War film "Laconia" in the ARD

From the helpful enemy ... Material for a great tragedy: first the
Germans sunk a British ship, then they save the survivors. The
Anglo-German World War II drama "Laconia" is to be a kind of Euro-work
of reconciliation - and fails on small-mindedness.
Only in August, Don Crossley failed with his protest against the
municipal authorities of South Kirkby, Yorkshire, who wants to rename
a street after bypassing the German sister city Sprockhövel. The
88-year-old war veteran Crossley's and has earned his medals because
he had his time as a radio operator there when the Royal Air Force
bombed the Ruhr area and possibly also Sprockhövel. "We did not fight
in our Lancaster, and won the war, only to rename a street in
Yorkshire after a German city."

Hilda (Franka Potente) and Thomas Mortimer (Andrew Buchan) aboard the
Laconia - they tried to flee from the Third Reich, he is a good
officer.

The Second World War is long over, but all will pass away, not the
past. A rusty chunks of metal on dips, a submarine, a hand sewn with
coarse stitches to a sack, which disappears a face, a flag is over it
drawn a swastika in the middle, and the crew sings the dead to escort
a tight "I had a comrade. " As a final salute to the captain of the
dead, about the swastika. The dead comrade sinks into the sea, the
submarine war continues. Laconia, starts a war movie that wants to be
but no more.

It is the late summer of 1942. Hitler's armies occupied nearly the
whole of continental Europe. London is bombed and the Germans in North
Africa, together with the Italians lead the war against the English.
In Suez, runs from the British troop ship RMS Laconia, which carries
nearly 1,800 Italian prisoners of war, to bring them to England. The
journey is just to the south, around the Cape of Good Hope. The ride
is quiet until the ship is torpedoed off the West African coast by a
German submarine and sunk.

Most of the POWs like drowning, but then decides the submarine captain
Werner Hartenstein, saving many more survivors. A part may, with the
U-boat, a few hundred other castaways gather in lifeboats after the
German sailors, the enemy suddenly helpful. Although the captain can
send out distress signals, the survivors are being bombed by an
American airplane. Part of the Laconia's passengers will still escaped
with his life.

This true story is not only almost completely unknown in Germany, it
knows how the British Ambassador Simon McDonald assured, even in the
United Kingdom, almost no one. They provide the material for a great
tragedy that is charged in the German-British co-production with the
task of Laconia, however, to convey also the understanding between the
once warring states. Of Her Majesty's Ambassador in Germany is pleased
to announce that with the cliched depiction of the Germans in the film
is finally over and here is how this co-production opportunities for a
differentiated representation.

Exhibition at the Museum School: Submarine war under the tree

Wonder weapons, toys and children's books. A glance at the table with
100 years ago.
"The family at the Christmas Tree": This scene from J. dust picture
book, first Band (Publisher brothers Künzli, Zurich 1905) makes the
strict dual role of educating boys and girls significantly. While the
girls were preparing to play their future role as housewives and
mothers, when the boy was awakened early the desire and readiness to
use military service for his country.
Zeppelin tour: Left the cover illustration of a playing cards in
1910, the shooting down the enemy had the goal.
Adventurous trip around the world: cover of a card game in 1910.
Prussian hussar fur cap: Fits one head for the smaller boys.
Magic Lantern: The lamp (circa 1905) could take pictures on the wall.
"For hardworking hands of children": A guide from the publishing way,
Stuttgart, 1902.
Wintry fun: glass image strip (partial view) for the magic lantern,
circa 1900. The "Magic Lantern" was very popular and has been
factory-produced in large numbers

Puppenmütterchen and horseman - Toys and children's books 100 years
ago "is the new special exhibition at the Museum School Lohrer of 27
November to 15 January titled, which allows visitors a look at the
Christmas table gifts of the wealthy bourgeoisie before the First
World War. Much of it can be read out on the education in those days.
A main topic was the role assignment of the boys and girls inspired by
the parents.

