U-boat Besuch I
Posted by:
Craig McLean
()
Date: December 03, 2000 11:52PM
<HTML>Time to relay some details of my 12-28 November trip to Altenbruch, the U-Boot-Archiv, and other U-boat related visits in Germany!
I flew from Kansas City to Chicago to Frankfurt to Bremen. Strassenbahn (streetcar) from airport to Hauptbahnhof (main train station). Train from Bremen to Bremerhaven Hbf, changeover, and a final train to Cuxhaven. I was going to call Horst Bredow but noticed all the phones these days take a phone card, which I had no clue about and really didn\'t want to get bogged down with after so many hours of travel. So I grabbed a cab and headed for Altenbruch, which the driver said would be about 18 Marks. He asked who I was visiting and I told him Horst Bredow at the U-Boot-Archiv. He said he knew him and it wasn\'t long before we were pulling up in front of the familiar red brick building everyone probably knows from this website. What an awesome feeling to be standing there in person!
The driver grabbed my bags and rang the front bell...and we were buzzed in. Horst Schwenk was at the top of the stairs and I met him first. Then a voice from behind me, \"Craig, is that you?\" And I turned around and met the man I\'ve corresponded with for a few years now, and talked to once before on the phone. He greeted me warmly and asked how I\'d found the Archiv (he had been expecting me to call). I said it really hadn\'t been so hard. We chatted a little, then he gave me a small pamphlet, guiding one thru the various rooms of the Archiv. He said he had some work to finish up as he was leaving for his school reunion in Berlin earlier than previously expected (Wed), and that he was supposed to leave that very day now (Mon), but had waited for me to arrive and would drive to Berlin with his wife on Tuesday. I was given a key to be able to come and go at the Archiv, as it is not open at all to the general public like a regular museum is. It is mainly for authors and historians on an appointment basis. Anyway, after Herr Bredow could wrap up some remaining work, he would show me to my room just down the street and then we\'d go to his place for lunch, along with Horst Schwenk. I followed the guide booklet thru the rooms:
Wolfgang Lueth Room. Uniforms (WWI, WWII, and modern period), medals, success pennants, and a working radio from WWII.
Engelbert Endrass Room. Large uniform display case (Doenitz uniform usually always on display---others are rotated), scale model U-boats, and plaques from various sub organizations.
Georg Lassen Room. Normally kept closed---contains vast film library and much of the original written materials found in the files available to authors and researchers).
In the main hallway downstairs---two display cases: items for sale thru the Friends of the Archiv and a case with more scale model U-boats.
Werner Techand Room. Mainly, a massive 88mm deck gun from a Type VII.
Albrecht Brandi - Karl Guenther Klemz Library. Large library of various naval books.
Exit into outside Garden of Remembrance. A bench to sit on. A large stone inscribed Dem Toten Der Meere (To the Dead of the Seas, I believe is pretty close). Another stone donated by the British (with words Horst had entered in a visitors book while visiting a museum or Archive in that country): Sailors may be foes, but not enemies (or words to that effect--I\'ll have to look again when my film is developed). Also, a decorated slab dedicated to the crew of a U-boat sunk by the Americans after the war was already over.
Bernhard Rogge Auxiliary Cruiser Room. Much \"ghost cruiser\" memorabilia and a large radio which was standard on these ships.
Otto Weddingen Room. Half is dedicated to WWI and half to WWII. Various pieces from warships and U-boats.
Otto Hersing Room. A large collection of Hersing\'s materials, including letters, logs, etc.
The cellar and second floor contain massive libraries of information by boat number of all boats, photo libraries, and filed correspondence by everyone who has ever written the Archiv.
The Loft (top floor) has a video player for watching films, a large collection of books relating to many aspects of the war, and KTBs of many U-boats.
Well, I made my way thru all the rooms (but went back frequently over the next two weeks---what an AWESOME collection of everything there!!!) and it was finally time to meet Inge Schacht down the street, and see my room and drop off my bags. Inge and Arthur Schacht were both super people and my room was very nice (big bed with quilts, TV, table and chairs, and private bathroom). Next, lunch at the Bredows...some good wurst , soup, and bread, followed by some cake. Later that day, Annemarie Bredow brought some more cake, 2 kinds, to the Archiv for us all, along with tea or coffee. Very good!!
I was dragging pretty much by this time, after about a 20-hour trip altogether. I wished the Bredows a good trip to Berlin the following day, said how good it was to meet them, said good night to Horst Schwenk and told him I\'d see him Tuesday...and headed for my room upstairs at the Schacht\'s. There I had a little coffee, watched some TV...and slept about 10 hours!!
