THE U-BOAT SAILOR’S SECRET

On the 11th of December 1941, Adolf Hitler declared war on the United States of America, drawing the country into the heat and bloodshed of World War ll. As an act of aggression Hitler deployed his dreaded U-boat wolf packs into the waters of the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico, to patrol the American coastline.

The U-boats were part of what became known as Operation Drumbeat, a covert Nazi plan to target and sink merchant vessels carrying supplies to the Allied Forces in Europe. Amid the carnage that followed a single U-boat officer, stationed aboard the U-166, was plunged into the heart of an amazing story.

A story of love, loss and forgiveness that bridged the gap between two continents and irrevocably changed the lives of two people. Join us as we explore their amazing story and take a look at the dramatic and providential events that brought them together.

‘GRAVEYARD OF THE ATLANTIC’

This is Cape Hatteras, a small curve in a thin strip of islands known as the Outer Banks. The islands are nestled in the waters of the Atlantic Ocean along the coast of North Carolina. During World War II this swath of ocean was frequented by merchant ships ferrying supplies to allied nations in Europe.

When Hitler declared war on the United States, these waters became a special arena for the Nazi war machine. Beginning in 1942, Admiral Karl Donitz, head of the Nazi Kriegsmarine or Navy, deployed dozens of U-boats to target and sink all merchant ships carrying cargo and supplies to the Allies.

It is estimated that by the end of World War II, German U-boats had sunk more than 800 ships with thousands of casualties and millions of tonnes of cargo on board.

Nearby is the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum located in Hatteras, North Carolina where you can learn more about some of these World War II vessels. Of special interest is a Nazi Enigma machine, used on board U-boats to send and receive coded messages.

This particular Enigma machine was recovered from the U-85, the first Nazi U-boat loss of the war, sunk by gunfire from the USS Roper in March of 1942. But Hitler’s relentless U- boat ‘wolf packs’ didn’t limit themselves to the waters of the Atlantic.

In May 1942, a German U-boat surfaced in broad daylight and in full view of sunbathers lounging on the beach in Boca Raton, Florida. The U-456 proceeded to torpedo the oil tanker Eclipse and the nearby freighter Delisle, which was carrying a cargo of camouflage paint.

There were even rumours that locals along the gulf coast had been recruited by the Nazis to supply U-boat crews with food, fuel, and other supplies.

ONO ISLAND

As intriguing as all these stories are, there is one story that stands out among them all. A story that weaves all these pieces together, infusing them with a more personal, human element. It is a story of a man and a woman on opposing sides of the war; a sailor washed ashore and a grieving widow walking along the beach looking for answers.

On a cool night close to the end of World War II, a young woman slipped into a small boat on the shores of Orange Beach, Alabama. Quietly she dropped a large vegetable tin at her feet, took up the oars and began to pull towards the dim coast of Ono Island.

Around the close of the war Ono Island was nothing more than a dumping ground for rubbish. It was this that drew the young woman towards the island that night: the fact that it was devoid of human activity, not the sort of place that anyone would be likely to snoop around in.

Reaching the island, she dragged the boat up onto the sandy beach and picked her way along the shore, cradling the precious vegetable tin in her hands. Inside it were the contents

of a past life, a dangerous life, that could jeopardise her happiness and the life of the man she loved.

Dropping to her knees at the base of a large wax myrtle growing on the crown of a sandy dune she began to dig a hole around its thick roots. Once she was satisfied with its depth and size she gently dropped the vegetable tin with its precious contents into the damp, sandy earth and covered it.

The young woman walked back to her boat, dragged it into the water and slipped into the waters of the Gulf of Mexico, as silent as a phantom on the dark waves. Her secret remained buried for the next sixty years, undisturbed on the tiny island.

A CHANCE DISCOVERY

About sixty years later Ono Island was unrecognisable. The island was no longer a vast rubbish tip, but had become highly developed and was a home to many families. Writer Andy Andrews and his family were among these residents, and one day he found himself clearing a dead wax myrtle tree that stood dangerously close to his home.

As he wrestled with the stump, digging up the roots, his spade struck metal. Pausing, Andrews went down on his knees and began to dig up handfuls of sandy soil until he found a rusted vegetable tin sunk deep in the sand.

