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New SwabiaNew Schwabenland or Neuschwabenland (New Swabia in English) was an area of Antarctica between 20E and 10W claimed by Germany between 1939 and 1945. Prior to World War II, Germany had displayed a keen interest in establishing bases in Antarctica - sending expeditions in 1910 and 1925 to investigate the area. Antarctica was covered by a number of international treaties meaning the only way Germany could stake a claim over that territory would be actual occupation. Having already pushed relationships with the Anglo-French allies to the limits, Adolf Hitler did not want to risk war over a claim on the lands. Instead, a semi-civilian expedition was conceived. On December 17, 1938, Schwabenland, a special freighter capable of carrying and launching aircraft, departed Hamburg for Antarctica. The vessel arrived on January 1939 and began charting the region. In the following weeks, flights were made by Dornier Wal aircraft over an area of roughly 600,000 square km. These missions resulted in more than 11,000 photographs of the area, allowing incorrect Norwegian charts from 1931 to be updated. German aircraft also dropped thousands of Nazi flags and metal poles bearing the expedition's insignia and the swastika to stress their claim. The expedition established a temporary base and claimed to have discovered hot springs with vegetation in some areas. After the expedition left in February 1939, a second expedition was immediately planned. It was to be a fully civilian expedition, using lighter airplanes with skis. These plans were, however, canceled with the onset of World War II. Some people believe that a secret base was maintained until the end of World War II in 1945, but there is no evidence for this. The claim did not disappear with the end of World War II in 1945, but still exists today, although the German government did not do anything to end the dispute with Norway. Because of the Antarctica treaty the dispute is more of national pride since the treaty suspended all claims. The name is now seldom used to describe the region, although some features in the area retain their German names.
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