Ernst Schäfer

Ernst Schäfer (14 March 1910 – 21 July 1992) was an explorer, hunter and zoologist in the 1930s, specializing in ornithology. His zoological explorations in Tibet served as a cover for his role in the German secret service during the height of the Great Game, the race between Russia and Britain to control Central Asia.

Schäfer is most famous for his three expeditions to Tibet in 1931, in 1934–1935, and in 1938–1939. The first two expeditions were led by the American Brooke Dolan II. The third expedition was led by himself under the patronage of Heinrich Himmler, the SS, and various sponsors. As many as 3300 bird specimens were collected in these expeditions.

In July 1934, during his second expedition in Asia, he met the then exiled Panchen Lama, Thubten Chökyi Nyima, in Hangzhou, China.

Schäfer joined the Schutzstaffel in 1933, but, after World War II, he claimed to have been an unwilling recruit into the organization and that joining the SS was a step necessary to advance his career. In 1936, he was appointed Untersturmführer in the personal staff and in 1942, he was promoted to SS-Sturmbannführer.

The SS Ahnenerbe Expedition to Tibet during the 1930s was also successful for the German naturalists" “Meanwhile, [Dr. Ernst Schäfer] and Dr. Bruno Beger, Edmund Geer and Krause carefully packed up the voluminous natural history collection- animal and bird skins; butterflies, bees, ants, wasps and other insect specimens; fragile dried plants for the herbarium; packets of seeds containing one thousand and six hundred varieties of barley, seven hundred varieties of wheat, and seven hundred varieties of oats; not to mention hundreds of seeds from other potentially useful plants.”

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