Atlantropa plan

[nova2010]

Atlantropa, also referred to as Panropa, was a gigantic engineering and colonization project devised by the German architect Herman Sörgel in the 1920s and promulgated by him until his death in 1952. Its central feature was a hydroelectric dam to be built across the Strait of Gibraltar, which would have provided enormous amounts of hydroelectricity and would have led to the lowering of the surface of the Mediterranean Sea by up to 200 meters (660 ft), opening up large new lands for settlement, for example in a now almost totally drained Adriatic Sea. The project proposed four additional major dams as well:

• Across the Dardanelles to hold back the Black Sea
• Between Sicily and Tunisia to provide a roadway and further lower the inner Mediterranean
• On the Congo river below its Kwa River tributary to refill the Mega-Chad basin around Lake Chad providing fresh water to irrigate the Sahara and creating a shipping lane to the interior of Africa
• Suez Canal extension and locks to maintain Red Sea connection.

what the consequences ?


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantropa

 

[zeppelinair]

Atlantropa, also referred to as Panropa, was a gigantic engineering and colonization project devised by the German architect Herman Sörgel in the 1920s and promulgated by him until his
death in 1952.
.........
consequences ?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantropa

Very interesting. It seems too easy a target for terrorists to bomb and let chaos rule over Europe, however. Also, the drained Mediterranean would mean it becomes more salty than IOTL, where it is already as salty a sea can be....
And who's going to fund this?

 

[Iori]

The project would never be completed since it would lead to a disaster of proportions not seen in Human history and thus you'd never have any of the Med. countries support it and probably several or all of them taking military action against someone trying to do it.

 

[Michel Van]

One of the Major disadvantage was the huge cost and needed internationally cooperation, to build this system of dams over several generation.
But the Project was heavy criticized by France and Italy alone for the Idea.
no good base for European union the architect Herman Sörgel had in mind for project.
as the political time was right for European cooperation, nuclear Power became cheap alternative to the Atlantropa.
Herman Sörgel try to save his idea until, he was killed 1952 in hit and run car accident*

On blowing up the Dams, that are massive million metric tons structures, terrorists need a H-bomb on the Strait of Gibraltar dam!


* according some claims, Herman Sörgel was killed, by a jewish commando who track down nazi and kill them.
because the use of Atlantropa idea by a Africa fraction inside NSDAP
Actually in 1942 Sörgel was banned from publishing his works by the Nazis. as contra productive to ideas of Hitler "Lebensraum" in the East

 

[zoomar]

The project would never be completed since it would lead to a disaster of proportions not seen in Human history and thus you'd never have any of the Med. countries support it and probably several or all of them taking military action against someone trying to do it.

You may be correct, but please explain better exactly what this disaster would be? On face value you get gobs of clean energy and more land for agriculture and settlement across the Med basic. Do we really know what the climatological and environmental effects of this would be, and that all of them would necessarily add up to "disaster of proportions not seen in human history?"

The idea is certaily risky and probably too fantastical to ever happen in the real world, but a disaster unlike any in human history? Afterall the last Ice Age and its withdrawl, including creation of the North Sea and Great Lakes in North America occurred during "human history"

 

[Dathi THorfinnsson]

see also

AHC: Build tunnels/bridges/railways etc. that never were... (

1 2 3 4 5)


Nazi Environmental Policy (

1 2 3)
Crimea

More technocratic/Futurist fascism (

1 2)
Alkahest

AHC/WI/TL: Atlantropa gets built post Great War
Genmotty


Abandoned/Proposed Feasible Megaprojects (

1 2 3 4 5 6)
anw_rev

Does Megaengineering ever work? (

1 2 3 4)
Faeelin

Widespread Macro-engineering
Gepetto887


Atlantropa is BUILT (

1 2 3) Michel Van


Desert reclamation/terraforming (

1 2 3)
rewster


Nazi Government Dams the Mediterranean
yellowdingo

Atlantropa, possible?
Lamna

Your Favorite AH Megaproject/Wonder of the World (

1 2 3 4)
Ivan Druzhkov

 

[Alex Richards]

You may be correct, but please explain better exactly what this disaster would be? On face value you get gobs of clean energy and more land for agriculture and settlement across the Med basic. Do we really know what the climatological and environmental effects of this would be, and that all of them would necessarily add up to "disaster of proportions not seen in human history?"

The idea is certaily risky and probably too fantastical to ever happen in the real world, but a disaster unlike any in human history? Afterall the last Ice Age and its withdrawl, including creation of the North Sea and Great Lakes in North America occurred during "human history"

You don't get any new land for agriculture. What you get is a lot of new, salt infested, infertile land, loss of rainfall, decreased agricultural productivity in existing land and the complete destruction of the entire coastal economy of the affected nations, including loss of fishing revenue, decreased fish stocks and potentially desertification as well. The flooding of Doggerland and such may have caused great disruption to a relatively small semi-settled population, but this would undoubtedly lead to the deaths of millions.

 

[Clandango]

I recall some people made maps based upon old alter-history books where the damming suceeded. It showed all the land claimed from the ocean as being part of the German Reich. Makes some sense I suppose, though the Germans probably would find better farmland elsewhere. Some quotes by Hitler suggested that was his feelings on the matter and that he wasn't even going to allow funding for the dikes keeping the Dutch above water.

 

[Captain Jack]

Not to mention the dam cuts all of the med countries off from seaborne trade with all of then atlantic. That would set every single country on the Mediterranean against the project.

 

[Cook]

...would have led to the lowering of the surface of the Mediterranean Sea by up to 200 meters...

Is there really anyone that thinks that would be a good idea? This daft fantasy would make the Aral Sea look trivial in comparison.