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 occupied by Germany during World War II in that the country was given more resources than it was deprived of. Usually, the occupied countries were drained of large resources. In Norway, the Germans had great ambitions for the development of 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 “Hitler's builders – 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 justified by strategic warfare, to transport food and ammunition to German soldiers fighting 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 railway 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 space policy, the coming 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 reinforcing steel, large quantities of labor were also brought in from abroad. It is estimated that over 100,000 workers were sent to Norway – many of whom were prisoners of war and political prisoners.  

A high price to pay

The ambitions for Norway were great, and included, among other things, a 33-meter-wide highway to Trondheim and the Polar Railway. Very short deadlines were set for completing 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 were to be carried out at record speed. The new Polar Railway had to be completed within one and a half to two years, the Führer demanded. Labor would not be a problem. Hitler has stated that the construction would be carried out with “ruthless exploitation of Soviet prisoners of war,” Andersen says.  

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 serious war crimes has been limited in Norway, there is no shortage of documentation. In the book “Hitler’s builders. Fritz Todt and Albert Speer in Norway.” one of countless prisoner cards is printed.  

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. The book reproduces the prisoner card of the Ukrainian Michail Kulik. It says that Kulik was "shot for refusing to work" in October 1944, while building a railway over Saltfjellet.       

The prisoner cards were part of a vast bureaucracy that, in a sinister, rational way, recorded all the information that Organization Todt needed. Because the system is so comprehensive, the Germans ended up documenting their own war crimes in a way.

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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