Secrets of Ahnenerbe. UFOs or flying machines of the Third Reich

Chapter 13. COSMONAUTS OF THE THIRD REICH?! Conversations on this topic flare up from time to time not only among people whose activities are quite far from space affairs, but also among researchers and scientists. They hit London in the summer of 1944 - these huge (from the point of view

The Third Reich's obsession with esotericism and the occult is well known, so it would not be too difficult to imagine how strange pseudo-religious teachings could plunge the state into the abyss of gossip and rumors about UFOs, aliens, and paranormal phenomena. Rumors of alien technology and conspiracy theories about how the Third Reich bided its time before spreading its poisonous ideology across the world are figurative, but can tell us more about those who spread them than the regime itself under which they spread. This article examines 10 of these theories: from secret societies and hidden Nazi bases to UFO arrivals and communication with ancient gods.

Bell

There is surprisingly little information about what was supposedly one of the Nazis' largest space projects. But again, the lack of information only provides food for conspiracy theories. The named project Die Glocke (translated from German as “The Bell”) is said to be the brainchild of SS Lieutenant General Hans Kammler.

The device, which got its name from its resemblance to a bell, was powered by a mysterious substance called Xerum 525. It was extremely radioactive and required a thick layer of lead to make the device. According to stories, the Nazis powered the Bell, but the energy it released caused horrific side effects that led to the death of a group of scientists.

Living beings exposed to radiation began to decompose, and even residual radiation could still lead to catastrophic consequences. Rumor has it that the Nazis used concentration camp prisoners to clean out the testing chamber after Die Glocke was removed.

As the war came to an end, those who worked on the project were killed. Die Glocke and Hans Kammler were reportedly transferred to another top-secret hideout, where work likely continued.

There is a grain of truth in these implausible rumors - a grain that was discovered in 2014. Kammler headed the secret weapons program and, along with Heinrich Himmler, was the leader of the V-2 (A-4) project. The discovery of an underground weapons citadel and testing site in the Austrian city of St. Georgen an der Gusen by an Austrian director has given eerie and disturbing credence to these rumors.

Dismissing the UFO and conspiracy theories, he suggested that the underground complex was built by prisoners of the Mauthusen concentration camp; it is believed that 320,000 people died during construction.

Ernst Zündel, UFOs and Holocaust denial

Holocaust denial itself is a rather strange idea, but it includes a whole set of conspiracy theories. Ernst Zündel was an ardent participant in the movement for many decades, until his recent imprisonment in Germany, where he was accused of inciting ethnic hatred. During the 1970s he was the head of a publishing house specializing in Nazi and neo-Nazi publications. And besides, he was a supporter of the idea that the Nazis built, tested and launched UFOs.

In 2013, Zündel's wife published an article that she claimed was written by her husband in response to statements by those who said that the development of the Third Reich space technology and UFO design is fiction. The article says that Zündel is qualified to talk and write about Nazi UFOs, as he is an expert on the subject and has written several books (in between trying to clear Germany's reputation and prove that the Holocaust did not exist).

Zündel argued that for a long time communicated with Rudolf Lusar, one of the most competent ufologists in Nazi Germany. He claims that UFO development has advanced significantly during the war years, and that the Third Reich managed to build flying saucers that could break the sound barrier.

He also refers to a book by Renato Vesco, the man who was allegedly Mussolini's chief of aeronautical intelligence during World War II. According to him, all the inventions of the Nazis, about which there are so many rumors, were reality.

Ultimately, Zündel insists that he is well informed about the development of Nazi UFOs, and that American technology is primitive compared to the achievements of the Third Reich. And eventually the day will come when everyone will know the truth.

Nazi lunar base

If you thought NASA's missions to the Moon were intended to be scientific, you're in the dark.

