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Wehrmacht occupations in the new world: archaeological and historical investigations in Northeast Greenland

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 May 2011

Jens Fog Jensen  and
Tilo Krause
Jens Fog Jensen
Affiliation:
National Museum of Denmark, Research and Exhibitions, Sila – The Greenland Research Centre at the National Museum of Denmark, Frederiksholms Kanal 12, 1220 København K, Denmark ([email protected])
Tilo Krause
Affiliation:
National Museum of Denmark, Research and Exhibitions, Sila – The Greenland Research Centre at the National Museum of Denmark, Frederiksholms Kanal 12, 1220 København K, Denmark ([email protected])
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Abstract

As the axis powers were denied access to data from international weather stations under allied control, soon after the outbreak of World War II Germany had to establish her own network of manned and automatic weather stations throughout the north Atlantic. These operations were primarily run by the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe. In Greenland, several manned weather stations were established by the former. The two most successful of those were Holzauge and Bassgeiger in Northeast Greenland, each in operation for almost an entire year in 1942–1943 and 1943–1944 respectively. The allied forces, in return, had established the North-East Greenland Sledge Patrol in 1941, in order to defend the Northeast Greenland coast against German activities. In 2007 and 2008, archaeologists and historians from the National Museum of Denmark investigated the remains of the allied station at Eskimonæs on Clavering Ø (Clavering Island) and the German station Holzauge at Hansa Bugt on Sabine Ø (Sabine Island).

Type
Research Article
Information
Polar Record , Volume 48 , Issue 3: THEMED SECTION: CONTESTED BORDERS AND IDENTITIES , July 2012 , pp. 269 - 279
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2011

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