1897: To the North Pole in a hydrogen balloon | DW Documentary

Three men, a hydrogen balloon, and a shared dream of reaching the North Pole. In 1897, the Andrée expedition vanished without a trace. It wasn’t until 1930 that their preserved bodies, diaries, and photographs were discovered on Kvitøya.

At the end of the 19th century, the North Pole was a blank spot on the map — a symbol of adventure, glory, and scientific progress. On July 11, 1897, Swedish nationals August Salomon Andrée, Nils Strindberg, and Knut Frænkel began their expedition to the North Pole. Starting from the Svalbard archipelago, north of Norway, the three set out in a hydrogen balloon. The whole world was watching; their homeland held its breath. After carrier pigeons delivered some optimistic messages, contact was suddenly lost. Thirty-three years of radio silence followed.

In early August 1930, following a summer of significant ice retreat, seal hunters on the island of Kvitøya, the "White Island" in the far north of the Svalbard archipelago, stumbled upon the expedition's remains. In the snow lay well-preserved bodies, as well the group's equipment: hundreds of items, including morphine and opium, intact notebooks and rolls of film, 93 of which were recovered.

What do these photographs and carefully kept diaries reveal about the expedition? How did the three men end up on this island — and how, when, and why did they die?

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