German Expedition to Tibet (1938-1939)

  • Charlie Caron

    Charlie Caron

    PhD Student, EPHE-ICP

In 1938, five German scientists embarked on an extraordinary quest. They risked their lives crossing the highest mountains in the world to reach one of the most remote kingdoms: Tibet. The scientific expedition was officially tasked with researching the zoology and anthropology of the country. But eventually, the data collected for the SS would serve a much darker purpose. Their secret mission was to discover the origins of the Aryan race, and the vestiges of this civilization, which would have disappeared on the roof of the world. This endeavour would allow the Nazis to rewrite history and forge a new past, allowing them to legitimize the new world they claimed to set up at the time: that of a pure Reich, to last 1,000 years…