According to the conspiracy theory, the real reason NASA and the US government were involved in sending missions to the moon was to check on the Nazis who lived on the moon. Apparently, in 1957, the Russians approached the Americans with evidence that the Nazis used their technology and escaped and built a camp on the moon. Documents found in Berlin described Hitler's discovery of a certain lunar substance coded H3, which was supposed to provide him with power and the implementation of plans for a settlement on the Moon. America, of course, was somewhat worried about such prospects, so NASA was created and the space race began.

Also questionable is the claim that America was working on a shadow program called Project A119. According to unconfirmed reports, America was planning the complete destruction of the Moon through nuclear weapons in order to show its firepower and force Soviet Union think twice about continuing Cold War.

When NASA's manned spacecraft reached the Moon, someone apparently managed to find a lunar base and obtain evidence that the Nazis lived there. And the Challenger shuttle disaster was nothing more than an attack by Nazi rockets fired from the Moon.

The idea of ​​Nazi moon bases gained popularity after the release of the film Iron Sky, in large part due to the film's widespread publicity.

Giuseppe Belluzzo

Here's another conspiracy theory with some supporting documentation. Giuseppe Belluzzo was a minister National economy during the reign of Mussolini, and also an expert in the development of turbines, which were used in the construction of various ships and cruisers. He died in 1952, but a few years earlier he addressed the press with some rather strange statements.

He said that turbines were not the only project he worked on, that some round planes were also being developed, plans for their creation began in 1942. The devices were unmanned, but they could deliver nuclear weapons. The sketches were published in a newspaper in 1950, and other people appeared who were willing to provide evidence of this claim.

One of them was a British commando who admitted that he had been asked to take part in a secret mission in Norway, the purpose of which was to destroy a Nazi base where UFOs were being built. There have been other claims regarding the development of flying saucers codenamed "Thunderball" or "Fireball". Belluzzo's story spread around the world, reprinted in the New York Times and the Los Angeles Mirror.

The story was supplemented with another strange detail: supposedly the Russians managed to capture one of the aircraft.

Hitler, UFO and Vishnu

One of the running themes of the idea of ​​a connection between the Nazis and UFOs is the idea that Hitler escaped on one of the saucers and is waiting for the right moment to return to Earth, found the Fourth Reich and finish what he started. That's the gist of the teachings of the woman known as Savitri Devi, but even aside from Hitler's UFO escape, most of what she says is too far-fetched even for hardcore conspiracy theorists.

Born in France in 1905, at birth she received the name Maximiani Portas. Having discovered Lovecraft's texts and Bulfinch's mythology, she eventually formed her own belief system. Believing in the existence of Greek gods, she eventually traveled to Jerusalem with deep ideas of anti-Semitism. After traveling in India, she took on a Hindu name. And there she decided that the Nazis’ use of the swastika was proof of the perfection and kindness of their teaching, and she considered Hitler to be the incarnation of Vishnu.

Vishnu is one of the three main gods in the Hindu triumvirate, and is usually depicted as the largest of them. While the remaining two are the creator and the destroyer, Vishnu is the protector, he personifies light and the sun, and is responsible for preserving the mind and body.

India's relations with Nazi Germany were understandably uneven, influenced simultaneously by anti-British sentiment and at the same time awareness of the horrors that were happening in war time. Savitri Devi had no doubts, and after the war she wrote a work praising Hitler, the Third Reich and his activities. She interacted with a close circle of SS members who assured her that the incarnation of Vishnu was safe, alive and well, and she would subsequently be taken away on a flying saucer.

Vril, Thule and UFO

This is one of those stories where it's completely unclear where truth ends and fiction begins, so we'll just tell it.

Vril and Thule are two secret societies, rumored to be the center of Nazism, they are credited with being the groundwater that secretly brought Hitler to power. The Third Reich was just an intermediate stage, and the Fourth Reich is still being built and will soon achieve world domination. True, it is called differently, and the symbolism has undergone some changes; they say that the Nazi emblem now depicts a UFO that has repeatedly visited the earth over the past decades.

