“Schacht, Group Eisbär, Würdemann and Wilamowitz, proceed to Hartenstein immediately.”
Hartenstein was the commander who had sunk the ship. Later, I had to have several boats turn back because their distance from the scene was too great. The boat that was furthest from the area and received orders to participate in the rescue was 710 miles away, and therefore could not arrive before two days.
Above all I asked Hartenstein, the commander who had sunk the ship, whether the Laconia had sent out radio messages, because I hoped that as a result British and American ships would come to the rescue. Hartenstein affirmed that and, besides, he himself sent out the following radio message in English...
FLOTTENRICHTER KRANZBÜHLER: That is on Page 36, Mr. President, under time figure 0600.
DÖNITZ: “If any ship will assist the shipwrecked Laconia crew, I will not attack her, provided I am not being attacked by ship or air force.”
Summing up briefly, I gained the impression from the reports of the U-boats that they began the rescue work with great zeal.
FLOTTENRICHTER KRANZBÜHLER: How many U-boats were there?
DÖNITZ: There were three or four submarines. I received reports that the numbers of those taken on board by each U-boat were between 100 and 200. I believe Hartenstein had 156 and another 131. I received reports which spoke of the crew being cared for and taken over from lifeboats; one report mentioned 35 Italians, 25 Englishmen, and 4 Poles; another, 30 Italians and 24 Englishmen; a third, 26 Italians, 39 Englishmen, and 3 Poles. I received reports about the towing of lifeboats towards the submarines. All these reports caused me the greatest concern because I knew exactly that this would not end well.
My concern at that time was expressed in a message to the submarines radioed four times, “Detailed boats to take over only so many as to remain fully able to dive.” It is obvious that, if the narrow space of the submarine—our U-boats were half as big as the enemy’s—is crowded with 100 to 200 additional people, the submarine is already in absolute danger, not to speak of its fitness to fight.
Furthermore, I sent the message, “All boats are to take on only so many people...”