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Schatzgräber or “Treasure Hunter” was the name of a military weather station
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...
's
Kriegsmarine The (, ) was the navy of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic. The was one of three official military branch, branche ...
established in the north of
Alexandra Land Alexandra Land () is a large island located in Franz Josef Land, Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia. Not counting detached and far-lying Victoria Island (Russian Arctic), Victoria Island, it is the westernmost island of Franz Josef Land. It is the site ...
in the
Arctic The Arctic (; . ) is the polar regions of Earth, polar region of Earth that surrounds the North Pole, lying within the Arctic Circle. The Arctic region, from the IERS Reference Meridian travelling east, consists of parts of northern Norway ( ...
Franz Josef Land Franz Josef Land () is a Russian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. It is inhabited only by military personnel. It constitutes the northernmost part of Arkhangelsk Oblast and consists of 192 islands, which cover an area of , stretching from east ...
archipelago in 1943. The construction of the secret complex codename “Treasure Hunter” began in 1942 at the command of
Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...
but came into operation only in 1943. The mission of the station's crew started in September that year and lasted until July 1944, when they were summarily evacuated after most of them consumed raw
polar bear The polar bear (''Ursus maritimus'') is a large bear native to the Arctic and nearby areas. It is closely related to the brown bear, and the two species can Hybrid (biology), interbreed. The polar bear is the largest extant species of bear ...
meat and fell sick.


Weather observations in the Arctic

Since the beginning of
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, the Kriegsmarine was endowed with the task of collecting meteorological data in support of the German war effort. That was accomplished mainly by weather-observation vessels (frequently refitted fishing boats). Motivated by repeated losses of such boats, beginning in 1941, and under direction of Hans-Robert Knoespel, the erection of meteorological stations on land was planned and executed. The first such station around the Arctic Ocean, Knospe, was established in the northwest of the main island of the
Svalbard Svalbard ( , ), previously known as Spitsbergen or Spitzbergen, is a Norway, Norwegian archipelago that lies at the convergence of the Arctic Ocean with the Atlantic Ocean. North of continental Europe, mainland Europe, it lies about midway be ...
archipelago in October 1941.


Weather troop Schatzgräber

To prepare members of the meteorological mission for the conditions in the deployment area, the Kriegsmarine's weather department was training candidates in a camp named Goldhöhe (Czech: ''Zlaté návrší'') in the
Giant Mountains The Giant Mountains, Krkonoše, or Karkonosze (Czech: , , ), are a mountain range located in the north of the Czech Republic and the south-west of Poland, part of the Sudetes mountain system (part of the Bohemian Massif). The Czech–Polish bor ...
in
Silesia Silesia (see names #Etymology, below) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Silesia, Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at 8, ...
. As hardly any more alpine- or arctic-experienced personnel were available, inexperienced meteorologists were to prepare for arctic conditions in the alpine facility. Diverging from established practice, the mission was not named after its team leader, but after H. Schatz, who was heading training operations at Goldhöhe. Schatz would not join Schatzgräber station, as he was to command the Bassgeiger mission in northeast Greenland at that time.


The meteorological station on Alexandra Land

Early in September 1943, the weather observation boat ''Kehdingen'' sailed for
Alexandra Land Alexandra Land () is a large island located in Franz Josef Land, Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia. Not counting detached and far-lying Victoria Island (Russian Arctic), Victoria Island, it is the westernmost island of Franz Josef Land. It is the site ...
from
Kiel Kiel ( ; ) is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein. With a population of around 250,000, it is Germany's largest city on the Baltic Sea. It is located on the Kieler Förde inlet of the Ba ...
, via
Narvik () is the third-largest List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Nordland Counties of Norway, county, Norway, by population. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Narvik (town), town of Narvik. Some of the notable villag ...
and
Tromsø Tromsø is a List of towns and cities in Norway, city in Tromsø Municipality in Troms county, Norway. The city is the administrative centre of the municipality as well as the administrative centre of Troms county. The city is located on the is ...
. Submarine ''U 387'' was put on escort duty for the trip. Also, the U-boat's crew helped unpack supplies and equipment in the actual establishment of the station. Starting on November 17, Schatzgräber reported weather and temperature data. With the
polar night Polar night is a phenomenon that occurs in the polar regions of Earth, northernmost and southernmost regions of Earth when the Sun remains below the horizon for more than 24 hours. This only occurs inside the polar circles. The opposite phen ...
ending, Schatzgräber added measures of high-altitude /
jet stream Jet streams are fast flowing, narrow thermal wind, air currents in the Earth's Atmosphere of Earth, atmosphere. The main jet streams are located near the altitude of the tropopause and are westerly winds, flowing west to east around the gl ...
winds, that were conducted and reported by radio balloons. Resupply was conducted by ''U 387'' and by parachuting from a Focke-Wulf ''Condor'' aircraft.


