U-56

From the highly interesting report by Knight's Cross bearer Walter Kaeding 
(see U-123) in Schaltung Kuste No. 103, pp. 23ff, at least the final section 
will be given here.

"Finally I had time to be concerned about my refugees. I did not suspect what 
awaited me down there. We had a wind strength of about 7, and the rear room was 
like a madhouse. One must imagine the situation of the refugees. After the 
strains of fleeing with their children, only equipped with the few things they 
could carry, in a bitterly cold winter, they came on board a submarine as 
landlubbers, into a world of men entirely strange to them.They are all crammed 
together in a space about as big as a double bed. No window to the outside, as 
the room is under the water line. The Diesels rumble from the next room, 
ventilators run, and along with that the typical U-Boat atmosphere that we 
ourselves notice only after a long vacation at home -- a mixture of Diesel oil, 
bilgewater, mold, engine exhaust, bathroom smell and human exhalations. None of 
them can stay on their legs on account of the seaway, for the movements of a 
U-Boat are rough, like those of a tumbler doll, because of the low-lying center 
of gravity. In addition there is the spiritual mood, the loss of a homeland, the 
uncertainty of a husband's fate on whatever front, about parents and siblings, 
and about their own fate. It is no surprise that they became seasick, and that 
the rear room was in an indescribable condition. "Two things help against 
seasickness: Fresh air and distraction, best of all, work. Despite all their 
apathy, they all were warmly dressed and -- even against their will -- had to go 
up to the bridge. The crew spent time with the children -- with the exception of 
the infant, who was the only one who lay in his hammock and seemed to be 
entertained by all the swaying.The rear room was cleaned, and the condition here 
slowly got back to normal.
"On January 30, 1945 we arrived at Kiel. I reported my boat to the chief of the 
5th U-Flotilla, Korv.Kpt. Moehle, my former commander on U-123. He was used to 
problems. First he arranged for the flotilla doctor to take care of my refugees 
immediately, then he talked of my own procedure with commands, and he found it 
splendid that in spite of all the commands that sounded otherwise, I had brought 
refugees along, and then we had a wonderful cognac and parted. "We did not yet 
know that in the sea area that we had passed through, the Wilhelm Gustloff would 
be hit by several torpedoes a few hours later and go to the bottom with more than 
5000 refugees and wounded.
"Thus ended the Odyssey of the refugees. When I came back on board, they were 
already gone. I don't know their names, but I hope that they found homes in the 
western part of our Fatherland and recovered over the years from the lost of 
their beautiful old homeland."

Ref: U-Boat Emblems Of World War II 1939-1945 by Georg Högel