Just a simple friendly discussion

[frau kaleun]

Originally Posted by Kapt Z

I know of one u-boat commander who was actually executed because he ranted his anti-Nazi ideas one too many times to his Nazi wardroom.

http://www.uboat.net/men/kusch.htm

I have a book about Kusch on my Wish List... from what I've read here and there about the case, the motivation of his IWO for instigating the court-martial that led to his execution seems a bit unclear. Was it purely politically motivated? (Kusch appears to have been a fairly outspoken critic of Nazi policy and leaders, Abel an ardent supporter of them.) Or was the primary motivation really IWO Abel's lingering resentment over Kusch's negative "reviews" of his performance on board their boat? (One called him unfit for command; a second one reversed that opinion, but only grudgingly.)

I've also read various opinions regarding the "guilty" verdict, and the death sentence; some say that it was purely a punishment for openly criticizing National Socialism and its leaders, others that it was not Kusch's political opinions per se but his having voiced them in the presence of his men in a way that (or so the court ruled) endangered their morale and therefore the integrity and performance of the crew as a whole.

One wonders if any of it would have happened, or turned out the way it did, earlier in the war when things were going much better for the u-boat service in particular and Germany in general, and the "maverick" behavior within the service was not only more likely to be tolerated but even encouraged to some degree... as long as the mavericks in question were sinking plenty of ships and returning to base as conquering heroes.