Crewman from a WW2 German U-Boat has words we should ponder

[Aristus]

40. The U-505 is a Type VII/C boat. It's the only one left in the world.

The one in Kiel, Germany is a Type IX, also the only one of its kind in the world.

I highly recommend watching "Das Boot"; watch the longest version you can get a hold of. There are long stretches in it that are pretty boring, but give a good idea of what life was like aboard a German attack submarine. Watch it in German, but with English subtitles. Here's why: There are two very amusing scenes in the film related to the sub captain and his favorite song: "It's A Long Way To Tipperary". It's jarring to go from hearing nothing but German to hearing this impeccably English song on the soundtrack. Also, another sub captain, at a party at a brothel near the beginning of the film, inexplicably bursts into English for one single line: "I am too drunk to f**k!" A few moments of surprised levity in a grim film.

Another interesting piece of trivia; Every one of the German actors with a speaking role was able to speak English fluently. So when it came time for the film to be dubbed into English, each actor dubbed his own role. Plus, German and English are syntactically similar enough that there's very little spoken-word-to-lip-movement incongruities.

Enjoy!