The weather station where 11 German soldiers were trapped, forgotten by the fallen Nazis.
Weather played an important role during the Second World War.
It dictated the outcome of Naval battles and decided the routes of military convoys.
Weather and visibility affected photographic reconnaissance and bombing raids.
Weather information was so sensitive that it was transmitted encoded from weather stations.
Svalbard Archipelago lies in the Arctic Ocean about a thousand kilometers from the North Pole.
Then coal mining began, which led to the establishment of several permanent communities.
At that time the Soviet Union had not entered the war.
But this changed once Germany invaded the Union in July 1941.
The approximate location of the weather station of Operation Haudegen.
Photo: From the archive of Wilhelm Dege
Operation Haudegen started in December 1944.
Five times a day, the station transmitted encrypted weather forecasts to the German naval command at Troms.
But of course, life in the Arctic was harsh.
Temperatures went well below freezing, there were snow storms and daylight was scarce.
Polar bears were another threat.
The men had to carry rifles with them every time they went outside.
The men had been given rigorous training to deal with the hardship.
A member of the weather station pulls an infected tooth of a colleague.
They were ordered to dispose of explosives, destroy secret documents and send weather reports unencoded.
Then there was complete radio silence.
The men tried contacting base but there was no reply.
They started transmitting their coordinates on the wave lengths the Allies used but no ship or aircraft appeared.
In desperation, they started transmitting on Allied distress channels.
Towards the end of August, a reply was received.
Norwegian authorities assured the stranded men that a ship would set sail for Spitsbergen in early September.
It was a seal-hunting ship that was chartered by the Norwegian navy so you can pick up the Germans.
The Norwegians came ashore and they all had a big celebratory meal together.
My father explained that he could because they were surrendering.
The men were taken to Troms where they became prisoners of war for three months.
In December 1945, they returned to their homes, to a divided country.
Some found themselves on East Germany, others on the West.
Geologist Wilhelm Dege, head of Operation Haudegen.
Photo: From the archive of Wilhelm Dege
Soldiers kill time with music.
Photo: From the archive of Wilhelm Dege
The men celebrate Christmas in 1944.
Photo: From the archive of Wilhelm Dege
A man returns with a slain reindeer.
Photo: From the archive of Wilhelm Dege
A member of the weather station with a slain polar bear.
