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Shooting the War: The Memoir and Photographs of a U-Boat Officer in World War II
The war diary of former German naval officer Otto Giese recounts a seafaring career of extraordinary scope. It begins with the dawn of World War II, while the author is a junior officer on board the ocean liner SS Columbus , and continues through his confinement in a British prisoner-of-war camp after the war. This book showcases more than one hundred high-quality photographs taken by Giese throughout his wartime service to present a unique historical overview. Interspersed among tales of hardship and loss are colorful anecdotes that relay the camaraderie surrounding plots to escape detention at Angel Island, the unlikely processing of German seamen at Ellis Island, and Giese's experiences policing guerrilla warfare in the Malayan jungle. He greets the incongruous movements of war with equanimity and offers an unwavering assessment of the dictates of duty.
312 pages, Paperback
First published March 15, 1994
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
January 29, 2018
This is a great book which chronicles the war-time exploits of Otto Giese. It starts with his childhood and his decision to go to sea which led to probably one of the most interesting experiences during the war. He starts out on the SS Columbus, a German passenger-liner. when hostilities commenced. When this ship is scuttled by the crew and they are taken to a still neutral America and interned from where he escaped to go to Japan. From here he gets back to Europe on a blockade-runner and joins the U-boat force where he first serves in Norway and the Arctic and then on a Monsoon Gruppe boat in the Indian Ocean and the Far East. When Germany surrenders he is then interned by their formal allies, Japan, and eventually captured by the British before being repatriated back to Germany. It is an amazing story with many different places as it's backdrop, and best of all is all the photos that Giese took on all his adventures.
May 1, 2011
Otto Geise became a U-Boat captain by being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Born in Germany, at sixteen he decided to go to sea to see the world. He spent his training years on a square-rigged training ship, eventually earning his mate’s license and being taken on the SS Columbus, a German passenger liner. It was on one of these trips he met an American girl, intended to propose and become an American citizen. Unfortunately, the war in Europe prevented this (not to mention she sent a Dear John letter) and the famous coded signal sent to all German vessels ordered the ship’s captain into the nearest non-hostile port to off-load passengers and return to Germany.
Geise was serving as a mate on the Columbus, a German luxury liner when war broke out and the the knew the British would attempt to take the ship to use as a troop carrier so she was repainted and they attempted to sneak back to Germany by staying in neutral water (U.S., mostly) up the coast and then tried to break across the Atlantic. It was not to be. Challenged by the HMS Hyperion they scuttled the Columbus and were taken to Ellis Island aboard the USS Tuscaloosa, a cruiser that had been shadowing both ships.
The Germans had worked out a deal with U.S. authorities to re-patriot the crew by way of Japan, so they were shipped to San Francisco by train, and interned in a former military base. Geise and a couple of other officers managed to smuggled themselves to Japan and there he volunteered for duty aboard the Anneliese Esseberger, a blockade runner that was bound for Germany via Cape Horn with stops along to way to bring supplies to German raiders. One rendezvous was with the U-106 which provided escort back to Bordeaux where Geise, perhaps envying those on the sub, volunteered for submarine duty. (I found some of the patriotic bunk somewhat jarring coming from a naturalized American citizen now living in Florida, e.g. “the exchange between comrades at sea filled our hearts with joy,” but I suppose at the time both sides indulged in such jingoistic nonsense.)
At first, getting transferred was a difficulty process because the Merchant Marine was loath to lose officers to the Navy. Eventually, thanks to some pull from Navy brass who also needed officers, he was sent to submarine school, of which he says little interestingly, but emerged as a seaman. He is thus able to provide a view of life on a German sub from the vantage of the lower ranks, an unusual perspective. He accepted the privations with equanimity -- at least in hindsight, “like washing hands and face, taking a hot shower, brushing teeth, and shaving. During operations in the Atlantic or Arctic one simply could not escape becoming encrusted with dirt. At first, I thought a man could get scabies or some other skin disease if he didn’t wash down at least once a day. To my surprise, I soon learned that we cold make do by just rinsing off our hands and faces a couple times a week with salt water. . .Our hair and bears soon got filthy and clotted from the salt water breaking over the ship, and even the best comb broke when we tried to disentangle the hairy mess.”
Much of the patrol was spent on the surface and these subs were like thin cigars getting tossed about ferociously in heavy seas. “For days we wore heavy canvas belts lashed by strong steel straps to the boat. At first, we laughed at this precaution as unnecessary and inconvenient; it hampered our jumps through the hatches during alarms. But I soon recognized the necessity. More than once we had to pull lookouts from the top of bulkheads, where they lay, breathless and in pain. Comrades of other boats had not been so lucky; some whose straps broke were found missing after the water subsided.” He describes his watch guarding the boat’s stern during a storm. “. . , there was a thunderous crashing and bursting [of waves] that snatched our breath away. A tremendous weight forced us onto our knees and tore at our limbs. Above us a bright-green watery vault foamed and hummed before gradually subsiding. It became brighter and brighter while we fought against the draining water, spitting, choking, and cursing.”