Initially, Thule is a semi-mythical island that is associated either with Scandinavia or with the disappeared Atlantis. The Nazis gave the name of this island to their mystical organization, where they studied the occult and searched for the homeland of the Aryans. Thule has its main UFO base in Antarctica and plans to make it the center of world domination. The Vril are the Thule's inner, elite circle, and since the end of World War II they have worked side by side with the US government.

The name "Vril" is believed to have come from the Sumerian word for "like a god" (though there is no "V" in the Sumerian language). It is said that this society was founded by a group of mystics with the goal of awakening the spirit of the island of Thule and using hidden powers to reach Aldebaran - the alien civilizations. Allegedly, the Nazis from this organization, thanks to their occult research, were able to create interstellar ships.

This short summary activities of these societies. And the term “Vril” was first used by Edward Bulwer-Lytton in the book “The Coming Race” (1870). His story largely echoes Nazi ideas regarding UFOs.

Haunebu 1 and Brazil

After the end of World War II, many high-ranking German officials fled the country, they knew that punishment would inevitably follow after the atrocities of the Third Reich. So it's not too surprising that some of them supported the idea of ​​Nazi UFOs.

According to this theory, the Nazis succeeded in building an alien ship that embodied the most advanced technology. The largest object was called Haunebu. And although it worked, it was still not functional enough to be useful. There were problems with control, and some suggest that, despite the obvious successes of the Nazis, they were not able to fully master alien technology. Aliens - like everyone else good diplomats– they simply did not give out all the information at once and hid some details. And by the time the Nazis realized they didn't have all the data, they had already broken their end of the agreement and were left with a working but essentially useless dish.

Hauneba 1 was allegedly sent to Brazil, a country known for its UFO sightings. According to writer Randolph Winters, Brazil has military base, where the study and construction of Nazi flying saucers is carried out. Base operated by German intelligence, is responsible for most of the UFO sightings in the skies of Brazil, and there have been quite a few of them there over 70 years.

Operation High Jump

Official documents for Operation High Jump indicate slightly different objectives than those pursued in 1946. The mission was opened in part to conduct US military exercises in cold weather conditions, because it was believed that the Soviet Union was planning an attack, and he will begin it at the North Pole, so preparation in similar conditions was necessary. A more plausible reason for the operation is that the US Navy sought to extend its influence into lands on the other side of the world - Antarctica. And although the training operation gave the armed forces general idea about what to expect from the pole (even from the south), in fact, the goals were not achieved.

According to conspiracy theorists, the fleet was thwarted Nazi UFOs who were based there. According to some ship crew members, they had no idea what they were dealing with - they simply heard shots and responded to them, although they did not know what they were up against.

Admiral Byrd, who was theoretically in charge of the operation, repeatedly mentioned in his reports that they faced more than just harsh natural conditions. Some of his remarks referred to new war, flying saucers, and the need for defensive bases that would protect the rest of the world from what Project High Jump faced.

This theory is supported by the fact that after the war, about a quarter of a million German soldiers were missing in action - this was considered the most logical explanation for the failure of the High Jump. There are even online copies of Admiral Byrd's journal " Inner earth: my secret diary." The diary recounts the classic signs of an alien presence on the continent, followed by descriptions of glowing cities and tall, blond military men with German accents who accompanied the expedition to the fortress.

Antarctic fortress

The idea of ​​this Antarctic fortress is perhaps one of the most enduring Nazi UFO myths. According to Byrd's diary (fictional or true - unknown), the inside of the base is bright and beautiful, too beautiful for words, but over it lies the shadow of the Owner, who predicts the destruction of the world and all who live in it.

One of the most famous versions of this story is that in 1938 a group of German scientists were sent to the continent to put an image of Antarctica on a map. When they completed the task, they found a system of vast underground caves, warmed by rivers. The largest of these became Base 211, and by the end of the war it became a refuge for Thule, SS and Nazi scientists. After the official surrender, Hitler, Eva Braun and a handful of other high-ranking Nazis boarded a submarine and headed for Base 211.

