The Last Germans to Surrender at the End of World War II

On September 4, 1945, four months after the official end of World War II in Europe, eleven German soldiers isolated at the “Haudegen” weather station on the island of Nordostland, in the Svalbard archipelago, finally surrendered. This was a singular event that marked the surrender of the last Wehrmacht soldiers, after months of waiting in one of the most inhospitable regions on the planet.

Since September 1944, the team led by Lieutenant Dr. Wilhelm Dege had been stationed at Nordostland with a clear mission: to provide crucial meteorological data for German military operations. As Dege later described in his memoirs, “the mission was vital to the war effort, but the isolated location left us at the mercy of the elements.”

Isolation and the Mission

The “Haudegen” installation was one of several weather stations established by the Wehrmacht in Arctic areas. These stations were essential for collecting data that guided naval and air operations in the North Atlantic, especially against Allied convoys sailing to the Soviet Union. The remote location and extreme conditions made the team face almost insurmountable challenges. The station, built with prefabricated modules, offered basic protection, but survival depended on strict rationing, ingenuity, and intensive training in mountain warfare and extreme winter conditions.

Supplying “Haudegen” involved complex logistics. The operation received significant investment from the Kriegsmarine, estimated at two million Reichsmarks. “It was an expensive and risky mission, but absolutely necessary,” recalled the then-young radio operator Heinz Schneider. He and his colleagues faced temperatures as low as -50 degrees and howling winds that swept across the island with fury.

Routine at the Station

The routine at the station involved collecting and transmitting meteorological data three times a day. “It was a grueling task, especially during the winter when conditions were so adverse that any movement outside the station was dangerous,” said Schneider. The soldiers were equipped with a large quantity of weapons and ammunition to protect the station from any Allied attempt to destroy it, but also to defend themselves against natural dangers, such as the omnipresent polar bears. One of these bears, attracted by the smells from the kitchen, was shot by the soldiers, and the meat was used to supplement the team’s diet.

In addition to the challenging physical conditions, isolation generated a heavy emotional burden. During the long months of polar night from October to February, the soldiers experienced moments of great anxiety. The news of the bombing of Dresden, which particularly affected two team members, and the news of Adolf Hitler’s death on May 1, 1945, were received with a mixture of shock and resignation. “When we learned of Hitler’s end, we knew it was the end of our mission, but we had no idea what would come next,” recalled Schneider.

The End of the War and Oblivion

With the end of the war in May 1945, communications between the “Haudegen” station and the naval command in Tromsø ceased. The soldiers continued to send their weather reports, now unencrypted, but received only one last message asking about their supplies. After that, silence. The war had ended, but for the men of “Haudegen,” the end was far from reached.

The situation of the isolated soldiers was largely ignored amid the post-war chaos. The British forces occupying Norway were focused on other priorities, and the evacuation of the station was relegated to the background. As Schneider later stated, “we were like ghosts, forgotten in a corner of the world where no one cared anymore.”

The Long-Awaited Resolution

After months of uncertainty, a message finally arrived in August 1945, informing that a Norwegian ship would be sent to rescue them. However, due to rumors that the German soldiers in Svalbard were an elite group that would not surrender easily, there was an additional delay in the rescue. “There were rumors that we were a group of fanatics, ready to fight to the end. This only increased our anguish,” reflected Schneider.

Eventually, on September 3, 1945, the Norwegian ship “Blaasel” arrived at Wordiebucht. Captain Ludwig Albertsen, who had previously participated in expeditions to Svalbard, immediately recognized Lieutenant Dege, with whom he had worked before the war. The arrival of the “Blaasel” was a relief for the men of “Haudegen,” who, despite their ordeals, maintained a surprisingly optimistic attitude. Instead of a formal surrender, the situation unfolded almost festively. The soldiers prepared an improvised banquet for their rescuers, complete with schnapps and cigarettes. During the dinner, Albertsen reminded Dege that it was time to capitulate, to which the lieutenant calmly responded, placing his pistol on the table: “Here is my surrender.”

The Final Act

On the morning of September 4, the last German unit in Svalbard officially surrendered. The event was not only the symbolic end of the German military presence in the region but also a reminder of the many isolated and forgotten stories that make up the vast mosaic of World War II.

The men of “Haudegen” were not the last soldiers to surrender during the global conflict. That title belongs to Onoda Hirō, a Japanese lieutenant who only surrendered in 1974 on a remote island in the Philippines. However, the story of the German soldiers in Svalbard highlights the complexities and paradoxes of a conflict that, even after its official end, continued to affect lives in every corner of the world.

This account, while focused on a small group of men isolated in the Arctic, resonates as a reflection on the prolonged and often forgotten nature of war. For the soldiers of “Haudegen,” the surrender was a late relief but also an inevitable conclusion to a mission that, in their own words, “should never have happened, but we fulfilled it to the end.”