Mission failing

On 30 May 1944, weather inspector Gerhard Wallik and
Obergefreiter Obergefreiter (''abbr.'' OGefr.) is an enlisted rank of the German and Swiss militaries which dates from the 19th century. In today's ''Bundeswehr'', every ''Gefreiter'' is normally promoted ''Obergefreiter'' after six months. The NATO-Code is ...
Werner Blankenburg hunted and killed a polar bear. Blankenburg, who was also the station's cook, prepared a serving of
steak tartare Steak tartare or tartar steak is a French cuisine, French dish of Raw meat, raw ground meat, ground (minced) beef. It is usually served with onions, capers, parsley or Chives, chive, salt, black pepper, pepper, Worcestershire sauce, and other ...
from the animal, which was consumed by all but one member of the station's crew. As Blankenburg had also been the one who had consumed the greatest amount of raw polar bear meat, he was the first to report pain in his legs and a high fever after a few days. Within a month, nine more members of the weather troop fell ill, with the vegetarian paramedic Gerhard Hoffmann as the only exception. The Kriegsmarine's medical corps remotely attested
trichinosis Trichinosis, also known as trichinellosis, is a parasitic disease caused by roundworms of the '' Trichinella'' genus. During the initial infection, invasion of the intestines can result in diarrhea, abdominal pain, and vomiting. Migration of ...
, and the evacuation of the operation was ordered immediately.


Removal of the Schatzgräber weather troop

To adequately care for the sick troop, staff surgeon Dr. Wendt of the Tromsø marine hospital was chosen. He was to fly in to the station and parachute from a ''
Condor Condor is the common name for two species of New World vultures, each in a monotypic genus. The name derives from the Quechua language, Quechua ''kuntur''. They are the largest flying land birds in the Western Hemisphere. One species, the And ...
'' (registration: F8+RL), commanded by naval pilot
Oberleutnant (English: First Lieutenant) is a senior lieutenant Officer (armed forces), officer rank in the German (language), German-speaking armed forces of Germany (Bundeswehr), the Austrian Armed Forces, and the Swiss Armed Forces. In Austria, ''Oberle ...
Stahnke, who had repeatedly flown parachute resupply missions for the station. The station's commander, Dr. Drees, however, gave conflicting feedback by radio, indicating that an evacuation was unnecessary. In spite of the order for immediate evacuation that was given very early in July, the mission started only on 7 July. On board the plane flown by Stahnke was Dr. Wendt, who had gone through a snap parachuting training; however, he was still looking forward to his first jump. Stahnke spared him this experience by bringing the ''Condor'' down on Alexandra Land, while damaging the landing gear. The ''Condor'' damaged, immediate evacuation was not an option and delusions of those fallen sick added to the difficulty of the situation. A
BV 222 The Blohm & Voss BV 222 ''Wiking'' (pronounced "Veeking") was a large six-engined German flying boat designed and built by the German aircraft manufacturer Blohm & Voss. It was the largest Axis flying boat to enter production and operation durin ...
seaplane (registration: X4+BH) was sent from
Biscarosse Biscarrosse (; ) is a commune in the Landes department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. It is located southwest of Bordeaux, and inland from the seaside resort of Biscarrosse-Plage on the Atlantic coast. Near Biscarrosse is the ...
to Banak to aid in resupplying spare parts to repair the stranded aircraft. On 11 July the ''Condor'' landed with haphazardly-repaired landing gear in Trondheim, carrying all members of the Schatzgräber weather troop.


Removal of the leftover minefield

To protect the weather station, a minefield had been laid out. However, it could not be removed during the evacuation procedure. When veterans learned in the 1950s that the
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
had established a weather station on
Alexandra Land Alexandra Land () is a large island located in Franz Josef Land, Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia. Not counting detached and far-lying Victoria Island (Russian Arctic), Victoria Island, it is the westernmost island of Franz Josef Land. It is the site ...
of their own accord, they attempted to contact the
Soviet leadership The political system of the Soviet Union took place in a federal single-party soviet socialist republic framework which was characterized by the superior role of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU), the only party permitted by the Co ...
to submit the mines' positions, but their attempts were altogether ignored. Only in 1990, an expedition conducted by the
Norwegian Polar Institute The Norwegian Polar Institute (NPI; ) is Norway's central governmental institution for scientific research, mapping and environmental monitoring in the Arctic and the Antarctic. The NPI is a directorate under Norway's Ministry of Climate and Envir ...
could secure and disarm the mines, building on the original maps of the Schatzgräber weather troop. Today, one of the mines removed from the site is an exhibit at Forsvarsmuseet in
Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...
. In 2016, some 500 artifacts from what appears to be the base were discovered by Russian scientists and removed for study.Russian Scientists Say They've Discovered a Secret Nazi Base in The Arctic
/ref>


See also

* North Atlantic weather war * Weather Station Kurt in Canada


References

{{Reflist Meteorological stations Franz Josef Land 1943 establishments in Europe 1943 establishments in Germany 1944 disestablishments in Europe 1944 disestablishments in Germany Abandoned projects of Nazi Germany World War II sites of Nazi Germany Kriegsmarine Military operations of World War II involving Germany 1943 meteorology 1944 meteorology Naval meteorology