This is not at all new theory, it took place back in 1952. The seeds of doubt were sown when Hitler's death could not be confirmed, and the obsession with the Hollow Earth hypothesis gained momentum. It seemed likely that the Führer had a backup plan and was able to escape. This was around the time that the aforementioned Ernst Zündel began to contribute to the development of conspiracy theories, and since then the story has not yet been forgotten.

And like many conspiracy theories, there is some truth to this one. In December 1938, a German expedition to Antarctica was indeed undertaken, but it was to determine whether it was worth expanding the country's territory so far south. There were other expeditions, but growing tensions within the empire put an end to them.

Roswell and Nazi UFOs

Anyone with the slightest interest in flying saucers is familiar with the mystery surrounding the site that has been dubbed "New Mexico Area 51."

The alleged 1947 crash and the mystery surrounding it have fueled conspiracy theorist speculation for decades. One hypothesis states that the Americans experienced a UFO captured from the Germans at the end of the war. Some even speculate that it was the Bell that crashed in the desert, bringing it to an ignominious end.

Some go even further, claiming that the tests were not carried out by the United States, but by some super-secret society based in Roswell. It continued the work of creating the Fourth Reich and selected the best weapons from all created during the war. Or perhaps its members were kidnapped, recruited by the US Armed Forces, and then, thanks to alien technology, decoded and again began to work for the benefit of Nazi Germany.

Some conspiracy theorists - on the other side of the fence - claim that the Roswell incident was related to alien technologies, but the Third Reich has nothing to do with it. They point to small (child-sized) alien bodies as evidence. But there is an explanation for this fact that does not exclude the Nazis, because they conducted experiments on children from concentration camps.

It has been suggested that the small gray-skinned aliens are human children who have been mutilated. genetic level Josef Mengele. They were placed on a ship and sent to American city in order to cause panic.

But in any case, theorists invariably point to the extraordinary speed with which technology began to develop from this point on. Humanity broke the sound barrier in 1947 and sent humans into space in 1961. But all this technology had to start somewhere... right?

German engineers received information on how to build flying saucers.

Long before the start of the Second World War, and even before the period of Hitler in power in Germany, there were such mystical societies as “THULE” and “VRIL”, and the first was nothing more than a “German branch” ... of the Teutonic Order itself, and the second, more closed - a kind of Masonic lodge with a pronounced occult origin.

Both societies worked in close contact with the ANNENERBE organization, and among other things, with the help of the financial capabilities of the patron society, they searched throughout the world for documentation related to occult orders. Non-traditional methods of obtaining knowledge were also practiced. The most experienced mediums and contactees were involved in sessions with the “gods” - under the influence of hallucinogenic drugs, in a state of trance, they contacted the so-called “External Minds”.

One fine day, the supposedly occult “keys” worked, and information was received through one of the contactees technogenic nature, which made it possible to obtain drawings and descriptions of “flying discs”, whose characteristics significantly exceeded all aviation equipment that time.

The famous doctor Walter Schumacher is considered one of the developers of “earthly versions” of technomagical devices. If you believe the documentation received, then the electrodynamic machines designed by this scientist, which used the rapid rotation of piezotronic elements, not only changed the structure of time around themselves, but also hovered in the air contrary to all previously known laws of gravity.

The TULE Group also received similar information through its own channels. The "plate", built according to the drawings obtained by the "contactees" of this society, received the code name "Schütz" and was additionally equipped with jet boosters, which led to its disaster, which occurred in Norway in the winter of 1940. Judging by the secrecy with which all the work was carried out, there is every reason to believe that Hitler was not informed about these experiments at all...