(more to follow....in U-boat Besuch II, etc.)</HTML>
I flew from Kansas City to Chicago to Frankfurt to Bremen. Strassenbahn (streetcar) from airport to Hauptbahnhof (main train station). Train from Bremen to Bremerhaven Hbf, changeover, and a final train to Cuxhaven. I was going to call Horst Bredow but noticed all the phones these days take a phone card, which I had no clue about and really didn\'t want to get bogged down with after so many hours of travel. So I grabbed a cab and headed for Altenbruch, which the driver said would be about 18 Marks. He asked who I was visiting and I told him Horst Bredow at the U-Boot-Archiv. He said he knew him and it wasn\'t long before we were pulling up in front of the familiar red brick building everyone probably knows from this website. What an awesome feeling to be standing there in person!
The driver grabbed my bags and rang the front bell...and we were buzzed in. Horst Schwenk was at the top of the stairs and I met him first. Then a voice from behind me, \"Craig, is that you?\" And I turned around and met the man I\'ve corresponded with for a few years now, and talked to once before on the phone. He greeted me warmly and asked how I\'d found the Archiv (he had been expecting me to call). I said it really hadn\'t been so hard. We chatted a little, then he gave me a small pamphlet, guiding one thru the various rooms of the Archiv. He said he had some work to finish up as he was leaving for his school reunion in Berlin earlier than previously expected (Wed), and that he was supposed to leave that very day now (Mon), but had waited for me to arrive and would drive to Berlin with his wife on Tuesday. I was given a key to be able to come and go at the Archiv, as it is not open at all to the general public like a regular museum is. It is mainly for authors and historians on an appointment basis. Anyway, after Herr Bredow could wrap up some remaining work, he would show me to my room just down the street and then we\'d go to his place for lunch, along with Horst Schwenk. I followed the guide booklet thru the rooms:
Wolfgang Lueth Room. Uniforms (WWI, WWII, and modern period), medals, success pennants, and a working radio from WWII.
Engelbert Endrass Room. Large uniform display case (Doenitz uniform usually always on display---others are rotated), scale model U-boats, and plaques from various sub organizations.
Georg Lassen Room. Normally kept closed---contains vast film library and much of the original written materials found in the files available to authors and researchers).
In the main hallway downstairs---two display cases: items for sale thru the Friends of the Archiv and a case with more scale model U-boats.
Werner Techand Room. Mainly, a massive 88mm deck gun from a Type VII.
Albrecht Brandi - Karl Guenther Klemz Library. Large library of various naval books.
Exit into outside Garden of Remembrance. A bench to sit on. A large stone inscribed Dem Toten Der Meere (To the Dead of the Seas, I believe is pretty close). Another stone donated by the British (with words Horst had entered in a visitors book while visiting a museum or Archive in that country): Sailors may be foes, but not enemies (or words to that effect--I\'ll have to look again when my film is developed). Also, a decorated slab dedicated to the crew of a U-boat sunk by the Americans after the war was already over.
Bernhard Rogge Auxiliary Cruiser Room. Much \"ghost cruiser\" memorabilia and a large radio which was standard on these ships.
Otto Weddingen Room. Half is dedicated to WWI and half to WWII. Various pieces from warships and U-boats.
Otto Hersing Room. A large collection of Hersing\'s materials, including letters, logs, etc.
The cellar and second floor contain massive libraries of information by boat number of all boats, photo libraries, and filed correspondence by everyone who has ever written the Archiv.
The Loft (top floor) has a video player for watching films, a large collection of books relating to many aspects of the war, and KTBs of many U-boats.
Well, I made my way thru all the rooms (but went back frequently over the next two weeks---what an AWESOME collection of everything there!!!) and it was finally time to meet Inge Schacht down the street, and see my room and drop off my bags. Inge and Arthur Schacht were both super people and my room was very nice (big bed with quilts, TV, table and chairs, and private bathroom). Next, lunch at the Bredows...some good wurst , soup, and bread, followed by some cake. Later that day, Annemarie Bredow brought some more cake, 2 kinds, to the Archiv for us all, along with tea or coffee. Very good!!
I was dragging pretty much by this time, after about a 20-hour trip altogether. I wished the Bredows a good trip to Berlin the following day, said how good it was to meet them, said good night to Horst Schwenk and told him I\'d see him Tuesday...and headed for my room upstairs at the Schacht\'s. There I had a little coffee, watched some TV...and slept about 10 hours!!
(more to follow....in U-boat Besuch II, etc.)</HTML>
| Subject | Written By | Posted |
|---|---|---|
U-boat Besuch I
|
Craig McLean | 12/03/2000 11:52PM |