Greenland Answer

01/13/2025

A. Fritz Loewe, a Jewish meteorologist, traveled to Greenland in 1929 to work with Alfred Wegener, the geologist who developed the hypothesis of how continental drift works. After their ground-breaking research Loewe returned to his native Germany. But in 1933 he lost his civil service job and was briefly incarcerated because of his religion, leading Loewe to flee Germany and resettle in Australia.

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B. Fritz Loewe, a Jewish meteorologist, traveled to Greenland in 1929 to work with Alfred Wegener, the geologist who developed the hypothesis of how continental drift works. Unfortunately, on this trip to the frozen interior of Greenland, Loewe developed frostbite on his toes, leading to a crude amputation by scissors and a pen knife.

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D. Rita Sheftelovich, an Orthodox woman from Copenhagen, traveled to Greenland in the mid-1950’s to work as a nurse, caring for tuberculosis patients among others. Other than the many American Jews serving at the Thule Air Base, she may have been the only Jew in Greenland at that time. She kept kosher by eating canned goods and the plentiful fresh fish.

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