Aruba's Antilla Shipwreck Memorial to Correct WWII History in the Caribbean
Resting 60 feet beneath the surface in Malmok Bay off Aruba, the 400-foot German freighter Antilla ranks among the largest shipwrecks in the Caribbean. In 2024, Aruba's Ministry of Infrastructure sanctioned the establishment of a memorial near San Nicolas to accurately convey the history of WWII in the Caribbean. The Antilla, which embarked on its maiden voyage in 1939 under Captain Ferdinand Schmidt, sought shelter in Aruba following Germany's invasion of Poland. After the Netherlands was invaded in 1940, martial law was instituted, resulting in the internment of more than 200 individuals from Germany, Austria, and Italy. In February 1942, German U-boats struck Aruba, causing damage to the Standard Oil refinery. The memorial seeks to counteract misinformation from dive tours regarding the ship's scuttling.
Key facts
- The Antilla is a 400-foot German freighter wreck in Malmok Bay, Aruba
- Aruba's Ministry of Infrastructure approved an open-air memorial in 2024 near San Nicolas
- The ship made its maiden voyage from Hamburg in spring 1939 under Captain Ferdinand Schmidt
- Germany invaded Poland on September 1, 1939, while the Antilla was in the Caribbean
- Aruba and Curaçao became the first places in the Americas to declare a state of war in 1940
- Operation Neuland involved German U-boat attacks on Aruba in February 1942
- Over 300 torpedoed and scuttled ships from WWII lie in Caribbean waters
- No archaeological documentation exists for the Antilla wreck
Entities
Artists
- Raymundo Dijkhoff
- Clyde Harms
- Renwick Heronimo
- Ferdinand Schmidt
Institutions
- National Archaeological Museum of Aruba
- Ministry of Infrastructure
- Chicago Daily News Foreign Service
- Standard Oil
Locations
- Aruba
- Netherlands
- Caribbean
- Malmok Bay
- San Nicolas
- Hamburg
- Germany
- Poland
- Curaçao
- Dutch Antilles
- Venezuela
- Texas
- Colombia
- Bonaire
- Oranjestad
- Horse Bay