ANT031 In 1979 the government of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) decided to open its own independent Antarctic research station to obtain consultative status under the International Antarctic treaty. It seems likely that this was prompted by the proposed Georg von Neumayer Station of the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) scheduled to be opened in 1981. Since 1976 the GDR had operated a research base as "an annex to the Soviet to the Russian station Novolazarevskaya" (Gernandt et al 2006). Following the decision by the East German Cabinet (Ministerrat) to obtain consultative status, permission was sought from the Soviet Union for two East German scientists to accompany the 25th Soviet Antarctic expedition in 1979/80. Despite the very short notice of just a few weeks the Soviet Union allowed the East German scientists to accompany them. The main aim of the so-called 'exploratory expedition' (DDR - Erkundungsexpedition EREX 79/80 im Rahmen der 25. SAE) was to find a good location for a GDR research station. The expedition left the Soviet Union on 19 December 1979, reaching Mirny Station on 3 January 1980. On 17 and 18 January 1980 the two East German scientists were given use of a Soviet helicopter MI-8 that would otherwise have stood idle for a few days. With this helicopter they flew to the North=East Cape near the Larsemann Hills in the Australian Antarctic territory, a distance of ca. 825 km from Mirny Station. The GDR scientists spent 4 hours on the ground at the site and concluded that it would be a suitable site for an East German research station! The Larsemann Hills are approx. 110 km from the Australian Davis Station and on the return trip to Mirny Station the Russians and German refuelled at Davis Station and spent the night there (cf. p. 140 in report by Gernandt, see No. 3 below). The East German scientists were later flown over the area again with a Soviet transport plane IL-18 en route from Mirny to Molodyoshnaya Station and were able to take some aerial photographs. In December 1979 the GDR also sent a team of three scientists to visit the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute in Leningrad in the Soviet Union (AANII). This team was to have in-depth talks with their Soviet counterparts about the planning and fitting-out of an Antarctic research station. The directive from the East German government had been to erect a station within 12 months. The aim of this very tight deadline can only have been to pip the 'class enemy' from across the German-German border to the post of establishing the first German research station in Antarctica. However, the report by team leader Peter Glde makes no attempt to gloss over how the Russians viewed the East German plans and points out that the Soviet scientists were "surprised" at the time frame and that their own stations had been erected over a period of 2 to 3 years and after careful preparation. An appendix to Glde's report makes clear that Prydz Bay and the Larsemann Hills were being considered as a suitable site for an East German station. There is however no reference to the two scientists participating in the 25th SAE due to visit the Larsemann Hills. The report by the two scientists visiting Antarctica describe the site near the Larsemann Hills as very suitable, not least because of a nearby fresh water lake. It also outlines the scientific aims of the GDR reserach station. One of the projected aims of the station was to conduct biological research together with the Australian ANARE stations (see p. 152 of Gernandt's report, No. 3 below). Planning for the expedition and the setting-up of the research station appears not to have progressed very much past the project planning stage. Container buildings were designed, a timeline was devised and project flow charts drawn up. Logos for the expedition and the research station (to be named "Humboldt Forschungs-Station") were designed. From three of the photos on offer it is also clear that a prototype container building and a big metal sledge were actually constructed. A historical overview of Antarctic reserach in the GDR published in 1992 merely refers to the project as an attempt (Versuch der Grndung einer eigenen Antarktisforschungsstation auf den Larsemann Hills), and it is obvious that the project progressed no further (cf. Paech 1992). The GDR Academy of Sciences was however permitted to join the Scientific Committee of Antarctic Research (SCAR) in 1981. In 1987 the 'Politbro' reinforced its decision for the GDR to have an independent research station and the same year the annex operated next to the Soviet Novolazarevskaya Station was redesignated the 'Georg Forster Station'. The same year the GDR was finally given consultative status under the International Antarctic treaty. Three years later the GDR was absorbed into the Federal Rupublic of Germany and work at the Georg Forster Station ended in 1993. It was dismantled by 1996. The information contained in this short history was taken from the material on offer and listed below and from the following two articles: Paech, Hans-Jrgen: Die DDR-Antarktisforschung - eine Retrospektive. In: Polarforschung 60 (3) pp. 197 - 218. 1990 (published 1992). Garnandt, Hartwig et al.: From Georg-Forster Station to Neumayer Station III. A sustainable replacement at Atka Bay for future. [sic]. Polarforschung 76 (1-2), pp. 59 - 85. 2006 (published 2007). A detailed list of the material in this collection will be provided on request. $5500.00AUD
Click here to order or message the dealer