With the help of additional appropriations, an SS experimental design center with expanded capabilities was created - "Bouvet-IV", in which a highly secret project of "flying saucers" - "Hauneburu-X-Boot" with a diameter of 26 meters was soon developed. The so-called “perpetual motion machine” - a tachyonator-70 with a diameter of 23 meters - was used as propulsion on the “Hauneburu-X-Boot”. Control was carried out using a pulse generator magnetic field under the index "4A-sic". The device could reach a practical speed of about 6000 km/h, but by increasing the engine thrust it was planned to reach a speed four times higher...

However, the most important achievement of German designers was the adaptation of the saucer to the most extreme conditions, which turned it into a real spacecraft, and its normal carrying capacity was no less than 100 tons. Serial production of this model was planned for 1944, but by that time the next, more advanced version was tested - “Hauneburus-I”, intended for air combat with enemy naval squadrons.

In March 1945, this “saucer” made one revolution around the Earth at an altitude of more than 40 kilometers and landed in Japan, at the naval base of the Japanese fleet in Kure, where at the local shipyard the onboard guns were replaced with nine Japanese 460 mm caliber guns from the battleship "Yamato."

Many competent sources claim that since 1942, thousands and thousands of concentration camp prisoners, as well as many scientists, engineers, pilots and politicians with their families and members of the Hitler Youth - the gene pool of the future "pure race" - were transferred to the South Pole using submarines. Contactee Randy Winters provided information that in the depths of Antarctica there is an entire underground city called New Berlin with a population of more than ... five million people - and this is in addition to the numerous villages and outposts scattered throughout New Swabia! The main occupation of the residents of New Berlin is genetic engineering and space flights.

Today a lot is known about the developments of the Third Reich in the field of “flying saucers”, but over the years the questions have not diminished. How successful were the Germans in this? Who helped them? Was the work curtailed after the war or continued in other, secret areas? globe? How true are the rumors that the Nazis had contact with extraterrestrial civilizations?

It is now generally accepted that the foundation of the ideology of fascism was laid by secret societies long before the emergence of the Nazi state. (More details). The well-known researcher of the “otherworldly” K. Velazquez claims that some occult “keys” also provided information of a man-made nature. In particular, drawings and descriptions of “flying discs”, whose characteristics were significantly superior to the aircraft technology of that time.

According to unverified rumors, in 1936 a UFO crashed near the city of Freiburg in Germany. It was discovered and, perhaps, the German scientists of the Vril Society, with the support of the SS organization, were able to repair and make its energy system and propulsion system work.

However, attempts to reproduce them under terrestrial conditions ended in failure. Therefore, the aircraft existed in one copy. During the period 1936 - 1945. New hulls were developed for alien systems, which acquired familiar features, such as landing supports, antennas and weapons. 4 devices were created, conventionally Vril 1-4. The first disks carried only machine gun armament; judging by the photographs, the last Vril-4 disk was equipped with a turret of the Pz-V Panther tank

It is interesting that in the archives of the Third Reich, drawings were found that explain the principles of “twisting” subtle physical fields, allowing the creation of certain techno-magical devices. One of the developers of technomagical devices is considered to be the famous scientist dr. IN. Noise. According to the evidence, his electrodynamic machines, which used rapid rotation, not only changed the structure of time around themselves, but also hovered in the air.

Haunebu

It is alleged that the Haunebu series of "flying saucers" attempted to copy the Vril Disc. The development was carried out by the IV SS Experimental Design Center, which was subordinate to the Black Sun society. In his book “German Flying Saucers” O. Bergmann gives some technical characteristics (Haunebu-II).

Diameter: 26.3 m.
Engine:"Thule" tachyonator 70, diameter 23.1 m
Control: Pulse magnetic field generator
Speed: 6000 km/h (estimated – 21,000 km/h)
Flight duration: 55 hours and above
Adaptability to flights in outer space: 100%
Crew: nine people, with passengers - twenty people.
The three rotating turrets at the bottom were designed to arm 6-8-inch cruiser salvo guns and a remotely controlled one 11-inch KZO in a separate upper rotating turret.