As in the German Empire, the military-patriotic enthusiasm influenced
almost every aspect of life and was raised to the service for his
country to the greatest virtue, should the boys are excited to for all
things military from an early age. In the children's room was
upgraded. Offered for pre-Christmas shopping and buying houses in
their catalogs a wide range of. It ranged from uniforms, sabers,
swords and helmets for children of different arms up to the "barracks
cabinet with full equipment" for 10.50 marks.

Especially popular, but also very expensive was "modern" technological
war toys. A "war ship with a solid movement, armored gun room with two
cannons, two cranes, two tank towers with signal masts, length 65
inches" cost "in very fine execution," 25 marks. For "defense" of such
warships offered the same catalog of Würzburg department store opened
in 1912 a "coastal and fortress guns" on high, with "through worm
rotatable mount, fixed position of the pipe and tasteful design in
iron and brass, 25 inches, 14 , 50 marks. "

In addition to these conventional weapons also found the latest
military technology advances make their way into those catalogs. The
first form of the Air Force, the war Zeppelin, and the new wonder
weapon to sea, the submarine, were among the most sought-after toys of
the time. Also relevant to weapons were offered. Such an expensive toy
was of course the wealthy bourgeoisie reserved. A day laborer earned
about 1900 per day for about three marks, and so his family brought
more bad than good to make ends meet. There was no thought of a helmet
for four marks for the son or even a ship for 25 marks. In the Empire,
the Christmas armament remained in the nursery so confined mainly to
wealthy households. Finally, only sons of wealthy families to rise to
officer status.

The girls were mainly prepared to fulfill their role as housewives and
mothers, which is also very clear in the "Song from a fine girl" to
the expression:

I'm a nice girl,

can spin the wheel,

can knit the stitches

and patch pockets,

nädeln and groom

and thread and trim,

can run and jump

and dance and sing,

cook and can cook

the flesh and bones.
(Hoffmann-fibula, Oldenbourg-Verlag, 1910)

Dolls with all accessories included as standard equipment a girl's
room. The stores offered such as a "highly adorable jointed doll in
dirndl costume, with a beautiful corset skirt, white apron and a fine
Tyrolean hat, with beautiful long braids, about 29 centimeters, with
sleepy eyes, a piece in a box" for 0.75 marks, or a "very large
cooking stove with two doors, two spirit lamps, cooking pot, pan, and
a large oven "for 2.35 marks.

Rounding out the exhibition with colorful children's books and games,
which should make the children familiar with 100 years ago, the latest
inventions or distant continents.

The school museum is open from Wednesday to Sunday and public holidays
14 to 16 clock. On 27 November is the free admission.

Submarine warfare: Touching photos without a bang

The boat - cover picture for the exhibition.

To 30 June shows that the German Navy Museum special exhibition "Das
Boot - The Photographs" with pictures of Lothar-Günther Buchheim.

Wilhelmshaven - "So - caught fresh from the water - see the six
children to the mercy of pathetic: kitsch pale, stubbly, barefoot, the
wet stuff on their skinny bodies." What Lothar-Guenther Buchheim, as a
young war correspondent on "U 96" monitors and was later described in
a book does, of the "Fascination submarine warfare" left absolutely
nothing.
A mine has caught the submarine, an air attack of the steel tube,
where the rest wounded. "U 96" has gotten such a miracle and does
nothing to the surviving shipwrecked comrades. Impressively Buchheim
has held the rescued Ubootfahrer on deck with his camera.

This black and white photos fail as the other shots of the new
exhibition "Das Boot - The Photographs" at the German Maritime Museum
(DMM), their effect on the viewer: you get under your skin, can
participate in one on the fate of men and often also shudder. Here,
the issue waived flashy effects, original exhibits, or the usual
models.