During one depth charge attack, the sub had to go very deep, causing a variety of leaks and noises. Psychologically, confined in such as small space (the subs were only 20 feet wide) could be devastating. “One man in the bow room lost control of himself and started to scream in a high-pitched voice.” He had to be subdued and knocked unconscious least he cause a panic among the others. Their method of dealing with high-pressure leaks caused by popping rivets was effective, if bizarre: “one of our hams was placed with much ado against the hole [from which a finger-thick stream of water jetted into the boat] and bolstered with iron spokes and plates,” stopping the leak.
After several patrols in the North Sea on the U-405 as a seaman, he was sent to officer school and then posted to the U-181 for patrols to the Indian Ocean under Captain Freiwald. Freiwald had a unique way of involving the crew in decision-making. He called it der Feigling vom Dienst. “Every day the officers took turns being the coward. The coward had “absolute freedom to criticize, correct, even grumble about matters such as the daily routine and orders from the commandant.” On land, many of the comments might have been considered insubordination, “but here the coward could express those feelings, which fellow officers and crew members might agree with, without fear of retribution.” Freiwald would listen thoughtfully and then comment on what he thought might be possible or not, the reasons why, with regard to changes for the benefit of the crew.
Eventually, Geise was interned in a Chinese prison and repatriated to Germany after the war. He insists several times during the book that he was apolitical, that his motives were defense of the Fatherland and Hitler the Supreme Commander and thus deserving of obeisance. One might wish he and his comrades had been more political.
Geise survived the war, moved to the United States, married an American, and now lives in Florida. Lots of rare pictures, hence shooting...
Geise was serving as a mate on the Columbus, a German luxury liner when war broke out and the the knew the British would attempt to take the ship to use as a troop carrier so she was repainted and they attempted to sneak back to Germany by staying in neutral water (U.S., mostly) up the coast and then tried to break across the Atlantic. It was not to be. Challenged by the HMS Hyperion they scuttled the Columbus and were taken to Ellis Island aboard the USS Tuscaloosa, a cruiser that had been shadowing both ships.
The Germans had worked out a deal with U.S. authorities to re-patriot the crew by way of Japan, so they were shipped to San Francisco by train, and interned in a former military base. Geise and a couple of other officers managed to smuggled themselves to Japan and there he volunteered for duty aboard the Anneliese Esseberger, a blockade runner that was bound for Germany via Cape Horn with stops along to way to bring supplies to German raiders. One rendezvous was with the U-106 which provided escort back to Bordeaux where Geise, perhaps envying those on the sub, volunteered for submarine duty. (I found some of the patriotic bunk somewhat jarring coming from a naturalized American citizen now living in Florida, e.g. “the exchange between comrades at sea filled our hearts with joy,” but I suppose at the time both sides indulged in such jingoistic nonsense.)
At first, getting transferred was a difficulty process because the Merchant Marine was loath to lose officers to the Navy. Eventually, thanks to some pull from Navy brass who also needed officers, he was sent to submarine school, of which he says little interestingly, but emerged as a seaman. He is thus able to provide a view of life on a German sub from the vantage of the lower ranks, an unusual perspective. He accepted the privations with equanimity -- at least in hindsight, “like washing hands and face, taking a hot shower, brushing teeth, and shaving. During operations in the Atlantic or Arctic one simply could not escape becoming encrusted with dirt. At first, I thought a man could get scabies or some other skin disease if he didn’t wash down at least once a day. To my surprise, I soon learned that we cold make do by just rinsing off our hands and faces a couple times a week with salt water. . .Our hair and bears soon got filthy and clotted from the salt water breaking over the ship, and even the best comb broke when we tried to disentangle the hairy mess.”
Much of the patrol was spent on the surface and these subs were like thin cigars getting tossed about ferociously in heavy seas. “For days we wore heavy canvas belts lashed by strong steel straps to the boat. At first, we laughed at this precaution as unnecessary and inconvenient; it hampered our jumps through the hatches during alarms. But I soon recognized the necessity. More than once we had to pull lookouts from the top of bulkheads, where they lay, breathless and in pain. Comrades of other boats had not been so lucky; some whose straps broke were found missing after the water subsided.” He describes his watch guarding the boat’s stern during a storm. “. . , there was a thunderous crashing and bursting [of waves] that snatched our breath away. A tremendous weight forced us onto our knees and tore at our limbs. Above us a bright-green watery vault foamed and hummed before gradually subsiding. It became brighter and brighter while we fought against the draining water, spitting, choking, and cursing.”