Prying open the rusted lid, Andrews discovered a swathe of leather, hardened by age and thick with mould. A silver button tumbled onto the sand as he gingerly peeled back a corner. Picking it up, he examined it, noticing the anchor that was engraved on its face. Completely flipping open the leather he found an odd assortment of objects inside.

There were a total of 8 buttons, a silver anchor badge, a black and silver medal with a strip of red, black and white ribbon still attached, a ring and three black and white photos slightly water damaged.

After examining the contents and doing some research, Andrews discovered that they were objects belonging to a German Kriegsmarine officer. The Kriegsmarine or German Navy, together with the Heer or army and the Luftwaffe or airforce, combined to make up the Wehrmacht, Hitler’s Nazi armed forces.

Fascinated by his discovery, Andrews began to talk to the senior citizens of Orange Beach, in an attempt to uncover as much as he could about Nazi Kriegsmarine activity in the

area. During his research, he spoke to an elderly couple who were members of his local church.

Identifying them under the pseudonyms of Helen and Josef Newman, Andrews spent several afternoons with them, asking them questions. What he discovered was that the objects in the vegetable tin belonged to Josef, and that they had been hidden on Ono Island by Helen.

The Newmans then proceeded to tell Andrews their story, which he chronicled in his best selling book The Heart Mender. Their story is one of the most fascinating and touching accounts of human experience during the horrors of World War II.

JOSEF’S STORY

Josef Landermann was a young German under-lieutenant, serving on board the Nazi U- boat U-166 under the command of Captain Hans Gunther Khulmann. 

Josef had studied world history at the University of Oxford on a full scholarship. After returning to Germany, he found work as a high school history teacher and married his high- school sweet-heart, Tatiana. A year later Tatiana gave birth to a little baby girl whom they named Rosa.

When Rosa was still a baby, Josef was conscripted to serve Hitler’s armed forces that were mustering for war. He was given three days to say good-bye to his young family and report for duty, where he was assigned to the Kreigsmarine as a cadet.

He was later assigned to the U-166, shortly before it began war exercises in preparation for active combat. Before the U-boat was deployed to the Gulf of Mexico Josef went home on a three day leave pass to see his wife and daughter, in May 1942.

While he was visiting them, on the 30th of May, over 1000 RAF and American bombers raided Cologne, dropping bombs on the city. When Josef heard the drone of aeroplanes, he ran out of their small apartment to see which direction the strikes were coming from.

As he stood on the street staring at the darkened sky, filled with the inky silhouettes of enemy aeroplanes, he heard a sharp whistling over his shoulder. Turning he watched in horror as a bomb fell directly onto the apartment building he had just come out of, demolishing it in a huge explosion.

Desperately Josef worked his way through the rubble, calling out for Tatiana and Rosa. At noon the next day he finally found them, both dead, Rosa tucked in Tatiana’s arms. Grief-stricken Josef sat beside the debris until he was found by the Gestapo, who told him his primary responsibility was to Hitler and his cause.

They didn’t even let him bury his family, but sent him straight back to serve on board the U-166.  Before the U-166 was deployed, Hitler, along with Admiral Karl Donitz inspected the U-boat and its crew. There Khulmann was informed by Donitz that there would be an additional aspect to their mission, and an extra crew member.

A Nazi party observer named Ernst Schneider was assigned to the U-boat. Schneider would act as a point man for Nazi high command, sending and receiving coded messages regarding their missions in the Gulf of Mexico.

Schneider had known Landermann when they were both students at Oxford. While at Oxford, Schneider had attacked a Jewish professor in the middle of a lecture, and Josef along with another student had hauled him away before he seriously injured the man. Ever since that day, Schneider had harboured a serious grudge against Josef.

When they both ended up on board the U-166 Schneider plotted for a way to get rid of Josef without arousing suspicion. On the 19th of July 1942, when the U-boat was surfaced for a routine rendezvous with a supply ship, Schneider shot Josef in a premeditated attack.

THE SURVIVOR

Josef tumbled into the waters of the Gulf of Mexico, bleeding and terrified in the darkness. The submarine was bobbing alongside the anchored supply boat and Josef managed to hide in the shadows of the boat, grabbing onto one of the tyres tied to its rail.

