Arctic Nazi weather station base uncovered

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OVERKILL

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Link to Daily Mail article

Quote:
A secret Nazi base in the Arctic abandoned after scientists ate infected polar bear meat has been unearthed.

The mysterious site, named ‘Schatzgraber’ or ‘Treasure Hunter’ by Hitler's underlings, was constructed in 1942 - a year after the Third Reich invaded Russia.

Russian researchers have now rediscovered the military base, which the former garrison evacuated by U-boat after eating infected polar bear meat.

The base could have been part of a mission to find ancient artefacts.

More than 500 objects were recovered form the site as Russian scientists explored the former Nazi compound located in Alexandra Land, an island around 1,000 kilometres from the North Pole.

On the barren moonscape of the isolated island, relics of the Second World War can be seen, with shells and other fragments of the conflict lying on the shale.

The ruins of bunkers, discarded petrol canisters and even paper documents have also been discovered, preserved in the intense cold.

Alexandra Land, named for a lady in the Russian nobility, lies in the extreme north within the Arctic Circle.

It was disputed by a number of nations, including Norway, for its access to whaling territory.

Between 1930 and 1990 the Nazi weather station was the only fixed presence on the barren island.

The spot became strategically important in WWII because of the weather reports it produced - helping military operations and transport in the far north.

Allied forces occupied most suitable sites for polar weather reports, so the Nazis landed a small group of observers on Alexandra Land.

Supplies for the men at the remote post were dropped by air.

In 1944 all of the men at he base ate raw polar bear meat, which resulted in disease from roundworms living in the infected flesh.

A U-boat had to rescue the scientists posted there after infection ravaged their base.

The island became more strategically significant during the Cold War, when American and Russia vied for control of the Arctic, and the region’s mineral wealth became apparent.

The island lies within the territory of the Russian Federation, and the country is establishing build its own permanent military base on the site.


Rather interesting.

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398F69B700000578-3856700-image-a-21_1476990051776.jpg
 
Pretty neat how we're still learning about WWII 70+ years after it ended. What a massive conflict the likes of which I hope we never see again.
 
The article makes no sense to me. First they say it was a secret base just unearthed implying no one outside of the Nazis knew it was there. Then they say "Between 1930 and 1990 the Nazi weather station was the only fixed presence on the barren island." How do they know that if they just unearthed it? And how do they know the polar bear meat was infected with ringworms?


Maybe they abbreviated the article for mass consumption.
 
They could have gotten into the backstory on the bear. Not enough supplies, rations tasted like junk, maybe 2000 calories/day wasn't enough to live on in arctic temps?

And why couldn't they cook the bear? Surely they had a camp stove/ heat source. Maybe it ran on that gasoline?

That rocky coast looks like a great place to get away from it all. Not even any moss/ lichen.
 
Originally Posted By: eljefino
That rocky coast looks like a great place to get away from it all.


I agree!
thumbsup2.gif
 
Polar bears carry trichinosis and the liver may be toxic ? Also their forecasts didnt stop the Nazis from invading in October still clad in summer uniforms.
grin2.gif
 
Originally Posted By: Leo99
The article makes no sense to me. First they say it was a secret base just unearthed implying no one outside of the Nazis knew it was there.


Well they imply that. They don't actually say it. Probably just talking up the drama a bit.

"Rediscovered" would probably be more accurate. Not an especially easy area to get to or explore, but with Russia re-asserting itself all over the place, these guys probably piggy-backed on a military mission.

They also try and get in a "Raiders of the Lost Ark" vibe because of the "Treasure Hunter" code name.

Journalism, y'know?

Originally Posted By: Leo99
And how do they know the polar bear meat was infected with ringworms?


Germans keep records. Ships log of the U-boat that put them in (and MAYBE got them out), medical records, signals logs, any debriefing or interrogation reports, etc, etc. This'll all be archived somewhere. Maybe even on the internyet.

According to "Exploring Polar Frontiers: A Historical Encyclopedia, Volume 1" (Google Books Page 10) they were evacuated by air, not U-boat, and their airstrip has been in use by the Russians (then Soviets) since 1952

Apparently the Germans had an automated weather station in Newfoundland. Only known armed ground incursion by German forces into North American territory.
 
