There have been many claims and conspiracy theories about U-Boats fleeing to South America and other destinations in the closing stages of WWII. This is a true account of one U-Boat that reached Argentina – whether it is the full story may be the subject of debate, but this is a very interesting account by the commander of U 977 – Most Highly Recommended.
NAME: U-Boat 977, The True Story of the U-Boat That Escaped to Argentina FILE: R2679 AUTHOR: Heinz Schaffer PUBLISHER: Pen & Sword, Greenhill Books BINDING: hard back PAGES: 213 PRICE: £19.99 GENRE: Non Fiction SUBJECT: WWII, World War Two, Second World War, World War 2, wolf pack, submarines, U-Boats, Battle of the Atlantic, escape to South America, Argentina ISBN: 1-78438-249-0 IMAGE: B2679.jpg BUYNOW: http://tinyurl.com/yb9x4sob LINKS: DESCRIPTION: There have been many claims and conspiracy theories about U-Boats fleeing to South America and other destinations in the closing stages of WWII. This is a true account of one U-Boat that reached Argentina – whether it is the full story may be the subject of debate, but this is a very interesting account by the commander of U 977 – Most Highly Recommended. Conspiracy theorists tend to stick to their beliefs whatever proofs are presented for an alternative possibility. This account was given by the U-Boats skipper and the rest of his crew were free to offer alternative narratives had they wished. As a result, there is a reasonable claim that the account given through this book is the real story, although it does not speak for other 'missing' U-Boats. In the closing stages of WWII in Europe, there were many Germans who refused to believe that they had once again been beaten in a war they caused. Those who could, considered fleeing and hoping to fight again, much as happened in 1918. This time there was clear evidence of defeat because Germany was partitioned and occupied, but it was not immediately evident. This U-Boat crew responded in much the same way as RN crews in the Mediterranean responded to the post Dunkirk situation. There was widespread agreement that, had the Germans invaded and occupied the British Isles, the RN would sail to Canada and continue the fight. It was only slightly different from the situation considered by the crew of U977 in that the Commonwealth would have survived and a Government in Exile rapidly formed to fight and defeat Germany, liberating the British Isles and the rest of Europe. For the crew of U977, they doubted the radio messages about surrender, occupation of Germany was not yet completed, and the only possibly friendly ports might be in Argentina. Married crew members were torn between what they saw as duty to Germany and duty to their families. A voyage to Argentina was clearly going to be full of dangers and there was no certainty that Argentina would be pleased to see them. The voyage of U977 was epic. It is an exciting tale of endurance after first putting married crew mates ashore in Norway to allow them to go back and support their families. The reader will be held by the story to the end.