Americans help U-boat war prisoners
 

While researching U-boats on wikipedia I found this poignant photo of Americans helping German survivors after an attack on their U-boat.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:U..._survivors.png
I enhanced the pic in PS.

http://users4.ev1.net/%7Etaragem/uboat_survivors.jpg

I'm sure the germans would've done the same if they were the winners if they did not have an order from Donitz no to do so.

Of course. Most humans are basically good people. It's politicians who start wars, not the military. :nope:
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http://users4.ev1.net/%7Etaragem/sh3_dark_gw3c.jpg

And beyond that, there has allways been a certain feeling among the sailors, regardless of the language they speak.

Yes that is true many sailors speak of it. :yep:

True story: I read in a book, about a Uboat picked up a survivor unconsious, they took him below and looked after him, hrs later he woke and realised he was in a submarine, he then turned to the german tending to his wounds and said boy am i glad you guys rescued me their was a bloody uboat in this area if i could get my hands on those nazi bastards i would strangle them. He didn't realise he was in a uboat but thought he was rescued by a british sub. They feed him gave him a ciggarette and told him to go up on deck, they never let on he was in a german uboat but just listened to his bemoaning about the nazi scums and how he would love to kill them all. Not one of them spoke to him until it was time to go up the ladder one of them said when you get up on deck have a look at the captains cap. ( which i presume would show the nazi symbol or cross?) He went up and according to the author the guy was shocked & speechless at what he saw and realised he was agmonst germans! :D
They put him in a liferaft threw him a carton of ciggarettes, water bottles and a map and let him go. Then the captain said something along the lines of if you head east your make your way back to england - good luck and they left the area, all the while the british guy looking stunned, but managed to say a quick thankyou.

Ive still got the whole story somewhere, i have so many uboat books and have read many storys such as this one, alot of uboats did help survivors some would just throw them ciggarettes or water or give them directions. Later on in the war Hitler found out about what some uboat commanders were doing & ordered no more helping survivors.

This is a light OT, but...

Well, there was an accident: in 1943 polish destroyer ORP "Orkan" rescued survivors from U-459. Germans thought that they were rescued by portuguese destroyer. One of german officer said:

- Thank You very much, I'm very pleased that this portuguese ship...
- No sir, You are wrong - Orkan's officer replied - this is a POLISH destroyer.

And do you know what happened? A german crewmember jump out into the water. Ship turn back and started to search him, but he was lost.

Do you know why he jump out? Because he was SCARED. Yes, he was really SCARED. He was scared, because he surely known what Germans did in Poland with polish people. 6.000.000 of polish WWII victims is the best testimony.

I saw an document about those small Friendship between enemies moments

Like 2 Soldiers 1 American and 1 German sitting on an pile of rocks...smoking cigarettes all day long...and they laughed and talked.

and at the end they head back their own ways...

Most humans are basically good people, which I agree with. However, to say that it's politcians who start wars not the military is not right in all cases. For example, if it hadn't been for the politicians during the Cuban missile crisis we probably wouldn't be here today. If the American military's top brass had had their way WWIII would have kicked off with everyone on the planet feeling the consequences.

Nemo

I´ve also heard that there was a unwritten rule not to attack ships that are in process on picking up survivors from the sea.

prisoners
 

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi..._survivors.png

They look really clean and shaved, doesnt they.....? Wonder how long they've been to sea.........:-?:-?:-? (Big picture, i know.............zolly)

Actuallt it's usually the military that STARTS the war. Pliticians don't have the power to start wars without a military to do so. Bush ain't nosoldier, nor is Cheney but they managed to push one forward. It is the military element of a country which leads to the policy of war. For the US the military industrial complex requires war to be profitable and even to remain in existance. So it is both politicians and the military who do it but the military is often the empowering force which lets politicians run away with their power.

The soldiers themselves aren't bad but the leadership of career soldiers who have lost all perspective because they see the world only through the eyes of a soldier.

Usually it is when the separation of powers becomes blurred that we see war. Executive power isn't held accountable by the judiciary or the Legislative. Look to the US and how Bush says he can do anything and claims right beyond the consitution and you see what I mean.

But the decency of men is always present in war no matter how much the state cultivates national hatred.

I really don't know how to put this in english in order not to offence anyone. Maybe someone who understands this will translate it better. I"ll try it though.

In razboi sa te feresti intotdeauna de tarile inapoiate, cu militari needucati si fara onoare = in war, you should always beware of the countries with uneducated military men, and no honour.


In the end, it matters more how you fight, rather than what you fight for.

Very well said. I wholeheartedly agree with you.

I've read of at least one uboat captain that made his crew shave every day. The U-515 was sunk but many crew survived.