Originally Posted By: sciphi
Pretty neat how we're still learning about WWII 70+ years after it ended. What a massive conflict the likes of which I hope we never see again.


Excellent comment. I still find myself glued to everything WWII and WWI on the Military History channel etc.
 
Originally Posted By: sciphi
Pretty neat how we're still learning about WWII 70+ years after it ended. What a massive conflict the likes of which I hope we never see again.


Excellent comment. I still find myself glued to everything WWII and WWI on the Military History channel etc.

OVERKILL, thanks for sharing.
 
Originally Posted By: Ducked
Originally Posted By: Leo99
The article makes no sense to me. First they say it was a secret base just unearthed implying no one outside of the Nazis knew it was there.


Well they imply that. They don't actually say it. Probably just talking up the drama a bit.

"Rediscovered" would probably be more accurate. Not an especially easy area to get to or explore, but with Russia re-asserting itself all over the place, these guys probably piggy-backed on a military mission.

They also try and get in a "Raiders of the Lost Ark" vibe because of the "Treasure Hunter" code name.

Journalism, y'know?

Originally Posted By: Leo99
And how do they know the polar bear meat was infected with ringworms?


Germans keep records. Ships log of the U-boat that put them in (and MAYBE got them out), medical records, signals logs, any debriefing or interrogation reports, etc, etc. This'll all be archived somewhere. Maybe even on the internyet.

According to "Exploring Polar Frontiers: A Historical Encyclopedia, Volume 1" (Google Books Page 10) they were evacuated by air, not U-boat, and their airstrip has been in use by the Russians (then Soviets) since 1952

Apparently the Germans had an automated weather station in Newfoundland. Only known armed ground incursion by German forces into North American territory.




Gotcha. Thanks for the reply. My question about the ringworms was partially rhetorical. We seem to know an awful lot about this "secret" base.
 
Originally Posted By: Leo99
polar bear meat was infected with ringworms?

Roundworms, not "ringworms" (a synonym for skin fungus infection). Most likely trichinosis.

Charlie
 
Originally Posted By: andyd
Polar bears carry trichinosis and the liver may be toxic ? Also their forecasts didnt stop the Nazis from invading in October still clad in summer uniforms.
grin2.gif



Well that was probably a supply problem. I think fuel and ammunition had top priority and clothing was further down the list. Plus I think Hitler thought the war would be over by then as he said all you had to do was kick the door in and the whole rotten structure would come crumbling down.
 
Originally Posted By: Leo99
The article makes no sense to me. First they say it was a secret base just unearthed implying no one outside of the Nazis knew it was there. Then they say "Between 1930 and 1990 the Nazi weather station was the only fixed presence on the barren island." How do they know that if they just unearthed it? And how do they know the polar bear meat was infected with ringworms?


Maybe they abbreviated the article for mass consumption.
As a reader of the mainstream media you are supposed to not think but believe.
 
Excellent comment. I still find myself glued to everything WWII and WWI on the Military History channel etc.

OVERKILL, thanks for sharing. [/quote]
Modern day history texts have less and less info on WWII as well as the Holocaust, Crusades, Inquisition, etc.
Not getting political, so don't ban me, I'm just pointing out a trend.
Good that we have the History channel, and others with b&w film , recorded conversations, etc.
And yes, OVERKILL, thanks for sharing.
 
Having a weather station in a remote arctic location makes good sense, as does on-site staff shooting one or more polar bears, which would have been a constant threat.

But eating raw bear meat makes no sense at all. For a group of scientists that just wasn't very smart.

It also makes no sense that they would have been seeking treasure as the name suggests. First of all how much treasure are you likely to find on an uninhabited arctic island. And weather information would have been treasure enough. Keeping their heads down so they wouldn't be discovered would have made more sense.

The D-day invasion might have had a very different outcome if the Germans had better weather information and knew there would be (or even might be) a break in the stormy weather in early June 1944 which was clearly one of the prime periods for the expected invasion. Even Rommel was away in Germany because the weather was so bad.
 
By 1944 the retreat and rout of the Axis was fully under way, it is likely that food supplies were lacking.

Kind of amazing they could stay there for the whole war undiscovered, because of course they'd easily get bombed or captured.

"Treasure Island" was just a code name to convince fools to volunteer for duty there.
 
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