Quote:
Originally Posted by Hitman
History and life are not always the same as the romantic idea we sometimes have of them; nevertheless knowing the truth doesn't hurt and doesn't also mean you can't keep a romantic idea where appropiate. it's just that things are not always in all of their parts what you thought of them.
For those of you who are prepared to see a very different version of U-Boat crews, (And that coming from an official source) that will tear down a good amount of romanticism, follow the link I posted below:
BUT WARNING: Those who want to keep the "Das Boot" image of the real crews, DON'T READ IT
http://www.uboatarchive.net/U-570INT.htm |
U 570 is mentioned in the book 'The Golden Horseshoe'
If anyone's interested:
Only the First Lieutenant was held a coward by the German POW's. Rahmlow was moved for his own safety to another camp before the German POW's could have a Council of Honour meeting to dicussed the Captains outcome. (Rahmlow arrived days later this is why he was not questioned first) Yes the First Lieutenant of U-570 was held as a coward by the German prisoners but he did try to redeem himself.
When the crew of U-570 turned up to the prison camp the POW's formed a " Council of Honour" held by Otto Kretschmer Captain of U-99 (we all know who Otto Kretschmer is so i wont go into any detail who he is, If you dont know then read 'The Golden Horseshoe' or head to U-boat.net research info there!
) to discuss Rahmlow and his officers fate. Questions were asked:
1. Had Rahmlow and his officers shown cowardice?
2. Had Rahmlow been at fault in abandoning his command by paddling over to the destroyer?
3. Why had U-570 not been scuttled to avoid capture?
Kretschmer announced to the Council of Honour's opinion and his own decision, The First Lieutenant had been found guilty of cowardice in the face of the enemy, and when the German's occupied England he was to be handed over to the authorities for court-martial. This sentence in effect isolated him from the rest of the POW community. Two other naval officers of his term were ordered by Kretschemer to be responsible for looking after him.
The strain of not only being a prisoner but of being ex-communicated by his countrymen was too much for the First Lieutenant. A few days later one of the guardians reported that he realised now that he had behaved like a coward and wished to allowed atone by committing suicide. Kretschemer replied by saying that such a stupid suggestion made him even more of a coward.
To make a long story short. Information was gathered that U-570 had been taken to Barrow-in-France, where she was moored to a buoy in a narrow channel. After this information had been confirmed by a talkative guard it was passed to Kretschmer, who immediately called a meeting of senior officers in his room to tell them of a plan which might serve the two-fold purpose of destroying the U-boat and giving the First Lieutenant a chance to regain his honour. He was to be told to escape with the mission of getting to Barrow, boarding the U-boat and scuttling it. If he agreed to this plan the Council of Honour would see to it that this mission was taken into account at his eventual court-martial. The officer agreed and at once the plan was put into action.
The First Lieutenant managed to escape but not get very far he was found by the home guards who found him hiding near some rocks, after questioning they believed his planned story but to be sure they wanted to take him to be identified thus the Lieutenant knew he would be identified as the missing prisoner so he made a run for it. After the guards had ordered him to stop which he didn't they open fire, with a bullet hitting him in the back, still alive they took him to a nearby farmhouse where the farmers wife tried to tend to his wound the best she could while one of the guards was sent to get a doctor. The First Lieutenant was dead before the doctor arrived.
Otto Kretschmer ordered that the First Lieutenant cowardice be wiped and replaced with the honor he deserved.
Full story can be found in The Golden Horseshoe pages 158 - 167