazis developed UFOs at their underground bases here.

All that aside, the German scientists did accomplish a number of studies, not the least of which was the production of topographical maps of the area using aerial photographs … taken from the two Dornier aircraft the expedition brought to Antarctica … launched via a steam catapult from aboard the ship.

When we set out to visit this part of Antarctica, we had little knowledge of Neuschwabenland … or this third German Antarctic expedition. Tennessee provided a fascinating glimpse that we will expand on when we get home and have better access to internet resources.

Lunch time was next … and then we bundled up and went on deck to watch the snow falling gently from the sky. But wait … what’s that on the horizon? Can you guess from the photo of us in this footprint? …Read more