General Discussions
This is the place to discuss general issues related to the U-boat war or the war at sea in WWII.
Germany Trip Report Part II
Posted by:
Captain Patrick Lane
()
Date: May 20, 2001 01:44PM
<HTML>Before I start, I just got back my pics from the Uboat Memorial...now the tough question....Does anyone know if its possible to put these on this website with my postings??? If so, please email me with the \"Putting Pics on Web for Dummies\" version of how to do this. Thanks in advance.
We have just arrived at the Uboat Memorial (Unterseeboot Ehrenmal) and we are walking along the pathway towards it. My heart beat is actually up a few beats per minute now as we walk further and further, closer and closer. Everything is hidden by the brush and foilage at this little park site between where you park your car and where the actual memorial is.
Now here is where I got confused as to what I was going to be seeing at this site. While we were driving to this place, there were absolutely no signs whatsoever saying what city or village we were in. We were basically just following the well marked signs to the site. I made an error in thinking that what I was about to see was the U-995 display sitting on its stilts on the beach. I failed to realize that.....there are 2 different sights in this area. One is the Uboat Memorial, the other is both a Uboat display (U-995) and the German Navy Memorial to all Naval personnel, not just Uboat submariners. I did not know this at the time. There were no signs saying we were in Moltenort, so I made the assumption this was the actual submarine display. Had I seen a Moltenort sign, I would have then realized that the sub would not be physically at this spot, but further down the road in Laboe. In fact, after asking the parking attendant later, she informed me the U-995 was 5 km down the road towards Laboe (3 miles)
So I come around the bend on the path and there it is....the Uboat Memorial. I will try to describe it in physical terms for you.
It is layed out in a half circle. Visitors approach it from the center of the circle and looking toward the memorial, there is a large tower about 100 feet high or so located right in the middle of this half circle. Unfortunately, it was covered completely with scaffolding all around it...it was being refurbished. My timing was sure off for this trip Remember I didn\'t get to see the Brandenburg Gate for the same reason.....ugh!!!
On top of the tall tower in the center was supposed to be a great Eagle statue...a very large one sitting atop, but it was missing at the time I was there and was no doubt being refurbished as well. I know this because in the half circle outside the memorial, they had a picture on a board showing what the tower looked like. It was quite impressive with that very large and imposing Eagle up there...kind of watching over the fallen Uboat Submariners if you will. That is how I interpreted it. Further along, in the area you enter the memorial, there are some informational boards. One is quite chilling....in that it shows a map of the entire Atlantic Ocean and has a rectangle with a Uboat number in it showing where each boat met its demise. I knew they lost quite a few, but wow, when you look at this poster, it really hits home.
As I was looking at this poster, two men maybe mid 40\'s or so, obviously military men, in green flight suits came up to observe the same board I was looking at. One man had a German flag on his arm-patch and the other a British flag on his patch....how symbolic. The two of them stood there and chatted in perfect German about the sheer numbers of downed Uboats. I could tell they were amazed. I thought to myself...how incredibly amazing that the two war-ing sides were now standing side by side to see the deaths of so many Uboat submariners in the War. Very symbolic indeed!! It was a neat site to see.
Ok, so now after the boards of information, I started to go into the entrance of the site...which is on the left side as your facing the memorial. The entrance is a small brick building maybe 12 feet by 12 feet large and 15 feet high. As you enter it, its almost mausoleum-like in its interior. It is not an enclosed building so there is light coming in from the entrance, but it is rather darkish on the inside. In this building are several wall plaques of which I have pictures and quite a few pots of beautiful flowers on the ground next to the inside perimeter of the brick wall. Also on the walls next to some plaques are long ribbons maybe 4 feet in length that are hung on the walls. I counted about 4 ribbons or so. They are generally royal blue in color although one was of the German Flag color, look like silk material and are all next to each other in close proximity. They commemorate the Uboat men from different boats. I did not really read any because I would have needed to move them apart to do that and felt it inappropriate to do so. It was kind of touching to see.
