Nazi Explorers of the Amazon in 3-D is title I would have preferred, but I wish I could say this were just a pulp adventure story turned B-film. It isn't.
On a tiny island situated on a tributary of the Rio Jari of Northern Brazil stands a nine-foot high wooden cross decorated with a Swastika, the unmistakable symbol of the 3rd Reich. The memorial in the photo above states that Joseph Greiner “died of fever in the service of German Research Work.” This was three years before WWII officially began in 1939 and over a decade before Nazi’s began making their infamous exodus to South America to escape prosecution for war-crimes. So what were the Nazi's doing so deep in the Brazilian jungle in 1936? Well, it just so happens that the Nazi's were up to all kinds of stuff in many parts of the world before they made any military efforts at world domination. In fact the exploratory mission in 1935 by Nazi Germany to the Amazon region of Brazil serves as a testament to just how expansive the Nazi’s imagined the Reich would become.
The expedition was lead by S.S. officer Otto Schulz-Kampfhenkel and his staff which included a significant number of hired locals who participated in the endeavor. Secretly it was known as the Guayana Project and was a highly classified effort by SS intelligence. However, the project which was actually a study on how the 3rd Reich could establish a bridgehead against American influence in the region was conducted under the auspices of collecting samples of the indigenous flora and fauna of the region. Kampfhenkel even produced a film about his adventures called Rätsel der Urwaldhölle, but the secret project was of course not mentioned.
At the conclusion of the study Kampfhenkel submitted a report with details about how the Nazi’s might infiltrate and begin colonizing the country for themselves. He included details on how German soldiers should live and adapt to the environment. It was suggested that since there was already a significant German population in several South American countries, it was feasible to establish a South American extension of the Third Reich's Empire.
‘The two largest scantly populated, but rich in resources, areas on earth are in Siberia and South America. ‘They alone offer spacious immigration and settlement possibilities for the Nordic peoples… For the more advanced white race it offers outstanding possibilities for exploitation.’ Like a dedicated Nazi who believed in the ideals of racial purity As one might expect from an S.S. man who believed in the ideals of Nazi racial purity, his report said the people who lived there 'cannot be measured in civilized terms as we known them in Germany.'
The mission was overall less successful than it's leader had hoped. Greiner, another S.S. officer died of malaria while on the expedition and after review of Kampfhenkel's report by his superiors, the plans to expand into Brazil were shelved because of bureaucratic obstacles, and a lack of immediate interest. ‘Given time, the plan may be submitted again” wrote Heinrich Himmler in response to Kampfhenkel's report.
Very little physical evidence remains of this ambitious effort to colonize the jungles of Brazil. There are the graves of those who died in pursuit of this goal and some bricks from an old building that bare swastikas. However, the true economic and psychological impact of the Nazi foray into the jungle may be incalculable. According to local accounts it appears as though the project employed a significant number of slave laborers obtained from local orphanages. Some of these former slaves are still alive and seeking acknowledged of what occurred and even restitution for this sinister legacy left behind by the Nazi cohort.
I find this story to be highly fascinating and worthy of additional research. Even today we continue to unearth secret Nazi projects from around the world and remnants of their various exploits. It obvious that S.S. Intelligence were even interested in exploring Siberia too judging by the statements in Kampfhenkel's report and it's well known their efforts to colonize Antarctica in the years before WW2. What else were they up to that has not yet been uncovered?
'The Nazi Graveyard' as it looks today.
‘The two largest scantly populated, but rich in resources, areas on earth are in Siberia and South America. ‘They alone offer spacious immigration and settlement possibilities for the Nordic peoples… For the more advanced white race it offers outstanding possibilities for exploitation.’ Like a dedicated Nazi who believed in the ideals of racial purity As one might expect from an S.S. man who believed in the ideals of Nazi racial purity, his report said the people who lived there 'cannot be measured in civilized terms as we known them in Germany.'
The mission was overall less successful than it's leader had hoped. Greiner, another S.S. officer died of malaria while on the expedition and after review of Kampfhenkel's report by his superiors, the plans to expand into Brazil were shelved because of bureaucratic obstacles, and a lack of immediate interest. ‘Given time, the plan may be submitted again” wrote Heinrich Himmler in response to Kampfhenkel's report.
I find this story to be highly fascinating and worthy of additional research. Even today we continue to unearth secret Nazi projects from around the world and remnants of their various exploits. It obvious that S.S. Intelligence were even interested in exploring Siberia too judging by the statements in Kampfhenkel's report and it's well known their efforts to colonize Antarctica in the years before WW2. What else were they up to that has not yet been uncovered?
'The Nazi Graveyard' as it looks today.
