ATLAS

VariantOMEGA-11-2-1Sheet 1 of 6 of the dossier Nazi Antarctic base

Base 211 and "New Berlin": the polar fortress

The version in which a city-sized Nazi base, fed by geothermal heat, was built in Queen Maud Land after 1938.

Black-and-white photograph of a rocky, snow-streaked Antarctic mountain above a snowfield, with a tall rock slab in the foreground.
The Dallmann Mountains in Queen Maud Land, part of the area surveyed by the 1938-39 expedition (photo taken in 1995). Diorit · CC BY-SA · Wikimedia Commons

Summary

This sheet covers the core version of the thesis: that the Schwabenland expedition of 1938-39 led to a huge military base in Antarctica. According to the proponents, the explorers found a network of tunnels and a warm geothermal lake, and a city-sized complex, called Base 211, New Berlin or New Berchtesgaden depending on the author, was then built underground. They add that high-ranking Nazis, scientists and elite units survived there after the war, that the base developed secret "wonder weapons", and that some writers even claim alien technology was found or aliens were met.

The sources that document these claims are mostly encyclopedic entries and sceptical articles that retell the story before examining it. They report it in the language of attribution (most assert, are claimed, some say), and none of them presents the base as proven. The sheet therefore describes what the thesis says and where it circulates, while the facts about the expedition itself are in the verified sheet, and the assessment of historians is in the official one.

What the thesis says

The sources show where these claims circulate, not that they are true.

  1. Thesis

    Most versions assert that a huge military base was built in New Swabia in the wake of the German expedition of 1938-39.

    • New Swabia, Wikipedia
      Most assert that, in the wake of the German expedition of 1938–39, a huge military base was built there.
  2. Thesis

    The base is variously called New Berlin or Base 211 and is described as a large underground city.

  3. Thesis

    Another name given to the alleged base is New Berchtesgaden, said to have been established in 1939.

  4. Thesis

    Proponents claim the base is sustained by hot springs that provide energy and warmth.

    • New Swabia, Wikipedia
      Proponents claim the base is sustained by hot springs providing energy and warmth.
  5. Thesis

    In the story, Nazi surveyors discovered a network of underground tunnels including a warm geothermal lake, and some versions say alien technology was found there.

  6. Thesis

    Some versions say the Germans either discovered abandoned alien technology or made contact with extraterrestrial explorers.

  7. Thesis

    After the war, high-ranking Nazis, scientists and elite military units are claimed to have survived in the area.

    • New Swabia, Wikipedia
      After the war, high-ranking Nazis, scientists, and elite military units are claimed to have survived there.
  8. Thesis

    The story also says the Nazis used Antarctica to develop their Wunderwaffen, or wonder weapons.