After seeing this, you turn around and enter the actual \"wall sight\". To get a better image of this, think of the Vietnam War Memorial Wall with all the names of soldiers killed in Vietnam. The Uboat memorial is built in a \"half-circle.
There are a number of Bronze looking plaques ((of which I also have pics of some of the uboats and men I wanted to see))
Each plaque is about 8 feet high and maybe 3 feet wide or so, all around the half-circle of the wal,l both on your left side and right side as you walk thru the memorial. Each plaque has about 8-10 Uboat numbers with the ENTIRE crew list of each boat that went down. These Uboat listings go in numeric order from top to bottom and from entrance to exit of the memorial. For example, the first plaque on your left would start at the top with \"U-1 Kplt XXX\" and then below the captain\'s name would list the entire crew. On the same plaque just below U1 and its crew would be U-2 Oblt XYZ and its crew list. After the first plaque is complete, the next starts at the top of the second plaque with the next succeeding numbered Uboat to be destroyed. One chilling word on those plaques that about 99 percent of these boats have is, \"VERSUNKEN\". You can guess what that means. Although, there were a few that had survived and listed as captures. In fact, I saw Erich Topp\'s boat there which did not have Versunken . I forget if he was captured or survived a sinking.....a little help here is appreciated.
This is where it really first hits you as to how many REALLY went down and were killed. This wall is a long way around and there are many, many names and boats on these plaques. All along the wall on the ground of both sides of the pathas you circle around, just beneath the plaques were more pots of beautiful flowers and some wreaths with notes in German....like our cemetary\'s here. People remembering their loved ones.
The area of the plaques is lower than the surrounding ground and you are below the plaques the entire way around the half cirle. It is something of a cozy feel between you and the men of these boats....kind of eerie but makes you feel great sympathy for them has human beings and what all they endured as sailors.
I continued around the wall and took many pics and then went thru the same type of brick building to exit as you come in to for the entrance. Same types of flowers, ribbons and a few plaques commemorating their fallen Uboat men.
Part III coming shortly......continued
</HTML>
We have just arrived at the Uboat Memorial (Unterseeboot Ehrenmal) and we are walking along the pathway towards it. My heart beat is actually up a few beats per minute now as we walk further and further, closer and closer. Everything is hidden by the brush and foilage at this little park site between where you park your car and where the actual memorial is.
Now here is where I got confused as to what I was going to be seeing at this site. While we were driving to this place, there were absolutely no signs whatsoever saying what city or village we were in. We were basically just following the well marked signs to the site. I made an error in thinking that what I was about to see was the U-995 display sitting on its stilts on the beach. I failed to realize that.....there are 2 different sights in this area. One is the Uboat Memorial, the other is both a Uboat display (U-995) and the German Navy Memorial to all Naval personnel, not just Uboat submariners. I did not know this at the time. There were no signs saying we were in Moltenort, so I made the assumption this was the actual submarine display. Had I seen a Moltenort sign, I would have then realized that the sub would not be physically at this spot, but further down the road in Laboe. In fact, after asking the parking attendant later, she informed me the U-995 was 5 km down the road towards Laboe (3 miles)
So I come around the bend on the path and there it is....the Uboat Memorial. I will try to describe it in physical terms for you.
It is layed out in a half circle. Visitors approach it from the center of the circle and looking toward the memorial, there is a large tower about 100 feet high or so located right in the middle of this half circle. Unfortunately, it was covered completely with scaffolding all around it...it was being refurbished. My timing was sure off for this trip Remember I didn\'t get to see the Brandenburg Gate for the same reason.....ugh!!!
On top of the tall tower in the center was supposed to be a great Eagle statue...a very large one sitting atop, but it was missing at the time I was there and was no doubt being refurbished as well. I know this because in the half circle outside the memorial, they had a picture on a board showing what the tower looked like. It was quite impressive with that very large and imposing Eagle up there...kind of watching over the fallen Uboat Submariners if you will. That is how I interpreted it. Further along, in the area you enter the memorial, there are some informational boards. One is quite chilling....in that it shows a map of the entire Atlantic Ocean and has a rectangle with a Uboat number in it showing where each boat met its demise. I knew they lost quite a few, but wow, when you look at this poster, it really hits home.