During one depth charge attack, the sub had to go very deep, causing a variety of leaks and noises. Psychologically, confined in such as small space (the subs were only 20 feet wide) could be devastating. “One man in the bow room lost control of himself and started to scream in a high-pitched voice.” He had to be subdued and knocked unconscious least he cause a panic among the others. Their method of dealing with high-pressure leaks caused by popping rivets was effective, if bizarre: “one of our hams was placed with much ado against the hole [from which a finger-thick stream of water jetted into the boat] and bolstered with iron spokes and plates,” stopping the leak.
After several patrols in the North Sea on the U-405 as a seaman, he was sent to officer school and then posted to the U-181 for patrols to the Indian Ocean under Captain Freiwald. Freiwald had a unique way of involving the crew in decision-making. He called it der Feigling vom Dienst. “Every day the officers took turns being the coward. The coward had “absolute freedom to criticize, correct, even grumble about matters such as the daily routine and orders from the commandant.” On land, many of the comments might have been considered insubordination, “but here the coward could express those feelings, which fellow officers and crew members might agree with, without fear of retribution.” Freiwald would listen thoughtfully and then comment on what he thought might be possible or not, the reasons why, with regard to changes for the benefit of the crew.
Eventually, Geise was interned in a Chinese prison and repatriated to Germany after the war. He insists several times during the book that he was apolitical, that his motives were defense of the Fatherland and Hitler the Supreme Commander and thus deserving of obeisance. One might wish he and his comrades had been more political.
Geise survived the war, moved to the United States, married an American, and now lives in Florida. Lots of rare pictures, hence shooting...
November 22, 2017
Una història sorprenent dels afortunats que van sobreviure a la II GM. La guerra esclata i t'enganxa d'oficial en pràctiques en un vaixell de passatgers a l'altre punta de món. Aconsegueixes tornar a Alemanya per veure com et posen en us submarí i després dels "bons temps" a de l'inici de la batalla de l'Atlàntic t'envien a Indonèsia per atacar als britànics a l'Extrem Orienti acabada la guerra fent de Policia Militar per als mateixos Britànics a Malaia contra la guerrilla comunista.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 11, 2024
The diary of a former German naval officer. Beginning with his pre-war service onboard the SS Columbus and continues with service in the German U-boat fleet. Good detail of living conditions aboard the U-Boats. The author photographed his adventures and includes many of these in the book.
January 5, 2022
History from someone who lived it.
March 12, 2019
An entirely emotionless memoir of the author's experience as a German U-boat officer during World War II. This is not 'Das Boot' that's for sure. If you're looking for any kind of introspection of thoughts on life and death in the harrowing confines of a submarine, it's not here. Alternatively, if you're looking instead for technical information on how German submarines operated in comparison to those of the Allies, that's not really here either. The book just kind of plods along,a profession of incidents one after another. 'This happened, and then this happened, and then this, and then some more, and then the war was over'. There's some interesting historic incidents, like how the Germans had to resort to using submarines to move freight late in the was since they were so desperate for raw material, and how Giese and his crew were detained by the Americans, before we entered the war, and transported across the country, and then across the Pacific to get back to Germany . There are lots of photos too, which are interesting. Worthwhile for the really hard cover WWII history reader only.
September 24, 2014
Giese was on an officer on a German ocean liner in the Caribbean when England and Germany declared war and was actually protected in a mid-sea standoff by the neutral American navy from being captured by the British. He and his crew were brought to the US through NY, sent to California where they eventually got on a Japanese boat and were carried to Japan. He was put on a merchant ship that supplied fuel and supplies to German raiders sinking Allied ships and made his way to occupied France. Eventually, he ended up on a German U-Boat and sunk both English and I believe one American ship. The odd politics of war.
Griese describes the wonderful times the sailors had in occupied France with the pretty girls, great food and fine wines as well as similar good ole times in Norway hunting and skiing with the locals.
He was devoted to Hitler and the Nazi's as he was a loyal German and was receiving the news via Goebbels.
It was interesting to see the war from this point of view and the book is accompanied by photo's he took an the time. A quick read and interesting subject matter.
Griese describes the wonderful times the sailors had in occupied France with the pretty girls, great food and fine wines as well as similar good ole times in Norway hunting and skiing with the locals.
He was devoted to Hitler and the Nazi's as he was a loyal German and was receiving the news via Goebbels.
It was interesting to see the war from this point of view and the book is accompanied by photo's he took an the time. A quick read and interesting subject matter.
April 20, 2013
An interesting read if you like WWII U-boat stories. The most surprising aspect of the book was the manner in which these U-boat sailors were treated in occupied France and in the other occupied areas of the world where they traveled during the war. They were treated most warmly wherever they went which I found very surprising.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews