The Nazi Whaling Squadron

In order to win war, Nazi Germany built the third largest whaling fleet in the world.

At least 15,000 blue and fin whales were slaughtered by the German whaling squadron between 1936 and 1939. An intervention in nature from which the whale population has never fully recovered. A little-known fact: more than 80 years ago, the German whaling fleet was the third largest in the world. The Nazi regime wanted to close the so-called “fat gap” to solve the country’s problem of fat supply. In 1935-1939, seven factory ships were purchased along with more than 50 fishing vessels armed with modern harpoons. The admonishing and poignant voices of the last surviving eyewitnesses reconstruct how the largest animals on earth were almost eradicated so Germany could go to war.

Pictures:
© Private / Radio Bremen
© Christina Boje / Radio Bremen