Georg Högel had an interesting career in the Kriegsmarine. He was the radioman on U-30 under Fritz Julius Lemp then later, aboard U-110 also under Lemp. U-30 attacked and sank the liner ATHENIA on 3 September 1939, against orders - and when his U-110 was under attack, Lemp ordered all hands to abandon ship - but the Brits swarmed aboard the sinking U-Boat and got all the code books.
Georg Högel was aboard U-30 which was:
The first U-Boat into combat in WW II;
The first U-Boat to launch torpedoes (they hit a rock they thought was a cruiser);
The first U-Boat to sink a ship (ATHENIA);
and because of the world-wide uproar over sinking of ATHENIA, it was Georg's own radio log that had the pages torn out to hide the attack.
The first U-Boat to enter a captured French port (Lorient).
And when the Royal Navy attacked and incapacitated U-110 and all hands abandoned, it was Georg's code books the Brits grabbed up. The Commander, Lemp, ordered all men off the boat with all haste and said to leave everything behind, not knowing that it would take so long for his boat to sink. The Brits stopped her from sinking and got all the codes. These were all Georg's code books.
This photo is a copy from one that Georg's father had carried in his wallet all the time Georg was in PoW camp from early 1941 until he returned two years after the end of the war. It has great significance to him.
Högel
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