In deed Captain Nemo, the average age of U-Boat crews were older than that of the US Navy from the same time period.
And my response to Donitz sending men to their death--certainly not a war crime. Military commanders always have to make those decisions. In "Iron Coffins", the excuse to send Werner to sea again is given to him frankly by his commanders--you have limited chance for success, but as long as there is a U-Boat threat, the allies will be using resources to search for the U-Boats--which takes resources away from other allied opperations.
While war crimes are a sticky business, Donitz didn't even come close to committing one by sending U-Boats to sea as sacrifices for, what he saw as, the broader military goal.
Of course, just my opinioin.
J
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