Movies and Films
This is the forum for Movie and Film discussions. Again, our topic is naval warfare in WWII for the most part.
Re: How accurate were the crew depeicted in "DAS BOOT"
Posted by:
Eric
()
Date: December 30, 2004 04:04PM
"Apolitical" to a point. In some cases even the captain had to be careful of what he said or did, at least later in the war as things deteriorated and became more desperate.
Exhibit A:
[www.uboat.net]
Perhaps on the other side of the spectrum, Wolfgang Lüth, the second most successful commander, was an outspoken supporter of Nazism.
In most cases the long patrols away from home was probably an temporary escape from the political BS on shore and the constant propaganda and AH's cult of personality.
I remember reading the accounts of Archie Gibbs, an American merchant sailor that was taken aboard U-126 after it had sunk his ship. An officer he described as a "political" officer would enter a compartment and do the heil salute and the crew would mock him behind his back.
For the most part I believe these crews were serving thier country as best they could, and not neccessarily thier "leader". They saw and heard about the desruction of their cities and towns, and looked at thier efforts as a direct response to stop the flow of materials and supplies that allowed that destruction to occur. Hitting the supply lines. They were sinking inanimate objects likes ships, and the ammunition, planes, tanks, etc that they carried. Loss of life was an unfortunate side effect. Similar, I think, to they way a fighter pilot shoots down another plane, or a bomber strikes a production center.
As far as physical appearance, the very nature of the cramped uncomfortable surroundings of a U-boat would prevent the men from being clean shaven and in dress uniform all the time. It would vary slightly depending on the commander's perferences, but for the most all the pictures I've seen show crews in fairly casual atire. Having the crew "comfortable" probably helped moral as well, which must have been a constant struggle. As long as they did what they were supposed to do when they were supposed to do it, that's what mattered.
Eric
Exhibit A:
[www.uboat.net]
Perhaps on the other side of the spectrum, Wolfgang Lüth, the second most successful commander, was an outspoken supporter of Nazism.
In most cases the long patrols away from home was probably an temporary escape from the political BS on shore and the constant propaganda and AH's cult of personality.
I remember reading the accounts of Archie Gibbs, an American merchant sailor that was taken aboard U-126 after it had sunk his ship. An officer he described as a "political" officer would enter a compartment and do the heil salute and the crew would mock him behind his back.
For the most part I believe these crews were serving thier country as best they could, and not neccessarily thier "leader". They saw and heard about the desruction of their cities and towns, and looked at thier efforts as a direct response to stop the flow of materials and supplies that allowed that destruction to occur. Hitting the supply lines. They were sinking inanimate objects likes ships, and the ammunition, planes, tanks, etc that they carried. Loss of life was an unfortunate side effect. Similar, I think, to they way a fighter pilot shoots down another plane, or a bomber strikes a production center.
As far as physical appearance, the very nature of the cramped uncomfortable surroundings of a U-boat would prevent the men from being clean shaven and in dress uniform all the time. It would vary slightly depending on the commander's perferences, but for the most all the pictures I've seen show crews in fairly casual atire. Having the crew "comfortable" probably helped moral as well, which must have been a constant struggle. As long as they did what they were supposed to do when they were supposed to do it, that's what mattered.
Eric