Now it’s difficult for me to track down the original source, but the already mentioned Velazquez in his book “Under the Same Sky” writes something slightly different:
“Similar information was also received by the TULE Group through its own channels. The "plate", built according to the drawings obtained by the "contactees" of this society, received the code name "Schütz" and was additionally equipped with jet boosters, which led to its disaster, which occurred in Norway in the winter of 1940. Judging by the secrecy with which all the work was carried out, there is every reason to believe that Hitler was not informed of these experiments at all.

The next generation of flying saucers was the Haunebu series. As is clear from the secret US Air Force intelligence documentary “Ural Federal District in the Third Reich,” which came to me under mysterious circumstances, these devices used some of the ideas and technologies of the ancient Hindus. The engines for the Haunebu were designed by the most prominent Austrian scientist in the field of fluid motion, Walter Stauberg (probably meaning Viktor Schauberger). All work was personally supervised by Himler, who spared no expense in financing such grandiose projects. With the help of additional appropriations, an SS experimental design center with expanded capabilities was created - “Bouvet-IV”, in which a highly secret project of “flying saucers” - “Hauneburu-X-Boot” with a diameter of 26 meters was soon developed. The so-called “perpetual motion machine” - a tachyonator-70 with a diameter of 23 meters - was used as propulsion on the “Hauneburu-X-Boot”. The control was carried out using a pulsed magnetic field generator under the symbol “4A-sic”. The device could reach a practical speed of about 6000 km/h, but by increasing engine thrust it was planned to reach a speed four times higher.
However, the most important achievement of German designers was the adaptation of the saucer to the most extreme conditions, which turned it into a real spacecraft, and its normal carrying capacity was no less than 100 tons. Serial production of this model was planned for 1944, but by that time the next, more advanced version was tested - “Hauneburus-I”, intended for air combat with enemy naval squadrons. The diameter of the “plate” was 76 meters, and four gun turrets from the battleship Lützow were installed on it, each of which had three 203 mm caliber guns mounted. In March 1945, this “saucer” made one revolution around the Earth at an altitude of more than 40 kilometers and landed in Japan, at the naval base of the Japanese fleet in Kure, where at the local shipyard the onboard guns were replaced with nine Japanese 460 mm caliber guns from the battleship "Yamato". "Hauneburus-I was powered by a free energy engine that harnessed the virtually inexhaustible energy of gravity."
With the lifting capacity of this “giant saucer” declared by Velazquez, “Hauneburus-I” could not have lifted four towers from the battleship “Lutzow”, the gun barrel of which alone weighed more than 50 tons, and there were 12 such barrels. To this weight should be added the weight of the towers (4 x 1000 tons), as well as the weight of ammunition and mechanisms. The artillery of the Japanese battleship Yamato would have been much more difficult for the Honeburus to cope with, because the weight of each fully equipped turret was 2510 tons, and there were three of them. But even if Velasquez was mistaken, and the payload of the “flying saucer” was dimensionless, then all this weaponry (or at least a small part of it) could not fit on board due to its dimensions. The dimensions of the turret of the battleship Yamato are 15x20 m, the depth of the artillery shaft is 13 m. On a disk with a diameter of 70 m and a height of 30 m, there would simply be no place to place all this weapons.

So, you should probably believe the more prosaic version that the projects of these devices related to disk helicopters with a rotor located inside the body of the device.

“The Haunebu series devices were shaped like a hat with a high crown, which was an air intake, and there was also a cockpit. » It is interesting to note the external similarity of this project with the Adamsky flying saucer. (However, this photo is now considered a fake).

“In one of the variants, a turboprop engine was located vertically under the inlet device, rotating one multi-bladed rotor or two coaxial counter-rotating rotors (one of the models of this variant used a BMW.028 engine). In another variant, instead of a turboprop engine, there was a starting motor for the initial spin-up of the rotor, and the main rotation of the rotor was carried out by ramjet engines installed on it. In this case, fuel entered the engines due to the action of centrifugal forces.

The exit of the air flow or mixture of air with combustion products from the apparatus body was carried out as follows. For small devices, the jet flowed through a nozzle located on the axis of the device and created a lifting force. Horizontal flight was carried out by deflecting the output section of the nozzle from the axis in one direction or another. For large devices, the nozzle that created the lifting force was annular. It was formed by a profiled gap between the body of the apparatus and the bottom in the form of a central disk with edges bent downwards. For horizontal flight, sustainer turbojet engines were installed on the bottom. Track control was carried out either by differentiating the thrust of sustainer turbojet engines, or by deflecting the nozzles.”

But let's go back to Germany

In search of ancient magical knowledge, Ahnenerbe organized expeditions to the most remote corners of the globe: Tibet, South America, Antarctica. The latter was given special attention.

The interest that German leaders showed on the eve of World War II in this distant and lifeless region of the globe could not be explained at the time. Meanwhile, the attention to Antarctica was exceptional. (After the discovery of the richest uranium deposits in Antarctica in 1961, everything fell into place.

The idea of ​​a civil expedition (with government support and cooperation from Lufthansa) to Antarctica arose. The expedition was supposed to explore a certain part of the mainland, with the subsequent declaration of its German affiliation.

The ship “Schwabenland”, which had been used since 1934 for transatlantic postal transport, was selected for the expedition. An important feature of the ship was the Dornier “Wal” (Whale) seaplane. It could be launched from a steam catapult at the stern of the ship and, after the flight, climbed back on board using a crane. The ship was prepared for the expedition at the Hamburg shipyards.

The ship's crew was selected and trained by the German Society for Polar Research. The command of the expedition was taken by polar explorer Captain A. Ritscher, who had previously taken part in several expeditions to North Pole. The budget of the expedition was about 3 million Reichsmarks.
Schwabenland left Hamburg on December 17, 1938, heading for Antarctica along the planned route. The ship reached pack (coastal) ice on January 19 at point 4° 15? west latitude, 69° 10? east longitude.

Over the next weeks, the ship's seaplane made 15 flights, examining approximately 600 thousand square meters. km of territory. This amounted to almost a fifth of the continent. Using a special Zeis RMK 38 camera, 11 thousand pictures were taken and 350 thousand square meters were photographed. km of Antarctica. In addition to recording valuable information, the aircraft dropped expedition pennants every 25 km of flight. The territory was named Neuschwabenland (New Swabia) and declared German. Currently, this name is still used along with the new one (from 1957) - Queen Maud Land.

The most interesting discovery of the expedition was the discovery of small areas free of ice, with small lakes and vegetation. The expedition's geologists suggested that this was a consequence of the action of underground hot springs.
In mid-February 1939, Schwabenland left Antarctica. During the two-month return journey, expedition captain Ritscher systematized the research results, maps and photographs.

The commander of the expedition, Ritscher, who returned to Hamburg on April 12, 1939, reported: “I completed the mission entrusted to me by Marshal Goering. For the first time, German planes flew over the Antarctic continent. Every 25 kilometers our planes dropped pennants. We covered an area of ​​approximately 600 thousand square kilometers. Of these, 350 thousand were photographed.”

After returning, Ritscher planned to prepare a second expedition, using aircraft with ski landing gear, probably for further exploration of the “warm” zone of Antarctica. However, due to the outbreak of World War II, the expedition did not take place.

The progress of subsequent German exploration of Antarctica and the creation of a base there was classified. Submarines secretly headed to the shores of Antarctica. Writer and historian M. Demidenko reports that, while sorting through the top-secret archives of the SS, he discovered documents indicating that a squadron of submarines during an expedition to Queen Maud Land found a whole system of interconnected caves with warm air. “My submariners discovered a real earthly paradise,” Dönitz said then. And in 1943, another mysterious phrase came from his lips: “German submarine fleet is proud that he has created an impregnable fortress for the Fuhrer on the other side of the world.”

