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: Das Boot: book or movie ?
Posted by:
Io Chrysafidou
()
Date: November 12, 2003 08:47PM
<HTML>Dear Wiljan,
The book was thirty years in the making, ever since LGB came back from the 7th patrol of U 96, and he's quite right now when he says that his first attempt, Jaeger im Weltmeer, had no NZ-propaganda in it. Then, he simply decided when to rewarm the pre-cooked soup and serve it up to a younger readership. His negative comments on the leadership were included with the full knowledge of the leading characters.
As for his stance during the war and after, he never claimed to have been a resisting (or even conscientious objector) intellectual, and both in Die Festung and Der Abschied he points out that all he was out to do was to survive the nightmare of war as best he could, no heroics or resistance frills. And he would hate for it to be said that he belonged to the Goebbels-clique. He actually makes a point of stressing that he is a "Marinekriegsberichter" and his pass is OKW/OKM.
Concerning the surviving crewmembers, they were also obliged to do as they were told, and were not obliged, as one other was, to stand on the pier and send u-boat after u-boat out to achieve nothing but the loss of fifty-odd young lives. It's for the sake of those who never returned that the book was written, and written in such a way at such a time.
Concerning the 20th July coup, LGB's immediate boss actually remarked that it was an ineffectual gesture, carried out by backroom tacticians, when it should have been effected like a Kamikaze attack to have succeeded, or not have taken place at all, since it cost many more lives on all sides.
That being said, I should stress that I'm not an admirer of the guy, and actually charge him with gross ingratitude towards a couple of friends, whom he exploited for all they were worth.
Regards
Io
P.S.@ FredV. Unfortunately, the edition you found is a heavily abridged one, but then I don't expect Shangai to have a branch of Barnes & Noble or Waterstones.
I.C.</HTML>
The book was thirty years in the making, ever since LGB came back from the 7th patrol of U 96, and he's quite right now when he says that his first attempt, Jaeger im Weltmeer, had no NZ-propaganda in it. Then, he simply decided when to rewarm the pre-cooked soup and serve it up to a younger readership. His negative comments on the leadership were included with the full knowledge of the leading characters.
As for his stance during the war and after, he never claimed to have been a resisting (or even conscientious objector) intellectual, and both in Die Festung and Der Abschied he points out that all he was out to do was to survive the nightmare of war as best he could, no heroics or resistance frills. And he would hate for it to be said that he belonged to the Goebbels-clique. He actually makes a point of stressing that he is a "Marinekriegsberichter" and his pass is OKW/OKM.
Concerning the surviving crewmembers, they were also obliged to do as they were told, and were not obliged, as one other was, to stand on the pier and send u-boat after u-boat out to achieve nothing but the loss of fifty-odd young lives. It's for the sake of those who never returned that the book was written, and written in such a way at such a time.
Concerning the 20th July coup, LGB's immediate boss actually remarked that it was an ineffectual gesture, carried out by backroom tacticians, when it should have been effected like a Kamikaze attack to have succeeded, or not have taken place at all, since it cost many more lives on all sides.
That being said, I should stress that I'm not an admirer of the guy, and actually charge him with gross ingratitude towards a couple of friends, whom he exploited for all they were worth.
Regards
Io
P.S.@ FredV. Unfortunately, the edition you found is a heavily abridged one, but then I don't expect Shangai to have a branch of Barnes & Noble or Waterstones.
I.C.</HTML>