In this country, that statement can apply to almost everyone, but this is a special bit of news for the U-BootFahrer.

There is a group of lawyers who have decided they have the responsibility to write the ‘definitive’ biographies of many U-Boat Commanders. The secretary of one of these lawyers told me that the lawyers will write these books because, as she told me, ‘The U-Boat veterans are hiding in the shadows, hoping that someone will write their honest story.’

I told her that it was nice that the lawyers wanted to write something honest and good about the U-BootWaffe but they must not think that any U-BootFahrer are ‘hiding in the shadows’ and also that the men of the U-BootWaffe are writing their own honest history through our SHARKHUNTERS. I told this secretary and also a few of the lawyers at one time or another, that we here at SHARKHUNTERS would be happy to assist with historical facts, with photographs and even with arranging interviews with living veterans. All SHARKHUNTERS asked in return was to be mentioned in each book with our address.

No, they said they would write the book by themselves with no help from SHARKHUNTERS or the veterans we could introduce them to, or anyone else. We have learned from friends in Germany that these lawyers have written one or two books in rough form, and they asked a German U-Boat veteran who is also a widely-recognized U-Boat history expert to proof-read their works. After reading one or two manuscripts, he returned them to the lawyers who-would-be-historians and told them he wanted nothing more to do with them or with their works as they were shot full of errors and in large part, merely repeated old stories - some true and some not true. He found very little original research work.

OUR ADVICE TO OUR U-BOOTFAHRER FRIENDS

If you are contacted by these lawyers-who-would-be-historians, perhaps you may want to have nothing to do with their efforts as, they have refused assistance from U-Boat veterans through our SHARKHUNTERS, and they have already written books with many errors in them.

It is good that writers wish to preserve the history of this brave and honorable elite group, but it would be best to take advantage of all help and assistance that was offered rather than to just repeat old (and often wrong) wartime stories. Since they would not accept any assistance & since their books are already full of errors, perhaps the main reason these lawyers will write these books is merely for money - not to make the historical record correct?

If you should find yourself in court, would you ask for a famous writer such as Tom Clancy or James Mitchner to defend you? Or would you request a great lawyer like F. Lee Bailey or Johnny Cochran? Personally, I think the lawyers should stick to courts and, if they do not wish to do a good job on a book, perhaps they should leave the writing to the historians. That is just my opinion.