For five years, the Germans carried out carefully hidden work to create a Nazi colony in Antarctica. secret base codenamed "Base 211". In any case, this is stated by a number of independent researchers. According to eyewitnesses, already from the beginning of 1939, regular (once every three months) voyages of the research vessel Swabia began between Antarctica and Germany. Bergman, in his book “German Flying Saucers,” states that from this year and for several years, mining equipment and other equipment, including railways, trolleys and huge milling cutters for tunneling, were constantly sent to Antarctica. Apparently, submarines were also used to deliver cargo. And not just ordinary ones. (As you can see, the uranium version is completely confirmed

Retired American Colonel Wendelle C. Stevens reports: “Our intelligence, where I worked at the end of the war, knew that the Germans were building eight very large cargo submarines (were they not equipped with Kohler converters? - V. Sh. ) and they were all launched, manned and then disappeared without a trace. To this day we have no idea where they went. They are not on the ocean floor, and they are not in any port that we know of. It's a mystery, but it may be solved thanks to the Australian documentary film which shows large German cargo submarines in Antarctica, ice around them, crews standing on decks waiting to stop at the pier.”

By the end of the war, Stevens claims, the Germans had nine research plants testing flying disc projects. “Eight of these enterprises, along with scientists and key figures, were successfully evacuated from Germany. The ninth structure was blown up. We have confidential information that some of these research enterprises have been transported to a place called “New Swabia”... Today this could already be a fairly large complex. Maybe those big cargo submarines are there. We believe that at least one (or more) disc development facilities were transported to Antarctica. We have information that one was evacuated to the Amazon region, and the other to the northern coast of Norway, where there is a large German population. They were evacuated to secret underground facilities."

Well-known researchers of the Antarctic secrets of the Third Reich R. Vesko, V. Terziyski, D. Childress claim that since 1942, thousands of concentration camp members (workforce), as well as prominent scientists, pilots and politicians with their families, were transferred to the South Pole with the help of submarines and members of the Hitler Youth – the gene pool of the future “pure” race.

In addition to the mysterious giant submarines, at least a hundred serial U-class submarines were used for these purposes, including the top-secret formation “Fuhrer Convoy,” which included 35 submarines. At the very end of the war in Kiel, all military equipment was removed from these elite submarines and containers with some valuable cargo were loaded. The submarines also took on board some mysterious passengers and a large number of food. The fate of only two boats from this convoy is known for certain. One of them, U-530, under the command of 25-year-old Otto Wehrmouth, left Kiel on April 13, 1945 and delivered relics of the Third Reich and Hitler’s personal belongings, as well as passengers whose faces were hidden by surgical bandages, to Antarctica. Another, U-977, under the command of Heinz Schaeffer, repeated this route a little later, but what and who it was transporting is unknown.

Both of these submarines arrived in the Argentine port of Mar del Plata in the summer of 1945 (July 10 and August 17, respectively) and surrendered to the authorities. It is completely incomprehensible how a submarine of this type could remain at sea for so long when the autonomy of the “seven” does not exceed seven weeks. The submariners felt quite well - while waiting for the Argentine minesweeper sent for them, they fed the albatross with sardines in oil. As in other cases, interrogations of German submariners yielded nothing. At least that's the official point of view. However, at the end of 1946, the famous Admiral Richard E. Byrd led an expedition to “New Swabia”. However, it is not surprising that Berg was appointed leader of the expedition; in the 30s he already headed the American Antarctic expedition.

Operation High Jump was disguised as an ordinary research expedition, and not everyone realized that a powerful naval squadron was heading to the shores of Antarctica. An aircraft carrier, 13 ships of various types, 25 airplanes and helicopters, more than four thousand people, a six-month supply of food - these data speak for themselves.