Russian scientists discover Nazi military base on Alexandra Land

Russian scientists have rediscovered a Nazi military base in the Arctic 72 years later after it has been abandoned. The base has been identified as the Schatzgraber or Treasure Hunter.

Scientists were exploring the island when they saw more than 500 relics including discarded petrol canisters, ruins of bunkers and paper documents. The relics were preserved due to the cold weather on the island.

“About 500 items of historical value have been collected on the grounds of the former Treasure Hunter German station that operated on the Alexandra Land island of Franz Josef Land from September 1943 until July 1944,” Yulia Petrova, National Park press secretary, said in a statement. “They include munitions and military equipment, everyday items, personal effects, and fragments of meteorological devices.”

The scientists plan to archive, study and display publicly the objects.

The base was abandoned when the German U-boat rescued the poisoned scientists, who ate raw polar beat meat, that led to a disease from roundworms living in the infected flesh. The base was thought to be actively destroyed after the scientists were rescued. It was also thought that the Arctic weather contributed to the erosion of the objects left at the base.

During World War II, the island produced meteorological reports, which served as the reference for the planning of the transport in the far North and the military operations. The men who stayed in the base received their supplies via air drop.

The German U-boat crew set up the unmanned Weather Station Kurt. It was located in 1977 by archeologists after Newfoundland joined Canada. The weather station is currently on display at the Canadian War Museum.

The island of Alexandra Lan d was located 1,000 km from the North Pole 0150. Many nations dispute for the territory because of the whaling access. Currently, the Russian Federation owns the land.