Our Good Friends

[allenlondon]

Looking for something else, came across this amazing story of a very good German.

In 1940, there was a naval battle between the British destroyer Glowworm, and the German battleship Admiral Von Hipper. The British ship was outgunned and far smaller, and ended up ramming the Von Hipper in an attempt to sink her.

It was the Glowworm that sank, but the Admiral Von Hipper stood by and dropped ropes over the side so that the British seamen could clamber aboard out of the icy, oily sea. They managed to save many of the British sailors, and then continued on their voyage, after holding position for over an hour, all the time under threat of another British battleship finding them.

The captain of the German ship, Helmuth Heye, sent a message to the British Admiralty (through the Red Cross) praising the gallantry of the Glowworm and her crew, and recommending them for the Victoria Cross.

Here is an account of this incredible action:

https://www.quora.com/Whats-the-most-honorable-act-in-the-history-of-war

I have long known that there were many honorable Germans, from the White Rose students upwards. All the way up to the level of Battleship Captains, apparently.

Unsere guten Freunde.

[ToraToraTora]

this reminds me of the german POWs that were sent to Dorset. The NAZI propaganda machine had told them they would be worked to death in appalling conditions, yet they got to the Drax estate and were put in camps and fed well, they were asked to build a wall. So happy were they that they built an excellent wall, miles long, that stands today. Many stayed after the war and married locals. You see at the end of the war many Germans also felt they were liberated from the Nazis.

[allenlondon]

i’m saddened by the fact that this thread, about an act of profound humanity, is quickly slipping into Answerbank’s Bearpit Mode.

Shame on those dragging it down.

[KARL]

So much is a question of percentages. There is a nation who in large numbers (possibly/probably the majority) see themselves as "The Best" in pretty much every respect. They tend to have a very biased/unrealistic view of themselves. Newcomers to this reality might expect those people to act with arrogance, bullying their way against other nations. Indeed there are centuries past where exactly that was the case and they are now intending to re-establish their "superiority", for example at sea, after decades of increasingly sliding into irrelevance. They are very fond of celebrating wars of all kinds, because they are rather militaristic. Worldwide they widely do not enjoy instant admiration for either their past or present (but they are blissfully unaware). It is not difficult to find people in other countries who are inclined to be wary where the nation in question is concerned but I have never heard anyone (from outside) say all its people are sub-human, universally bad, etc. - strange, deluded, clumsy, own worst enemies, yes, but not condemned outright.

[dannyk13]

I spent four years in the 6th Armoured Brigade workshop in Osnabruck where approximately 30 German civilians were empoyed.For the most part I found most of them to be likeable and very hard workers.I did find one or two who were still aggrieved about losing the war and very sullen.

[dannyk13]

^employed^

[david small]

I like everyone. Decent, honest, intelligent, compassionate, I like. Gimme a hug.....

[allenlondon]

Karl. I like your subtlety (if it is!)

And you are spot on, as you often are.

Equating Emmie’s hate-filled wild-eyed Japanese with the kind, gentle people of that nation, there indeed is apuzzle.

[emmie]

one is entitled to an opinion as i said. Just as you are.

[royfromaus]

allenlondon
Karl. I like your subtlety (if it is!)
___________________

It's easy to spot he is talking about the Japanese.

[emmie]

Read Eric Lomax book The Railway Man, its horrendous, though he does indeed forgive one man and they became firm friends.

[allenlondon]

Maybe I should start a thread about an act of amazing humanity performed by a German sea captain towards his enemies, and see what interesting comments it brings.

Or maybe I should give up altogether.

[KARL]

Start one on up-to-date brutality by foreign troops "supporting" the locals in Afghanistan and see how that goes. Maybe not, wouldn't support the popular/traditional mood.

[douglas9401]

Some might say that history is rewritten by the victors.

Please form an orderly line.

[allenlondon]

Yes douglas, normally so.

But Helmuth Heye wasn’t one of the victors. His country LOST the war, if you recall.

[237SJ]

People are the same the world over. It's culture that dictates how they behave, not race.

[237SJ]

@1653 - have you been to Japan lately?

[douglas9401]

I see my arrow has gone wide of the mark.

[allenlondon]

Douglas. You shot your arrow.

[tiggerblue10]

I've read about Sophie Scholl and her brother. They along with others were guillotined for their anti-nazi activities and leaflet distribution. Very sad.