A large piece of Norway’s war history was assumed lost forever, until it was re-discovered in 2017. We have entered the infamous cellar where the heavy water for Germany’s nuclear bombs was produced.
It is the night to 28th of February 1943. In the small industrial town of Rjukan in Norway all is cold and quiet. But that is about to change. Eleven members of the Norwegian resistance movement are climbing the steep ice-covered cliffs towards the hydrogen factory located in the outskirts of the town at Vemork. The destination is the cellar of the hydrogen factory where the equipment used to produce heavy water is located.
During World War II the race to make nuclear weapons was at its peak, and it was discovered that heavy water was a key part of this process. Preventing Germany from accessing heavy water therefore became a top priority.
The door to the factory was supposed to be unlocked, but reality turned out to be different and the Norwegians had to enter through a shaft hosting cables and pipes. Explosives were placed, and although the saboteurs may not have realised it themselves, they were about to blast their way into the history books. Whether or not Germany had actually managed to produce nuclear weapons if they had a steady supply of heavy water is something the experts disagree on, but history would certainly be different if that was the case.
The factory was re-built again after the sabotage and months later production was running again. The Allied then sent bombers to Vemork and two bombs hit the hydrogen factory. This did stop the production of heavy water, but again it was re-built.
The war came to an end and the factory continued to exist until 1977. At that time it would again feel the wrath of dynamite, although not from Allied bombers or Norwegian resistance forces. This time the building was being demolished and with help from explosives the 40 meter tall building was brought to the ground.
And that was the end of the factory. Or was it?
Suspicion rose that the infamous heavy water cellar was still intact below the ground and in the autumn of 2017 excavation started to verify the claim. Shortly after the confirmation arrived: The heavy water cellar is still alive!
Since then excavations have continued and the Norwegian Industrial Worker Museum has now opened the cellar to guided tours. Like the original 11 saboteurs only 11 visitors are allowed per tour.
Hard hat and high visibility jacket must be worn before we make way from the power plant to what looks like a construction site. Tall steel fences cordon off the area containing concrete blocks and rebars bent in the most peculiar ways.
Inside the cordoned area a temporary door is unlocked and opens into a worn, but very much intact cellar.
Some areas have collapsed, but most is like it was when the building was demolished in 1977, not to mention during the war. The narrow shaft used by the saboteurs can still be seen.
The view on preservation of historical sites has luckily improved since the ’70’s. In 2015 the power plant made its way into UNESCO’s World Heritage Site list and the nearby structures related to the second world war has been protected by the Norwegian Directorate for Cultural Heritage. This time the heavy water cellar may be left in peace.
