I actually found the article referred to by @Athelstane as well in an independent search. It is a sobering read, esp. as regards the (im)possibilities of U-Boats - or any other boats but icebreakers - to get close to the Antarctic shores for a large part of the year.
Tonight, googling a bit...
Some terrific posts, so far. And thanks esp. to @Athelstane for ideas and reflections on how to pull this off for our intrepid Antarctic Nazis.
I've been thinking a bit about the 'Argentinian angle' (cf. the Deception Island raid by the British). What if the Germans actually had some more or...
Just found out that the British destroyed Argentinian coal and oil supplies on Deception Island in 1941 to ostensibly deny them to the Germans. It led into a larger op ("Tabarin") which was claimed to defend against German commerce raiders and U-boats, but in reality was about asserting British...
.
I think I missed that, sorry. But aside from the near-ASB feasibility of setting up such a base, even 'just' on an island between Antarctica and Patagonia/South Africa/or Australia, would a submarine base in these parts have any real value? I mean, how much Allied shipping would they be able...
Wouldn't be sanctioned, even by the standards of the time. They are not a military threat and if the base just popped up on the radar it would be reasonable to investigate if there were 'imported' civilians there and/ or women and children. And if they suspected a war criminal like Mengele was...
Great post! Do you really think they would be left alone, even if they miraculously survive and avoid detection until, say, 1955? I can see it if they were a Nazi commune in Argentina, but not 'independent'. De jure they would be part of Nazi Germany and as such subject to the Instrument of...
Maybe not but it would have to be established after the outbreak of WWII or otherwise incognito. If not, it would be the first (and only) Nazi overseas possession to get occupied/dismantled.
Fun, but mostly ASB. :) Your suggestion about islands sounds pretty sensible, though. I suppose it would make supply lines less fragile if they could find one not too far away from, what, Argentina or South Africa? (But still 'Antarctic'!)
Exactly :) Which is what you get in all the conspiracy books and sites about this: There is literally no end to super secret ops stuff that went on behind the scenes to take down the Nazi base and their UFOs ;-) Or ... something.
Even if we handwave the exact reasons it has to be something remotely plausible since this is not the ASB-forum. So ... maybe something to do with precious metals, but since it would be near impossible to get them out and bring them to Germany that's probably not going to cut it. But ...