“Norway used German soldiers to clear minefields and dump explosives in fjords and lakes"

At the end of the Second World War, the German armed forces still had large quantities of ammunition in Norway. It was stored in various units and large warehouses.

In addition, there were explosives belonging to the police and Organisation Todt – a German semi-military organisation involved in construction and engineering. 

There were also components and ammunition stored at the Raufoss ammunitions factory.

But how much ammunition was there, and what should done with it?

At least 90,000 tonnes of ammunition were stored in Norway

One of the few people who had some sort of overview was Colonel Büttner, who was interned in a prison camp in Lillehammer during the summer of 1945.

In a letter to the Norwegian authorities dated 18 August 1945, he described the situation regarding the ammunition.

At the end of the war, the German army and coastal artillery troops had 90,000 tonnes of ammunition stored in Norway, and that figure did not include the other branches such as the navy and the Luftwaffe.

The stockpiles Büttner knew of included everything from small arms to large artillery shells. The colonel estimated their value at NOK 780 million, which corresponds to NOK 21.3 billion (2.5 billion USD) today.

Could it have been possible for him and other Germans to assist Norway in handling and dismantling this ammunition?

Norway chose not to dismantle

On 19 September 1945, the Army Ordnance Corps stated that it would be too dangerous to use Norwegian workers for dismantling. Norway also lacked people with the right expertise. 

However, if the Germans could do the work, it would save a lot of steel and other materials.

In October 1945, the Norwegian High Command concluded that they did not want to pursue the proposal. The ammunition was to be handled and dumped in accordance with the guidelines set by the Allies. 

Norway also needed all the Norwegian workers it could get to help rebuild the country. The question of whether German soldiers could be used for dangerous work was also sensitive due to the Geneva Convention.

“Norway used German soldiers to clear minefields and dump explosives in fjords and lakes. This was dangerous work that resulted in many deaths,” says Professor Mats Ingulstad at NTNU.

In the book Da freden brøt løs (When peace broke out), Trond Risto Nilssen writes that 170 Germans died during this mine-clearing work.

Dumping could challenge the defense industry

Büttner referred to Germany’s experiences from the First World War, noting that there was always a risk that ammunition dumped in natural environments might resurface. 

Ingulstad explains that the Norwegian Armed Forces had observed the same phenomenon, among other places around the Trondheim Fjord during the summer of 1945. Hand grenades and other explosives had been dumped here and could be reached at low tide, or washed ashore elsewhere.

The ammunition contained valuable metals. But instead of recycling it, the authorities chose to dump it in Lake Mjøsa, other lakes, and the sea.

In NTNU's Mission Mjøsa research project, the history of this dumping is being charted as part of the ongoing work.

Ingulstad believes that pollution from military activity and ammunition dumping, which is now being discovered in several places in Norway, could challenge the defense industry and the need for rearmament. 

“We need to understand how it happened”

Master’s students and researchers are currently working to catalogue the causes, extent, and consequences of the dumping in Lake Mjøsa and other locations in Norway. 

Büttner's letter was discovered by a master’s student at the Department of Historical Sciences.

“This is a type of research we could call applied environmental history,” says Ingulstad.

He believes that the study of history is important for understanding the origins and scale of major societal problems, and for helping solve them together with researchers from other fields of study.

The Raufoss ammunitions factory became part of a national rearmament strategy. What consequences did this have for the surrounding inhabitants, local development, and the environment? 

In a new project called Explosive Legacy, NTNU, Mjøsmuseet, and Vestre Toten Municipality will collaborate to find answers.

Researchers are searching through German archives

So why was Büttner so focused on recycling the ammunition that he contacted the Norwegian authorities?

“We can only speculate," says Ingulstad.

Researchers are now trying to find more information about him in the German archives. 

"Perhaps he was thinking as an environmentalist who realised that recycling metals was a sensible solution. The Germans were very focused on this, even though dumping was easier. In addition, he was of the opinion that he spoke reasonably good Norwegian, having been in the country since 1940. Meanwhile, large parts of Germany lay in ruins," he says. 

He probably also knew that he risked a lengthy stay in a prison camp. 

"If he came from one of the areas occupied by the Soviet Union, what later became East Germany, it may well be that continuing to work in Norway was more appealing, even if it was dangerous,” the professor explains.

