The white (supremacist) continent
Antarctica and fantasies of Nazi survival
pp. 105-124
Abstract
This chapter examines a particularly lurid conspiracy theory—that Hitler survived the end of the Second World War and retreated to a hidden base in Antarctica, perhaps with the aid of flying saucers—to explore the relationship between physical and imagined geographies. I am not concerned with the "truth" of the theory: empirical evidence clearly indicates it is not, and there is ample reason to regard it as a useful piece of propaganda for the neo-Nazi cause rather than a truth claim in the conventional sense. Rather, my interest concerns the reasons why Antarctica provides a plausible setting for advancing a myth of persistent Nazi supremacy. The nature of Nazi ideology, in its actual and idealized forms, lent itself well to fantasies of technological supremacy and superhuman/inhuman strength that could tame even the harshest physical geography. Certain historical events before and after the War could be reinterpreted to provide support for such a narrative, lending just enough plausibility to make it a useful addition to an overarching discourse of Nazi survival. Appeals to history and physical geography are thus of limited value in changing what is essentially an ideological commitment.
Publication details
Published in:
Peder Roberts, van der Watt Lize-Marié, Howkins Adrian (2016) Antarctica and the humanities. Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan.
Pages: 105-124
DOI: 10.1057/978-1-137-54575-6_5
Full citation:
Peder Roberts (2016) „The white (supremacist) continent: Antarctica and fantasies of Nazi survival“, In: R. Peder, L. Van Der Watt & A. Howkins (eds.), Antarctica and the humanities, Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan, 105–124.