To be able to better understand the German view on certain aspects of the operations on the Eismeerfront and Kandalakshafront (i.e. the operations against the Kola Peninsula) I joined forces with Lars Rudek from Hamburg to visit archives and veterans in Germany and Austria during 25 March - 4 April 2001.
Lars Rudek shares my fascination for the history of the war "im hohen Norden" as his grandfather served as an artillery commander (CO of HKAB 869) by the Barents Sea for two years (Fischerhalsfront). The summer of 2000 we together found the remains of his grandfather´s house on the "Gernothöhe" NE of the "Nord" base. BTW we found each other thanks to After the Battle magazine, issue 99: "Soviet Victory in the Arctic". Lars found my name (Lars Gyllenhaal) in it as I am one of the authors of that issue. He then typed my name in a search engine and the next thing he knew he was on the Russian tundra!
This is me inbetween archive-digging sessions. Photo: Lars-Uwe Rudek.
Our main goal was to sit in the German military WWII archive, the Bundesarchiv Militärachiv, in Freiburg during three days and do some digging in the mountains of information re. the operations on the Kola Peninsula.
We found plenty including a report on Lars Rudek´s grandfather, a detailed German guide to Kola and many dramatic battle and interrogation reports. We were thoroughly pleased with the staff and their service. The only drawback with this archive is that you must know pretty well where to look and you have to apply about five weeks in advance in writing to obtain permission to do research.
In Villach, southern Austria, we found this Gebirgsjäger memorial mentioning the Litsa-, Salla- and Fischerhalsfronts. It is attached to the outer wall of the central church. It was odd to be able to read the name of "Litsa" so far away from the tundra. Photo: Lars Gyllenhaal
We met five veterans from different units that fought on Kola, both from the army and Waffen-SS. The life on the barren tundra, deaths of both friend and foe and the joy of getting away alive was clearly still in their thoughts every day. We told the veterans of what the tundra is like today and showed photographs of our summer odyssey. They told us that the vegetation up there seemed to have grown a lot since their times. Not only was much burnt away during the war, the veterans were sure the climate has changed since then and that in those days most tundra trees never would grow large no matter what.
This photograph taken by lieutenant Hans Brandner of the 2nd Mountain Division staff, shows the very moment when the drive towards the east began. The photo was taken in the wee morning hours of 22 June 1941 on the road between Norwegian Kirkenes and Finnish Petsamo. Photo: H. Brandner
This rare photograph shows a German Panzer II on the tundra. Note the extra jerry cans and wood (?). Photo: H. Brandner
Here Oberleutnant Brandner himself can be seen (far right) during a Eismeerfront tour for axis military attachés that he directed. Military representatives of Romania and Japan can be seen in this photograph together with a Sami lady from the Ivalo area. Photo: H. Brandner
In Vienna I paid a visit to the exquisite Army Museum there, but was rather disappointed at the WWII section. It is very superficial, not describing any units in detail or any operations except the allied advance into Austria in 1945. Sure, there are several rare WWII Wehrmacht and SS uniforms on display but they do not oblige you to come all the way to Vienna unless you are in Austria anyway. Anyone interested of WWI should instead be most encouraged to visit this museum as the WWI exhibition contains many unique objects such as the original and still unrestored car in which Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Duchess Sophie von Hohenberg were travelling in when they were shot in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914. The bullet holes in the car may be seen as the first shots fired in WWI...
Published 10-04-2001
© Lars and Ann-Sofie Gyllenhaal