Germans focused on recycling during the war

The German arms industry needed metals such as copper, lead, and zinc. Under the Nazi rule, recycling centres were established to reduce the need for imports. Without sufficient metals within its own borders, Germany relied heavily on recycling.

They expanded capacity, trained specialists, and collected scrap from households and companies. This was a strategy they brought with them to the countries they occupied, including Norway.

Ammunition was also recycled, and any surplus was regarded as a valuable resource.

Approximately six months after the invasion of Norway, the Germans launched the Metal Mobilisation initiative – a campaign to collect and recycle scrap metal. In October 1941, the Metal Central was established to organise this process more systematically.

Collection efforts in Norway were often carried out by Norwegian scrap dealers. Norwegian companies melted down scrap metal and produced new materials, although much of what was collected was sent directly to Germany. 

There were monthly campaigns in Norwegian cities, collecting everything from motor vehicles to cutlery.

The collection was formally overseen by the Norwegian Ministry of Trade, which was under the control of the German occupying forces.

Raufoss played a key role in recycling

The Raufoss ammunitions factory (RA) was important in these recycling efforts. The factory had produced ammunition since 1896 and had its own metalworks and equipment for processing scrap metal.

“The recycling that took place at RA was coordinated by the Metal Central, and the factory regularly reported on the processing of scrap metal,” says historian Simon Renner at NTNU.

RA processed scrap steel, including scrap metal from other Nazi-occupied areas. Bronze and other metals were also recycled.

Norwegian worker killed in an explosion

The Germans almost tripled their ammunition production at RA between 1940 and 1945. They produced heavy artillery shells and ammunition for rifles such as the Krag–Jørgensen and Mauser machine guns.

At the end of October 1942, an explosion occurred during the dismantling of shells at RA. A Norwegian worker was killed. The ammunition was from the First World War and had been brought there from Belgium. 

The accident occurred while workers were handling 7.5-centimetre high-explosive ammunition. The raw material in the shells was to be recycled, and the fuses had to be removed.

“The work could be dangerous, and production defects and damage meant that not all ammunition could be recycled. In the spring of 1943, the Germans began dumping ammunition from RA into Lake Mjøsa,” says Arne Julsrud Berg, director of Mjøsmuseet.

The Germans considered the work so dangerous that these shells had to be disposed of. Three German soldiers supervised as the passenger ferry Mjøsfærgen was requisitioned and employees from the Armaments Division carried out the dumping in Lake Mjøsa.

Ammunition in fishing nets

After the war, the dumping of ammunition and other military-related material from RA into Lake Mjøsa was organised systematically by the Norwegian authorities. Permission was granted by the Explosives Inspectorate and the Ministry of Justice. 

The Explosives Inspectorate was the precursor to what is now called the Norwegian Directorate for Civil Protection (DSB).

“It's unclear when this really began, because parts of RA’s archives have been removed,” says Ingulstad.

Almost immediately after the war, local newspapers reported on children playing with German landmines on the beaches in Gjøvik, and fishermen finding ammunition in their nets.

The military police responded that what had been dumped was harmless. It was also claimed that dumping at a depth of 420 metres in Lake Mjøsa posed no danger – nature would take care of it.

Over time, there were more and more media reports on the matter, and the problem was also raised in the Norwegian Parliament. This is part of the reason why the Norwegian Defence Research Establishment and NTNU have surveyed parts of the bottom of Lake Mjøsa.

Missing logbooks

It has been widely reported that, during certain periods, three to four truckloads of ammunition were dumped into Lake Mjøsa each week. How many weeks per year this went on for is uncertain, since the logbooks that recorded the dumping have been lost. 

However, we know that the dumping continued for a period of 20 to 30 years.

Ingulstad hopes that media attention and discussions about whether to press charges, which Gjøvik municipal executive committee is currently considering, may lead to the documents resurfacing. 

He also encourages the leadership of today’s Nammo to make it clear to former RA employees and others in the local community that speaking out about the dumping is both important and the correct thing to do.

“We need to understand the extent and know where to search in order to be able to find the ammunition," he says. 

Environmental awareness was different

Ingulstad emphasises that the understanding of environmental impacts was different back then. The purpose of the research and investigations is not to discredit those who acted based on a completely different body of knowledge. 