As I was looking at this poster, two men maybe mid 40\'s or so, obviously military men, in green flight suits came up to observe the same board I was looking at. One man had a German flag on his arm-patch and the other a British flag on his patch....how symbolic. The two of them stood there and chatted in perfect German about the sheer numbers of downed Uboats. I could tell they were amazed. I thought to myself...how incredibly amazing that the two war-ing sides were now standing side by side to see the deaths of so many Uboat submariners in the War. Very symbolic indeed!! It was a neat site to see.
Ok, so now after the boards of information, I started to go into the entrance of the site...which is on the left side as your facing the memorial. The entrance is a small brick building maybe 12 feet by 12 feet large and 15 feet high. As you enter it, its almost mausoleum-like in its interior. It is not an enclosed building so there is light coming in from the entrance, but it is rather darkish on the inside. In this building are several wall plaques of which I have pictures and quite a few pots of beautiful flowers on the ground next to the inside perimeter of the brick wall. Also on the walls next to some plaques are long ribbons maybe 4 feet in length that are hung on the walls. I counted about 4 ribbons or so. They are generally royal blue in color although one was of the German Flag color, look like silk material and are all next to each other in close proximity. They commemorate the Uboat men from different boats. I did not really read any because I would have needed to move them apart to do that and felt it inappropriate to do so. It was kind of touching to see.
After seeing this, you turn around and enter the actual \"wall sight\". To get a better image of this, think of the Vietnam War Memorial Wall with all the names of soldiers killed in Vietnam. The Uboat memorial is built in a \"half-circle.
There are a number of Bronze looking plaques ((of which I also have pics of some of the uboats and men I wanted to see))
Each plaque is about 8 feet high and maybe 3 feet wide or so, all around the half-circle of the wal,l both on your left side and right side as you walk thru the memorial. Each plaque has about 8-10 Uboat numbers with the ENTIRE crew list of each boat that went down. These Uboat listings go in numeric order from top to bottom and from entrance to exit of the memorial. For example, the first plaque on your left would start at the top with \"U-1 Kplt XXX\" and then below the captain\'s name would list the entire crew. On the same plaque just below U1 and its crew would be U-2 Oblt XYZ and its crew list. After the first plaque is complete, the next starts at the top of the second plaque with the next succeeding numbered Uboat to be destroyed. One chilling word on those plaques that about 99 percent of these boats have is, \"VERSUNKEN\". You can guess what that means. Although, there were a few that had survived and listed as captures. In fact, I saw Erich Topp\'s boat there which did not have Versunken . I forget if he was captured or survived a sinking.....a little help here is appreciated.
This is where it really first hits you as to how many REALLY went down and were killed. This wall is a long way around and there are many, many names and boats on these plaques. All along the wall on the ground of both sides of the pathas you circle around, just beneath the plaques were more pots of beautiful flowers and some wreaths with notes in German....like our cemetary\'s here. People remembering their loved ones.
The area of the plaques is lower than the surrounding ground and you are below the plaques the entire way around the half cirle. It is something of a cozy feel between you and the men of these boats....kind of eerie but makes you feel great sympathy for them has human beings and what all they endured as sailors.
I continued around the wall and took many pics and then went thru the same type of brick building to exit as you come in to for the entrance. Same types of flowers, ribbons and a few plaques commemorating their fallen Uboat men.
Part III coming shortly......continued
</HTML>
| Subject | Written By | Posted |
|---|---|---|
Germany Trip Report Part II
|
Captain Patrick Lane | 05/20/2001 01:44PM |
|
thanks for the report -ntx
|
ray.s | 05/20/2001 04:41PM |
|
RE: Germany Trip Report Part II
|
Steve | 05/21/2001 01:27AM |