Das Boot

Das Boot (, English: The Boat) is the title of a 603-page 1973 German novel by Lothar-Günther Buchheim (1918-2007), which deals with the author's personal experiences recorded as a war correspondent on U-boat submarines. Buchheim recorded his time on submarine U-96 and submarine U-309 during World War II. The Buchheim historical drama book was published in 1973 by Piper Verlag, the book has sold millions of copies and was translated into 18 languages. The novel portrayed the harsh and difficult submarine warfare life on a German submarine. Buchheim Buchheim was a painter, author, and war correspondent for the Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine. Buchheim was employed by the Nazi propaganda company, Propagandakompanie (PK). As part of his work, Buchheim was a "guest" on board Kriegsmarine ships and submarines. The novel is based on Buchheim's six weeks of experiences on several U-boat trips. Buchheim also wrote the books: The Fortress and The Farewell in which he used also fictional names. In Das Boot, the main character is the commander, who is modeled after commander Heinrich Lehmann-Willenbrock (1911-1986) of U-96, a Type VIIC U-boat. Willenbrock was given the nickname "the Old Man" and Herr Kaleun. In Das Boot the other officers are unnamed and referred to by their job on the submarine. One ensign is named Ullmann and two noncommissioned officers are named. Buchheim refers to himself as Herr Leutnant as the narrator, but not given a submarine job. In the book, the submarine is only referred to as the fictional UA. Other submarines are given fictional names also like: UF, UX or UY. Places and dates are also not used in the book also. So while the book is in part a record of Buchheim time, much of the book is fictional. Buchheim died in 2007 at the age of 89. Buchheim wrote a short story about his experiences in the 1960s, before he wrote Das Boot, the short story was called Die Eichenlaubfahrt, (or Oak Leaves Patrol). Heinrich Lehmann-Willenbrock was awarded the Knight's Cross with oak leaves, thus the title of the short story. In 1976 Buchheim released the book U-Boot-Krieg (U-Boat War), a story of his trip on U-96 and U-309. U-Boot-Krieg including 200 photographs Buchheim took on the trips. Book Das Boot starts with the celebrations of the U-boat officers on land. The officers are enjoying life before leaving port. The crew are in a bar, Bar Royal, in northern France, near a base of the Kriegsmarine Organization.