When the boat revved, Josef hitched a ride, letting go thirty metres away from the U- boat. He was hoping that the captain would turn on the search light to look for him. But the search light never came on. Instead, the submarine melted seamlessly beneath the dark waters and disappeared.

Alone in the water, trailing blood from two open wounds, Josef began to panic, fearing an imminent shark attack. But the tide was rushing back into Mobile Bay, carrying everything in the water towards land.

Clinging to a piece of timber, Josef allowed himself to be carried along by the tide until he hit the Dixie Bar, a massive sandbar not far from shore. When Josef felt his feet hit the sandbar, he stumbled towards shore for three kms before falling face down on the beach.

HELEN’S STORY

That night, Helen Mason, a young widow, was out walking on the beach at 2:30 am. Helen lived in a little cottage she had inherited from an aunt located on the sand dunes at Orange Beach, Alabama. Helen’s husband had been an American air force instructor.

Helen and Tyler Mason had been married four months when Tyler volunteered to teach a two-week course to a detached wing of the RAF outside London, in February 1941. Tyler finished the training in 12 days, and was getting ready to head back home when he was killed in a Nazi Luftwaffe bombing raid.

His death left Helen numb with grief and bitterness. She hated America for allowing her husband to go to England and she hated the British for not protecting him while he was in their care. But her most bitter rage was reserved for the Nazis who had killed him.

In the early morning hours of the 20th of July 1942, as Helen Mason walked on the beach near her house, she spotted a dark form slumped on the sand near the surf. As she came closer, she realised it was a man washed up on the beach.

The man was lying face down in the sand, blood oozing from his right arm and leg. Helen rolled him onto his back and looked him over, realising he was alive.

She was about to offer him help when she took a closer look at his uniform, and it occurred to her that he wasn’t an American sailor. She asked him who he was, and he gave her his name in reply.

When she pointedly asked if he was German, Josef had no choice but to say yes. That single, innocuous word let loose a storm of emotion inside Helen. Screaming at the wounded man lying helplessly before her, she began to punch him in the face and pummel his wounded shoulder.

She accused him of killing her husband, as she directed her pent-up anger to the wounded sailor. Josef Landermann lay impassively on the beach as Helen assaulted him. Finally, physically unable to punch him anymore, Helen crawled away from him and collapsed on the sand, sobbing hysterically.

When she had finally calmed down Helen tried to figure out what to do with Josef. Should she kill him? She didn’t have any weapons on her. She seriously considered dragging him back into the surf and holding his head beneath the water but decided that she didn’t have the energy to do it.

Finally, Helen decided to turn him into the police the next morning. Having formulated a plan Helen shakily got to her feet and began to walk back towards her cottage, when the man’s quiet voice drifted over the pounding surf to reach her, apologising for the loss of her husband. He then began to cry – a horrible wail that filled the air, and rose heaving against the roar of the waves.

Lying on the beach, sobbing in anguish and shame, Josef Landermann called out to God, repeating the names of his wife and daughter over and over again in the darkness. Helen stood there watching him until he had calmed down.

He asked Helen for her husband’s name, and Helen gave it to him. Then without much thought she walked over to him and grabbed him by the collar, jerking hard and commanding him to stand up.

Struggling, Josef managed to get to his feet. Helen steadied them both and then commanded him to walk. Bewildered, Josef asked where they were going, and Helen pointed her chin in the direction of her house.

Together they ambled along, Josef leaning heavily on Helen for support. “Why are you helping me?” Josef asked, breaking the silence. “Who said I was helping you?” Helen shot back, as she navigated the sandy path homeward. When they reached her cottage Helen left him on the bottom step of her home, and told him to get up the stairs and into the house. She then left for work. 

When Helen returned home from work, she found Josef lying on the bathroom floor, still in his wet clothes, and burning up with fever. Schneider’s bullet had sliced clean through his shoulder, leaving a gaping exit wound on his back, but no broken bones. 

Helen tended to Josef’s wounds as best as she could, and left him on her couch, where he remained deliriously calling out for his wife and daughter for several days. Then one day Helen returned home to find Josef recovered, and sitting on the couch in her tiny living room.

He was polite and courteous, and something about his manner prevented Helen from turning him over to the authorities. Josef remained in Helen’s cottage where they maintained an uneasy truce until one evening, about a month after she found him, things took a dramatic turn.

