The ''Laconia'' Order (german: Laconia-Befehl) was issued by

Karl Dönitz Karl Dönitz (sometimes spelled Doenitz; ; 16 September 1891 24 December 1980) was a German admiral who briefly succeeded Adolf Hitler as head of state in May 1945, holding the position until the dissolution of the Flensburg Government follo ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

as a result of the ''Laconia'' incident, forbidding the rescue of Allied survivors. Prior to this incident, vessels of the customarily picked up survivors of sunk

Allied An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

vessels. In September 1942, off the coast of

West Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Maurit ...

in the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

, the German vessels—among them , and —attempting to rescue survivors of the ocean liner were indiscriminately attacked by American aircraft, despite having informed the Allies of the rescued Allied soldiers on board—along with many women and children—beforehand. The order was as follows: # All efforts to save survivors of sunken ships, such as the fishing out of swimming men and putting them on board lifeboats, the righting of overturned lifeboats, or the handing over of food and water, must stop. Rescue contradicts the most basic demands of the war: the destruction of hostile ships and their crews. # The orders concerning the bringing-in of captains and chief engineers stay in effect. # Survivors are to be saved only if their statements are important for the boat. # Be harsh. Remember that the enemy has no regard for women and children when bombing German cities! This order, along with War Order No. 154 of 1939, were introduced by the prosecution at the postwar

Nuremberg trial The Nuremberg trials were held by the Allies against representatives of the defeated Nazi Germany, for plotting and carrying out invasions of other countries, and other crimes, in World War II. Between 1939 and 1945, Nazi Germany invaded m ...

of Grand Admiral Karl Dönitz at which Dönitz was indicted for war crimes, including the issuance of the ''Laconia'' Order:

Footnotes

{{reflist Battle of the Atlantic Military history of Germany during World War II RMS Laconia (1921) World War II crimes