Buzz
As if I needed more proof that my job is pretty amazing, I sometimes receive emails from my editor, Jason, that read like this: "A reader just left a comment suggesting the Nazis attempted to build a super-advanced civilization in Antarctica. Should we look into that?"
While conspiracy theories about the Nazis and their ties to ancient or alien technologies abound, the narrative linking the Nazis to Antarctica, as told by various paranormal and conspiracy writers, can be summed up as follows: the Nazis claimed a portion of Antarctica as German land and launched an expedition there + the Nazis experimented with groundbreaking technologies like stealth aircraft and liquid-propellant rockets = the Nazis must have discovered alien tech or even encountered extraterrestrials in Antarctica.
Expanding on this theory, there are tales of Hitler being secretly transported (like a villain in a comic book) to a hidden Antarctic base beneath a mountain, of British and American forces clashing with Nazis and UFOs in the snowy wasteland, and finally, the polar Nazi forces being destroyed by a nuclear bomb.
It sounds like the perfect plot for a summer blockbuster, but is there any truth behind these tales? As with most conspiracy theories, there are some grains of truth. The real question is whether those facts can be woven into a coherent narrative without excessive leaps of logic.
Colin Summerhayes, a geologist and oceanographer from the Scott Polar Research Institute, and Peter Beeching, a journalist and historian specializing in international relations, argue that the story doesn’t hold up to Carl Sagan’s ‘"baloney detection kit.” In 2006, they published ‘Hitler’s Antarctic Base: The Myth and the Reality,’ a comprehensive, peer-reviewed study that examines an abundance of documentary evidence on Antarctica’s geography, weather (including Summerhayes’ own research and firsthand experience), polar exploration, and declassified military histories of the relevant countries. This 21-page myth-debunking paper, published in the academic journal Polar Record, opens with a clear and strong call for skepticism:
“However, as it’s often said, the absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. Perhaps there were cover-ups. Perhaps they were successful […] The responsibility to prove such claims falls on the shoulders of the ones making them. It is not enough to propose an idea and then assert that the hypothesis is untestable because the evidence was hidden. As Carl Sagan reminds us, in science, we start with experimental results, data, observations, and measurements considered as facts. We then formulate possible explanations and systematically test each one against the facts, until we find an explanation that fits the facts in all respects as closely as we can determine.”
The tale of the icy Nazis doesn’t survive the scrutiny of Summerhayes and Beeching, and their paper meticulously dismantles the story piece by piece:
The German Antarctic Expeditions and Base
The Tale: In 1938, the Nazis dispatched a large group of explorers, including scientists, military personnel, and construction crews, aboard warships and submarines to the Queen Maud Land region of Antarctica. During their mapping expedition, they uncovered an extensive network of underground warm-water rivers and caves. One such cave stretched 20-30 miles and housed a vast geothermal lake. The cave was explored, and construction teams were deployed to establish a massive base, named Base 211 or New Berlin, which became home to the SS, the Thule Society, ‘serpent cults,’ various Nazi occultists, the Illuminati, and other shadowy factions.
At some point, the Germans either stumbled upon alien technology or made contact with extraterrestrial beings (described as Greys or Reptilians). They reportedly learned how to replicate the alien technology and used it to develop advanced weapons, including an ‘antigravity-disk’ or flying saucer.
Although many of these weapons were not ready for use during World War II, the base—and its ability to manufacture such weapons—might still exist. According to some conspiracy theorists, the Germans, aliens, or certain secret societies will one day use it to launch a New World Order.
The Facts: From December 1938 to April 1939, the Germans did indeed undertake an exploratory mission to the western part of Queen Maud Land. However, rather than a large-scale scientific or military operation, the expedition consisted of a single ship, the Schwabenland, and its purpose was to explore new territory for Germany’s growing whaling industry. Though additional expeditions were planned, there is no record in German documents of any intention to build a base. Moreover, these subsequent trips were canceled with the onset of World War II. After this initial mission, there was no further German activity in Antarctica until 1959, when several Germans joined a Russian expedition.
Even if the Germans had wished to build a base, it’s highly improbable that the Schwabenland crew could have constructed even a modest one, let alone one the size of a city. According to the ship’s logs, the expedition only stayed near the coast for one month. Summerhayes and Beeching estimate it would have taken the Germans ten days to walk from the ship to the site of the base and another ten days to return, leaving them fewer than ten days to construct the entire base. Other polar expeditions from that era are known to have taken twice as long to build even small huts.
Operation Tabarin: SAS vs Nazis
The Tale: As Great Britain staked its claim on the South Shetland, South Orkney, and various islands between Antarctica and South America, they recognized the need for a permanent presence in the region to keep an eye on Nazi activity in Antarctica, Argentina, and Chile. In response, a covert military operation known as Operation Tabarin was initiated by the Royal Navy, establishing bases throughout the islands and on the Antarctic peninsula. Eventually, the Germans discovered the British base on the peninsula and launched an attack in the summer of 1945. The base was under siege for months until the SAS arrived around Christmas to rescue it.
