The mines stop and people leave

In the summer of 1941 the Norwegian and Soviet mines on Svalbard were stopped and the population was evacuated. The main Norwegian settlement, Longyearbyen, lies on Adventfjorden, a branch of Isfjorden, and Barentsburg lies in Grønfjorden. The Russians were taken off on 25 August 1941, and the Norwegians of Longyearbyen followed in the night of 2 to 3 September 1941. Store norske leksikon says the Russians were sent to Arkhangelsk and the Norwegians to Scotland.

The cause was the war in the east. The jubilee history of 1991 from Store Norske (the state-owned mining company) records that Germany attacked the Soviet Union on 22 June 1941, that shipping from Svalbard was paralysed for a time, and that talks on Svalbard began in London. Helge Ingstad wrote that an Allied naval force came to the islands on 31 July 1941 and made Lieutenant Tamber temporary military governor. He wrote that on 2 August 1941 a cruiser and two destroyers destroyed the radio station on Bjørnøya and took its crew to England. The jubilee history says a joint meeting on 11 August raised evacuation as an option, while Kjell Fjørtoft's book on Sassen Bay dates the secret London meeting to 12 August. Lund writes that both the Norwegian and the Soviet government accepted the decision. Lund also writes that Britain could not take responsibility for the civilians, so the mines had to be made useless to the Germans.

On 25 August the ships spread over the Russian and Norwegian sites. Lund describes how the Russian consul in Barentsburg resisted, until the brigadier ordered embarkation to begin within the hour. The ship Empress of Canada took the Russians to Arkhangelsk. Lund counts 1955 Russians, 1218 from Barentsburg, 638 from Grumant and 99 from Pyramiden. Fjørtoft gives the same totals, while Ingstad says about 2000. The Norwegians at Ny-Ålesund, about 80 people according to Ingstad, and at Svea were brought in as well. Director Sverdrup of Store Norske protested in a letter of 26 August 1941, which Lund prints. It said that removing vital parts of the power station turbines would be enough to put the mines out of action for as long as wanted. Lund records that he also proposed leaving about 40 volunteers behind, which relatives and the local workers' association rejected. The coal stores were set on fire. The jubilee history gives over 130,000 tonnes burned in Longyearbyen. Ingstad gives 150,000 tonnes there and about 400,000 at the Russian sites.

The Norwegians waited in Longyearbyen. Fjørtoft writes that all Norwegian men from 18 to 55 years old were called up for military service, which underlined that the evacuation was forced. Lund says the notice gave 12 hours to be ready to board, with 50 kg of luggage for each person. He says Canadian soldiers wrecked belongings packed in the barracks and homes while the people were gathered at the harbour. Ingstad and Lund both record a farewell service in the church on 31 August 1941. Lund writes that a British destroyer came to the quay on the afternoon of 3 September and the people were taken to Empress of Canada, which reached Greenock in the night of 7 to 8 September. The works disagree on the number of Norwegians: Lund counts 765, Fjørtoft 763 and Ingstad about 900.

The Germans learned of the evacuation from burning coal stores, Lund writes, and a first small party landed by air in Adventdalen on 25 September 1941. British minesweepers entered Isfjorden on 19 October 1941 and the Germans flew out, but the weather party was flown back. Store norske leksikon says the Germans kept a small force in Longyearbyen until it was evacuated in July 1942. Store norske leksikon also says a Norwegian force sent from Britain came to Barentsburg first and then to Longyearbyen. Ingstad reports that this force, under Sverdrup, came under German air attack in Grønfjorden on 14 May 1942. He reports that when reinforcements reached Barentsburg on 2 July 1942 the Germans had already left Longyearbyen.