''U-Boote westwärts!'' (in English: ''U-boats Westward!'') is a 1941 German war propaganda film promoting the ''
Kriegsmarine''.
It concerns a
U-boat
U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare ro ...
mission in the
Battle of the Atlantic and was produced by
UFA
Ufa ( ba, Өфө , Öfö; russian: Уфа́, r=Ufá, p=ʊˈfa) is the largest city and capital city, capital of Bashkortostan, Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Belaya River (Kama), Belaya and Ufa River, Ufa rivers, in the centre-n ...
. The
U-boat
U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare ro ...
used for the film was , which would later play a major role in
Operation Drumbeat
The "Second Happy Time" (; officially Operation Paukenschlag ("Operation Drumbeat"), and also known among German submarine commanders as the "American Shooting Season") was a phase in the Battle of the Atlantic during which Axis submarines att ...
.
Plot
The film opens aboard a U-boat as it returns from a mission. It then follows the crew onshore the day before they ship off for their next mission—meeting their family and sweethearts, spending a last night at a club, and so forth. Then they ship off, soon sighting and boarding a Dutch merchant ship, which they inspect for contraband. The boarding of the ship is shown being done professionally and in a non-confrontational manner. While they are aboard the Dutch ship, a
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...
ship spots them and tries to torpedo them, but the U-boat ends up sinking it.
Cast
*
Herbert Wilk
Herbert Wilk (1905–1977) was a German stage, television and film actor. He emerged as a screen actor during the Nazi era, appearing in war films such as '' U-Boote westwärts'' (1941).Kreimeier p.312 However the bulk of his career came after the ...
as
Kapitänleutnant
''Kapitänleutnant'', short: KptLt/in lists: KL, ( en, captain lieutenant) is an officer grade of the captains' military hierarchy group () of the German Bundeswehr. The rank is rated OF-2 in NATO, and equivalent to Hauptmann in the Heer an ...
Hoffmeister
*
Heinz Engelmann
Heinz Engelmann (1911–1996) was a German film actor. He was married to the actress Gertrud Meyen.
Selected filmography
* '' D III 88'' (1939)
* '' Drei Unteroffiziere'' (1939)
* ''Congo Express'' (1939)
* ''The Girl at the Reception'' (1940)
* ...
as
Olt. zur See Wiegand
*
Joachim Brennecke
Joachim Brennecke (6 December 1919 – 6 September 2011) was a German stage and film actor. During the Second World War he had prominent roles in Nazi propaganda films such as ''Attack on Baku'' and '' 5 June''.Kreimeier p.347
Selected filmograph ...
as
Lt. zur See v. Benedict
*
Ernst Wilhelm Borchert as
Olt. Griesbach
*
Karl John as Matr. Ob. Gefr. Drewitz
*
Clemens Hasse
Clemens Hasse (13 April 1908 – 28 July 1959) was a German actor and synchroniser.
Biography
Hasse was born in Königsberg, East Prussia to a public official and attended his stage education at the ''Preussisches Staatstheater'' in Berlin. B ...
as Masch.-Maat Sonntag
*
Ilse Werner
Ilse Werner (; born Ilse Charlotte Still, 11 July 1921 – 8 August 2005) was a Dutch-German actress, singer, and musical whistler.
Life
She was born in Batavia (present-day Jakarta, Indonesia) to a Dutch father, merchant and plantation owner, ...
as Irene Winterfeld
*
Admiral Karl Dönitz as himself
Motifs
The British are shown as cowardly and
duplicitous.
It also glamorizes death in battle: the British ship was torpedoed even though it had German POWs, and one dies, speaking of the honor of dying for the fatherland.
See also
*
List of German films 1933–1945
*
List of World War II films
This is a list of fictional feature films or miniseries which feature events of World War II in the narrative.
There is a separate list of World War II TV series.
Criteria
* The film or miniseries must be concerned with World War II (or the ...
References
External links
*
''U-Boote westwärts'' YouTube - Russian listing
1941 films
1940s war films
Films of Nazi Germany
Films directed by Günther Rittau
World War II submarine films
Nazi World War II propaganda films
U-boat fiction
German black-and-white films
UFA GmbH films
1940s German films
1940s German-language films
{{WWII-film-stub