General Discussions
This is the place to discuss general issues related to the U-boat war or the war at sea in WWII.
RE: Were the u-boat men volunteers?
Posted by:
Antonio Veiga
()
Date: July 06, 2001 07:37PM
<HTML>Hello Steve
I think it´s interesting you (and whoever who wants) read the opinion of an
excellent history researcher:
\"The claim is often made with great pride by senior officers that every man who served in u-boats was a volunteer and, however severe the losses, there was never a shortage of fresh volunteering to man new u-boats.
In the course of the research for this book I interviewed or corresponded with Admiral Dönitz, five staff officers and thirty nine operational u-boat officers and men.
It became obvius that the \"all-volunteer u-boat crew\" claim was not quite justified, or at least did not quite coincide with the concept of a volunteer in other countries.
Because the motives for which men undertake exceptionally hazardous duty are always of interest, this aspect of u-boat life was pursued a little further than others.The investigation threw up much useful light on the u-boat men´s attitudes.
Taking the officers first, it must be borne in mind that a German naval officer was not expected to volunteer for anything.It was assumed that having become an officer he would at all times be ready to perform whatever duty his superiors considered him suited for.
Several ex-u-boat officers, when asked why they had volunteered for u-boats, expressed surprise that the question should even be asked and one, comparing the German naval officers´ complete acceptance of orders, quoted Nelson´s
\"England expects every man to do his duty\".
So the u-boat officers were not and could not be volunteers, and numerous examples can be quoted of how they came to be in u-boats.The following are the
views of officers who joined in each of the first four war years.....
...The experiences of the ratings were slightly different.A large number had responded to appeals and were genuine volunteers for the u-boat service.
When those who served in the 1943 u-boats had joined earlier in the war there had been many attractions - the evident fame and glamour of the job, an opportunity for active service when most of the German Navy´s large surface ships were virtually confined to harbour, good pay, and, for the technically minded, the chance to work with adavanced types of machinery and equipment.
One man, however, had motives connected with political persecution at home....
...But as the easy u-boat victories began to fall off and the allied defences became stronger, so the rush of eager volunteers slackened....
...The u-boats were particularly short of technical men and suitable men were
often \"invited\" to volunteer.For a German, with his attitude of complete obedience
and loyalty, there was no question but to comply.
...In quoting these examples the reader must not get the impression that men were driven unwillingly to the u-boats.A large proportion were genuine volunteers
and even those that were given little say in the matter accepted their lot without
protest.
All but a handful were proud to belong to the u-boat man and, in true German manner, they served there with absolute loyalty and devotion to duty.
But to say that every u-boat was manned only by volunteers was, by
non-German standards at least, a myth.\"
SOURCE: \"CONVOY The battle for convoys SC122 and HX229\" (An awesome work) by Martin Middlebrook, Chapter 3 \"The Germans\"
Best regards
</HTML>
I think it´s interesting you (and whoever who wants) read the opinion of an
excellent history researcher:
\"The claim is often made with great pride by senior officers that every man who served in u-boats was a volunteer and, however severe the losses, there was never a shortage of fresh volunteering to man new u-boats.
In the course of the research for this book I interviewed or corresponded with Admiral Dönitz, five staff officers and thirty nine operational u-boat officers and men.
It became obvius that the \"all-volunteer u-boat crew\" claim was not quite justified, or at least did not quite coincide with the concept of a volunteer in other countries.
Because the motives for which men undertake exceptionally hazardous duty are always of interest, this aspect of u-boat life was pursued a little further than others.The investigation threw up much useful light on the u-boat men´s attitudes.
Taking the officers first, it must be borne in mind that a German naval officer was not expected to volunteer for anything.It was assumed that having become an officer he would at all times be ready to perform whatever duty his superiors considered him suited for.
Several ex-u-boat officers, when asked why they had volunteered for u-boats, expressed surprise that the question should even be asked and one, comparing the German naval officers´ complete acceptance of orders, quoted Nelson´s
\"England expects every man to do his duty\".
So the u-boat officers were not and could not be volunteers, and numerous examples can be quoted of how they came to be in u-boats.The following are the
views of officers who joined in each of the first four war years.....
...The experiences of the ratings were slightly different.A large number had responded to appeals and were genuine volunteers for the u-boat service.
When those who served in the 1943 u-boats had joined earlier in the war there had been many attractions - the evident fame and glamour of the job, an opportunity for active service when most of the German Navy´s large surface ships were virtually confined to harbour, good pay, and, for the technically minded, the chance to work with adavanced types of machinery and equipment.
One man, however, had motives connected with political persecution at home....
...But as the easy u-boat victories began to fall off and the allied defences became stronger, so the rush of eager volunteers slackened....
...The u-boats were particularly short of technical men and suitable men were
often \"invited\" to volunteer.For a German, with his attitude of complete obedience
and loyalty, there was no question but to comply.
...In quoting these examples the reader must not get the impression that men were driven unwillingly to the u-boats.A large proportion were genuine volunteers
and even those that were given little say in the matter accepted their lot without
protest.
All but a handful were proud to belong to the u-boat man and, in true German manner, they served there with absolute loyalty and devotion to duty.
But to say that every u-boat was manned only by volunteers was, by
non-German standards at least, a myth.\"
SOURCE: \"CONVOY The battle for convoys SC122 and HX229\" (An awesome work) by Martin Middlebrook, Chapter 3 \"The Germans\"
Best regards
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