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

Abstract

ABSTRACTAs 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).