Hitler's builders

New book about the Second World War, based on a research project at The Norwegian Museum of Science and Technology , sheds light on the lesser-known stories of megalomaniacal engineering projects in Norway and thousands of tragic, forgotten fates.  

The book is sold via Fagfokforlaget and physically in the museum shop .

Norway was unique

Norway differs from the other countries that were occupied by Germany during the Second World War in that more resources were added to the country than it was taken away.

Usually the occupied countries were drained of great resources. In Norway, the Germans had great ambitions for the development of the infrastructure, military installations and power development. Adolf Hitler ordered his top engineers to embark on several ambitious construction projects in Norway, but the country lacked most of the materials involved. In the book "Hitlers byggherrer - Fritz Todt and Albert Speer in Norway" it is estimated that steel equivalent to ten to twelve Eiffel Towers was transported from Germany to Norway to build the Polar Railway - a continuation of the railway from Mo i Rana to Kirkenes. The development was mainly motivated by strategic warfare, to transport food and ammunition to German soldiers who fought at the front in the north, but according to the author there must have been several motives behind it:

- If you look at the Polar Railway project as a whole, the project makes no sense at all in the short term.

The orbit was part of what I call the Nazi space policy. It was about the long-term plans for the geographical reorganization of Europe, says author and first conservator Ketil Gjølme Andersen. Norway had a central place in this spatial policy, the future Grossraum. In this context, the Polar Railway played an important role. As Hitler stated in August 1942: "We will only get a firm grip on Norway when there is a railway to Kirkenes." In addition to cement and rebar, large amounts of labor were also brought in from abroad.

It is estimated that over 100,000 workers were sent to Norway - many of these were prisoners of war and political prisoners. A high price to pay

The ambitions for Norway were big, and included, among other things, a 33 meter wide motorway to Trondheim and the Polar Railway.

Very short deadlines were set for the completion of the projects. According to the Allied Intelligence Service, Hitler had initiated the largest construction projects in Europe since Roman times. The projects were gigantic and had to be carried out at a record pace.

Within one and a half to two years, the new Polar Railway had to be completed, the Driver demanded. Labor would not be a problem. Hitler stated that the construction was to be carried out with "reckless exploitation of Soviet prisoners of war", says Andersen. 2,200 prisoners of war had to pay with their lives during the construction of the Polar Railway.

Another thousand workers drowned during the transport to Norway. Although knowledge of these gross war crimes has been limited in Norway, there is no lack of documentation. In the book “Hitler's builders. Fritz Todt and Albert Speer in Norway.” the print is one of countless prisoner cards. Prisoner cards are documents with detailed information about the individual prisoner.

The cards contained information such as year of birth, occupation and where the prisoners were stationed in Norway. In the book, the prisoner's card of the Ukrainian Michail Kulik is reproduced. It says that Kulik was "shot for refusing to work" in October 1944, while he was building a railway over Saltfjellet. The prisoner cards were part of a large bureaucracy which, in a sinister, rational way, recorded all the information that Organization Todt needed.
Because the system is so comprehensive, the Germans somehow ended up documenting their own war crimes.

The article continues below

An unrealistic construction project

The projects in Norway required large resources, resources that Hitler eventually needed badly for warfare. Despite the fact that Germany was about to lose the war, the development of the Polar Railway continued.

The Polar Railway is an interesting example of how Hitler's technological optimism and his long-term space policy ambitions had negative consequences for Germany. The railway was a drain on resources. The need for steel, concrete and wood was so enormous that it created major problems for the German armaments industry, says Andersen.

The projects in Norway were part of the Todt Organization, named after the engineer Fritz Todt.

However, Todt became increasingly skeptical of Hitler's large construction projects and also confronted Hitler with his views. After German tanks got stuck in the mud outside Moscow, and the war was set to be a long one, Germany lacked the necessary resources to initiate projects like the Polar Railway.

Todt actually went so far as to try to prevent the railway from being supplied with resources, says Andersen. This coincided with a dramatic confrontation between Hitler and Todt. On the way home from a meeting between the two in February 1942, Todt's plane exploded and everyone on board died. Historians have long speculated whether this was an accident or whether it was an assassination attempt staged by Hitler. It remains speculation, but it cannot be ruled out that the Polar Railway was part of an assassination attempt on Todt, says Andersen.

A few hours after Todt's death, another renowned builder, Albert Speer, became head of the OT. He was given the task of building the Polar Railway, among other things. Speer also quickly realized that the project was not realistic, but unlike his predecessor, he did not dare to speak against Hitler.

The construction of the Polar Railway continued until May 7 – the day before Liberation Day.

The book is part of a larger project

“Hitler's builders. Fritz Todt and Albert Speer in Norway” is part of a larger research project that has previously been highlighted in an exhibition at The Norwegian Museum of Science and Technology called “ Grossraum ”.

– The Norwegian Museum of Science and Technology has a long tradition of research that contributes to new knowledge about technology and industry. The research is linked to our dissemination activities and is often carried out in collaboration with other institutions and across disciplines. This book is a good example of just that, says department head Frode Weium. The book addresses an important topic that has been little researched, and it will remain a key contribution to historical research on Norway during the Second World War.

The book “Hitler's builders. Fritz Todt and Albert Speer in Norway” is written by senior curator at The Norwegian Museum of Science and Technology , Ketil Gjølme Andersen, published by Fagbokforlaget. The book can be purchased via Fagbokforlaget and in the museum shop .

Would you like to learn more?

• Learn more about Grossraum
• Pictures from the development of the Polar Railway
• Aftenposten: Read the chronicle about the book
• Interview with the author on the radio program Ekko