"Instead, addressing past misjudgements will be important for ensuring the industry’s legitimacy going forwards. A detailed survey is now required to assess potential risks of pollution and accidents in the future," he says.

Researchers estimate that between 2,000 and 3,000 tonnes of ammunition have been dumped at the bottom of Norway’s largest lake. This estimate is based on the section of the lakebed that has been surveyed so far. 

Not all of Lake Mjøsa has been surveyed yet, and Mats Ingulstad and Arne Julsrud Berg therefore believe that the actual figure could be significantly higher.

It may still be just as dangerous

“More research needs to be done before we are able to give an accurate answer as to what should be recovered and what it is safest to leave where it is," says Ingulstad.

He explains that ammunition can corrode, become more unstable, and be more difficult to handle. Sediments on the lakebed may cover the objects, but this depends on the conditions at the bottom of the lake and in the water column above. 

"Ammunition that has been lying in water for 80 years can still be just as dangerous as when it was first dumped, and in some cases, it may be more liable to detonate than it was in 1945. We also see clear signs of corrosion, even in freshwater, which makes the ammunition unstable and unpredictable,” he says.

In addition, no one knows the amount of heavy metals potentially leaching into Lake Mjøsa, which is a source of drinking water for 150,000 people. The water from Lake Mjøsa flows downstream into the Vorma and Glomma rivers, and on into the sea.

In the research part of the Mission Mjøsa project that focuses on technology, samples from the lakebed around the artillery shells will be taken this autumn. The goal is to investigate how much the ammunition has deteriorated and whether it poses a pollution risk.

Used a passenger ferry for dumping

The dumping of ammunition must be viewed in light of the knowledge and attitudes that existed immediately after the war. At that time, there were different rules and expectations regarding the natural environment and risk.

The dumping was carried out from a private boat hired by Raufoss ammunition factory. The Mjøsfærgen ferry was also used for dumping, until passengers began expressing concerns about safety. The factory then switched to using its own vessel.

Traces at the dumping sites – such as marks left by grappling hooks – suggest that there have been attempts to retrieve the ammunition.

“We see signs and have indications that certain groups are actively trying to retrieve military equipment and explosives,” says Ingulstad.

He believes this makes the dumping relevant in the current debate about weapons production.

“Thousands of tonnes of ammunition in Lake Mjøsa and other lakes are a societal problem that will not become easier to resolve over time – quite the opposite. This historical legacy must be taken into account when discussing the defence industry and the ongoing military rearmament. You could call it an explosive legacy,” he says.

A challenge to military activity

“The main task of the Norwegian Armed Forces has been to carry out their military mission. But neither they nor society at large have paid enough attention to the environmental problems associated with war and ammunition production,” says Ingulstad.

Clean water is also a matter of emergency preparedness. War and military activity pollute the environment, contribute to climate change, and increase the risk of natural hazards in the areas where the Norwegian Armed Forces operate. 

They also impact the security of local and global supply chains.

“This challenges both military logistics and operations, and has previously been undercommunicated," says Ingulstad. 

The professor believes that failing to take nature into account can also undermine the legitimacy of the Norwegian Armed Forces. 

"So far, neither the state nor the Norwegian Armed Forces have properly acknowledged responsibility for the dumping or allocated sufficient resources for any type of clean-up operation. The new wave of military rearmament we are currently seeing will affect the environment through growing demand for materials, transportation, land use and the handling of defective ammunition," he says. 

These environmental challenges can also be seen in Ukraine. Ingulstad argues that we need to try to better understand the extent to which war and military rearmament have long-term impacts on our environment. 

"If we don’t, we risk failing to do enough to prevent war in the future,” he says.

———

Read the Norwegian version of this article on forskning.no

This content is paid for and presented by NTNU

This content is created by NTNU's communication staff, who use this platform to communicate science and share results from research with the public. NTNU is one of more than 80 owners of ScienceNorway.no. Read more here.

More content from NTNU:

• 

  Physicists may have found the missing link for quantum computers

• 

  This is how emissions from express ferries can be halved in just five years

• 

  Darwin’s giant plant shows how species adapt

• 

  Why preschool teachers show kids emojis

• 

  Study: Many teens sext on social media

• 

  Are boys more motivated and girls more compassionate?