The third German Antarctic Expedition (1938–1939) was led by Alfred Ritscher (1879–1963), a captain in the Kriegsmarine (German navy). The main purpose was to find an area in Antarctica for a German whaling station, as a way to increase Germany’s production of fat. Whale oil was then the most important raw material for the production of margarine and soap in Germany and the country was the second largest purchaser of Norwegian whale oil, importing some 200,000 metric tonnes annually. Besides the disadvantage of being dependent on imports, it was thought that Germany would soon likely be at war, which was considered to put too much strain on Germany’s foreign currency reserves. Another goal was to scout possible locations for a German naval base.[2]

On 17 December 1938 the New Swabia Expedition left Hamburg for Antarctica aboard the MS Schwabenland (a freighter built in 1925 and renamed in 1934 after the Swabia region in southern Germany) which could also carry and catapult aircraft. The secret[2] expedition had 33 members plus the Schwabenland's crew of 24. On 19 January 1939 the ship arrived at the Princess Martha Coast, in an area which had lately been claimed by Norway as Dronning Maud Land and began charting the region. Nazi German flags were placed on the sea ice along the coast. Naming the area Neu-Schwabenland after the ship, the expedition established a temporary base and in the following weeks teams walked along the coast recording claim reservations on hills and other significant landmarks.