Symbol of the Third Reich, retrieved from the depths after 71 years

A group of Norwegian technical divers, extracted from the resting In the waters of Narvik The shipwreck of the vessel Erich Giese, a figurine representing the Nazi eagle – one of the most important symbols of the Third Reich.

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Gallery of photographs of the figure being brought to the surface

The figure, weighing 70kg, was originally attached to the wheelhouse of the 120m long German destroyer Erich Giese. The ship was sunk by the Allies, during the Second Sea Battle of Narvik, on 13 April 1940. The exploration team came across the find at a depth of 67m, less than 200m from the shoreline. The search and retrieval operation lasted 4 days and involved 2 technical divers and 2 support divers. The eagle was lifted from the seabed at night.

“This is a unique find. It has great symbolic and sentimental significance for the whole country” – said Narvik War Museum director Erika Torgersen

Bronze figures depicting the Nazi eagle were placed on the ships of the German navy during World War II. After Hitler’s rise to power in 1933, it became the most important symbol of the Third Reich, next to the swastika, until its fall in 1945.

“It is amazing that the museum has managed to secure this symbol. It is very important to take careful care of this part of our history,” said Sven-Erik Grieg-Smith from the Institute of Archaeology, Religion and Cultural Studies.

In this particular case, we can speak of great luck. Figurines from other ships have long since been looted by wreck divers, as has the bell from the wreck of the Erich Giese, which is known to have been fished out in 1960. What happened to them? It is not known, most likely they ended up on the collectors’ market.

Now the sculpture will be cleaned in formic acid and boiling water to get rid of the deposits that have covered its surface for the last 71 years.

“As far as we know, this is the only such piece left in Norway. The rest have been looted and sold off. Fortunately, this one will be preserved in the museum’s collection and most likely put on display to the public as early as mid-August 2011.”

The undertaking was a rather complicated search and retrieval operation, as after a German destroyer was fired upon, the Nazi symbol separated from the ship and landed on the bottom 10-15m from the rest of the wreck. The search was further hampered by the muddy bottom of the waters surrounding Narvik.

Gallery of photographs of the figure being brought to the surface

Source: www.nrk.no