SHARED EXPERIENCES

They were out walking along the beach one evening in August when Helen asked Josef if he missed his wife. “Yes I do. You miss your husband, don’t you?” he asked. Aghast, Helen stared at him for a moment before saying “It’s not the same!” 

“Why is it not the same?” Josef asked quietly. “Because my husband is dead.” Helen responded. “Then it is the same!” Josef said.

It was only then that Helen realised that Josef’s family was dead. With tears streaming down his face he recounted the events surrounding their deaths to Helen, and then collapsed onto the sand, weeping.

Helen sat beside him, a gentle hand on his heaving back in quiet solidarity. Finally regaining his composure, Josef looked up at her and told her that he knew that he must

forgive her and those who had taken his family from him. “We are the products of our past,” he said “but we don’t have to be prisoners of it.”

Confused Helen asked him why he needed to forgive her, and he responded by telling her that as surely as Germans had killed her husband, Americans and their allies had killed his wife. Incredulous and incensed, Helen insisted that her husband had nothing to do with the RAF and the Allies bombing the city of Cologne.

Josef listened to her quietly before standing up and glaring down at her. He acknowledged that the RAF had bombed Cologne, and then pointed out to her that her husband had trained the RAF.

Over the months that followed Josef moved out of Helen’s cottage into a smaller, squatter’s cottage along the beach. Their friendship developed, and both of them learned to forgive not only each other, but also those who had taken so much from them.

In order to hide his German origins Josef Landerman changed his name to Josef Newman, and adopted a cover story and an English accent. He and Helen fell in love and were married in 1947, well after the end of the war.

RESTORATION AND FORGIVENESS

Josef and Helen’s story is remarkable, not only because of the unusual circumstances surrounding how they first met and developed their relationship, but also because of the very essence of their story. At the very heart of their journey as individuals and as a couple is the story of restoration and forgiveness.

In the book he wrote about their story author Andy Andrews says this: 

“Sometimes we attach our entire lives to the moment we were hurt and allow it to define and consume our very existence …our hurt continues to live until we forgive.”

Helen was consumed by bitterness after the death of her husband. Josef was filled with grief after the senseless deaths of his wife and child. Each of them had to choose to forgive those who had taken so much from them.

It was not a case of managing their anger. This simply cannot be done. The key to their restoration lay in their willingness to forgive.

But forgiveness is not something that we can do on our own. The much-used proverb tells us that “to err is human, but to forgive is divine” and indeed it takes a supernatural act of divine grace to empower us to forgive – and not only forgive, but to surrender the past and experience healing.

The Bible gives us some incredible exhortations and assurances about forgiveness. Ephesians 4:32 says this:

“And be kind one to another, tender hearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.” NKJV

We are also given the secret to accomplishing this, in Philippians 4:13,

“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” NKJV

You see, God is the greatest forgiver of all time. His ability and willingness to forgive those who have hurt him, betrayed him and taken so much from him far surpasses anything that we can ever imagine. And that is why we should turn to Him with the pain and bitterness of our past, asking him to help us to do what we can never accomplish on our own.

SPECIAL OFFER AND CLOSING PRAYER

If you’d like to let go of the past and face the future with hope, if you’d like to experience inner peace and happiness, if you’d like to cast all your burdens on God today, and find true peace and healing for your heart, then I’d like to recommend the free gift we have for all our Incredible Journey viewers today.

It’s the booklet, Forgiving the Unforgivable. This booklet is our gift to you and is absolutely free. I guarantee there are no costs or obligations whatsoever. So, make the most of this wonderful opportunity to receive the gift we have for you today.

If you’ve enjoyed our journey to Cape Hatteras on the Outer Banks, and Orange Beach in the Gulf of Mexico, along with our reflections on the priceless gift of true forgiveness, then be sure to join us again next week, when we’ll share another of life’s journey’s together. Until then, let’s ask God to lead us to find real meaning and purpose in our lives – and inner-peace and lasting happiness. Let’s pray.

Dear Heavenly Father, we all face challenges in life, and we often struggle to forgive those who have hurt us. But Lord, may we remember that we can only find real peace when we turn our pain, bitterness and our past over to You. Please grant us the inner-peace and happiness that comes from knowing that You’re in charge of our lives, and that you will care for us. Please bless us now we pray, in Jesus name, Amen.