Nordstern (en: "North Star"), sometimes referred to as Neu Drontheim (en: "New Trondheim"), was the Nazi plan for the creation of a new German metropolis in German-occupied Norway during World War II. It was planned to have a population of around 250,000–300,000 inhabitants. The building site of the city was located southwest of the Norwegian city of Trondheim. Because of the significant strategic importance of Trondheim Fjord to the German military, it was to be constructed in conjunction with a major navy and military base that would give Germany unprecedented maritime control over the North Atlantic area, a move strongly supported by Großadmirals Erich Raeder and Karl Dönitz. German leader Adolf Hitler envisioned the city as "a German Singapore", and it became one of his favorite architectural projects. During the war itself, the port city was already turned into a major base for German U-boat submarines, Dora I. Strategic importance The conquest of Norway by the Wehrmacht presented the military leadership of the Third Reich with new opportunities for expansion. The city of Trondheim and its accompanying bay were determined to be very favorably located strategically for several reasons. Prior to the outbreak of war, the retired Vizeadmiral and naval strategist Wolfgang Wegener had already long stressed the strategic benefits that acquiring bases along the Norwegian coastline would give Germany. One notable example of these benefits is the case of the battleship , which had to be continually moved back to Germany for any additional repairs that she required. Due to her sheer size, there were simply no other docks in the north large enough to accommodate her. After the failure of the Luftwaffe to subdue Great Britain in the Battle of Britain by airpower alone, it was recognized that the fight for the British Isles would have to be fought and won at sea. Furthermore, it would be of major importance if the Kriegsmarine were to pursue any farther-reaching operations in the Atlantic in the near future, for instance if the United States were to engage in war with it. These and other motivations—such as Swedish iron ore shipments from Narvik—led the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (Armed Forces High Command; OKW) to classify the possession of Norway in general and Trondheim in particular as strategically vital to the German war effort. History Preparatory work on the possibility of turning the bay around Trondheim into a new German naval base was