The Facts: By the summer of 1945, Hitler was already dead, and Germany had surrendered to the Allies. Additionally, the SAS had been disbanded in October and wouldn’t be reformed until several years later. British records also suggest that Operation Tabarin wasn’t as large or militarily prepared as the stories make it out to be. The mission’s primary objectives weren’t deterrence or espionage; most of the operation was scientific. The personnel at the bases were mainly wireless radio operators and government scientists, with very few combat-trained soldiers. The largest team, at Hope Bay, only consisted of 13 people—far too few to withstand a German siege for months.
Hitler’s Great Escape
The Tale: Two months after Germany’s surrender, a German U-boat, U-530, reportedly entered the Argentine naval base at Mar del Plata, having made the journey from Germany with Hitler, Eva Braun, and other high-ranking Nazi and SS officials aboard. The U-boat allegedly dropped them off at the German Antarctic base. Another version of the story suggests that the U-boat U-977 was transporting Hitler’s ashes, which were supposedly sealed in bronze, lead-lined boxes along with other Nazi treasures, and hidden in the Antarctic city-base.
The Facts: By 1945, Argentina had shifted its stance from years of neutrality to declaring war on Japan and Germany. When the U-boat arrived in Argentina, the captain anticipated a warm reception. Instead, his crew was captured and interrogated by representatives from Argentina, the United States, and Britain. After thorough questioning, all three countries' investigators concluded that the submarine's arrival was purely coincidental—there was no evidence to suggest that Hitler was aboard.
Summerhayes and Beeching also examined the timeline of U-530’s departure from Germany and its arrival in Argentina, alongside the U-boat’s speed and the weather conditions of the summer of 1945. These factors indicate that neither U-boat could have transported Hitler or his remains to Antarctica. U-530 would not have had the time to stop there on its voyage, and either U-530 or U-977 would have had to dive significantly deeper and longer under the sea ice than was physically possible for them to reach the Antarctic coast.
The Battle of Antarctica: Operation Highjump, UFOs and Secret Nukes
The Tale: After the British failed to remove the Germans from Antarctica, the United States launched Operation Highjump in 1946 with the goal of eradicating the German base. However, the operation encountered resistance from Germany’s flying saucers, which fought back against the ground and air forces. The base was eventually destroyed by three nuclear bombs. Since then, UFO sightings in the U.S. are believed by some to be Nazi spy craft, preparing for the Fourth Reich to be established by a group known as the “Last Battalion,” which is said to be a Nazi faction hiding in Antarctica or another isolated region of the world.
The Facts: Operation Highjump was indeed carried out and remains the largest Antarctic expedition ever undertaken. However, the operation had nothing to do with the Germans, as they had already surrendered by this time. Instead, the mission was a response to America's concerns over its Soviet allies. As tensions between the U.S. and the Soviet Union were mounting on the eve of the Cold War, the U.S. military sought to prepare for potential conflict in the extreme cold of the Russian front. The primary aim of Highjump was to train personnel and test equipment in low temperatures and heavy snow, develop methods for building bases and airfields on snow and ice, and assert U.S. sovereignty in Antarctica before the Soviets could stake a claim. It was one of several exercises designed to prepare for possible war with the USSR, and similar operations were conducted in places like Davis Strait, Northern Canada, and Greenland. Antarctica was chosen not for its association with any German remnants, but because it was the site of the largest such operation, and the U.S. wanted to avoid diplomatic issues that could arise from conducting naval exercises closer to Soviet borders.
If the true objective of Operation Highjump was to locate a German base in Antarctica, its planners clearly missed a few crucial details on the map. According to reports, the supposed Nazi base was located somewhere under Queen Maud Land, but Operation Highjump itself was conducted from the Ross Ice Shelf, located on the opposite side of the continent. Military maps and Navy logs document the exact paths taken by every ship and aircraft during the operation, and none ventured anywhere near the areas where the Germans were said to have explored. The mission's goals and activities were not nearly as secret as conspiracy theorists claim, either—11 journalists were embedded with the military, reporting back a total of over 478,000 words to their editors and audiences. Despite all this coverage, the Germans were never mentioned.
The idea of flying saucer attacks is based solely on a misinterpreted statement from a navy admiral, which appeared in a Spanish-language newspaper. The admiral had been commenting on the potential threat of Soviet presence in the polar regions, noting that Soviet planes could use the poles as a launch point for attacks on the U.S. and Western Europe. Somehow, this got distorted (whether intentionally or not) to suggest he was talking about “flying objects.” In reality, Operation Highjump did not lose any aircraft to UFOs. The only loss was a single plane, which went down due to a whiteout in a snowstorm.
Following the completion of Highjump, three secret nuclear explosions were conducted in the southern hemisphere. However, these tests didn’t take place near Queen Maud Land, nor over Antarctica itself, and there was no military target involved. The tests occurred at high altitudes over the ocean and were designed to examine the effects of nuclear explosions in space. U.S. researchers were particularly interested in how such blasts might impact radar systems, communication channels, and the electronics of satellites or ballistic missiles during a large-scale nuclear conflict. After the tests were declassified, the purpose and locations were confirmed by the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Organisation in Vienna and the British Antarctic Survey, which had been monitoring radiation levels in Antarctica at the time. No abnormal radiation spikes were recorded during or after the detonations.