Buchheim's photographs, which were created during the seventh war
patrol of "U 96" in 1941, as well as quotes from his books appear all
to yourself. The narrowness of the submarines of the type VII C, the
vastness of the sea and sky, but especially the faces of the men
around the "old", Lieutenant-Commander Heinrich Lehmann-Willenbrock.

Most visitors are already in 1973 published book home book "Das Boot"
or have the eponymous film (1981) by Wolfgang Petersen in memory.
Liked the book died in 2007, the home of more action-packed movie
version did not tell Dr. Clelia Segieth, curator of the Buchheim
Museum. He had been missing, especially the many "Gammel" scenes in
the book - hours and days of waiting on board, time in which nothing
happened, and with the men but all kinds hired.

Read more in today's "Wilhelmshavener newspaper."

Maritime Museum of Hamburg

Today will be opened in Hamburg, the "Maritime Museum". Why is there
the Submarine war is glorified and has become bogged collector Peter
Tamm.

Especially the young people are in its International Maritime Museum
in Hamburg, which will be opened on Wednesday by Federal President
Horst Köhler, to learn, says the collector Peter Tamm. That shipping
is international understanding, one could learn the ten decks of
sensitive remodeled store in Hamburg's HafenCity.

For decades, the former Chief Executive Officer has the Axel Springer
publishing material for shipping - and collected that he was housed in
an imperial villa on the Elbchaussee - including Military, Nazi
insignia and model ships. The child in the man seemed manic romp here.

When his former employees, the image-columnist Dana Horakova, 2002
Hamburg's Senator for Culture, was also was the long-cherished wish
Peter Tamm, his collection into a museum to convert, finally becoming
a reality.

City was 30 million €

The city gave Tamm's oldest port memory, the Kaispeicher B, for 99
years for nothing, and gave 30 million to rebuild. Tamm established a
foundation for his collection, and developed a concept for the museum
needs the 150,000 visitors annually, to record its operating costs.

The criticism that was expressed on the occasion of this decision on
the quality and educational value of Tamms collection as well as at
certain points of contact Tamms to persons of dubious democratic
sentiment, blared from the publisher patriarch always.

We'll see at the opening already, that the material was prepared by
historical criticism. He wanted "to show truth without prejudice" the.

Constricted sense of history

But this "truth without prejudice" is asserting itself in 12,000
square meters of exhibition space in exactly the constricted sense of
history, the collection still clung tentatively.

What you can learn there that is in fact, is the person who can show
up with 196 ships sunk most successful in the history of the Submarine
war and how great the camaraderie was on a German warship in the Nazi
era.

Factual information is yet to be staged magnificently from uncritical
colonial history and detailed memories of the Imperial Admiralty,
whose order discounts and hat boxes.

Instead of documenting the atrocities of the master race in Africa and
Europe, the exhibition describes in rather tedious detail the
technical details of torpedoes and ironclads.
Fetish-like lack of distance

It slipped the German from militaria catalogs, which dominates the
Hinweisschildchen, also like to have the technocratic degrading, as if
in a small panel on the treatment of slavery, its necessity is
explained thus: "grew up with the conquest of the American colonies,
the need for cheap labor. To compensate for the high death rate among
American Indians, African slaves served one soon. " In this form it
could be a quote from a U.S. school book.

It is not only the almost complete suppression of the human story of
suffering, the trivialisation of the war as a technical development
power and the total failure in the historical-critical
differentiation, which makes such a huge issue so doubtful.

The entire collection represents a large proportion of distance, the
fetish-like Tamms its objects. Showcases with huge unannotated war
medals, in the center are actually the Nazi orders placed prominently,
an army of uniformed mannequins and models of ships are simply a
demonstration of compulsive hoarding, but no useful concept for the
museum.
Fatales characters

Government support and the dignity that gives the President the
opening with his presence, are given the dubious contents of the
museum a fatal sign. If domination story again displaced victims from
the history museum, a reminder is needed, not anointed.

about submarine warfare

Anything about submarine warfare in one boat (pun intended). That is what you can expect here soon!