Another Place, Another Time: A U-Boat Officer's Wartime Album

Neither Sharks nor Wolves: The Men of Nazi Germany's U-Boat Arm, 1939-1945. As a boy growing up in Germany, Werner Hirschmann dreamed of going to sea. In 1940, he was accepted as an officer cadet in the Kriegsmarine, the German navy, and after rigorous training became an engineer officer in the elite U-Boot-Waffe or submarine service. Using his wartime diaries and remarkable photograph albums, as well as historical documents, Werner Hirschmann recounts the many interesting episodes in his naval career, including serving on a destroyer that escorted Bismarck on her last operation, U-boat operations in the Atlantic and Mediterranean, being besieged by the Americans at the U-boat base at Lorient in France, and his last patrol to North America in 1945, on which his submarine, U-190, sank HMCS Esquimalt, the last Canadian warship lost during the war. Hirschmann provides a unique view of the day-to-day life of a U-boat officer who, like young men on both sides, did his best to enjoy life while trying to do his duty. An epilogue describes his postwar life as a prisoner-of-war in Canada and Britain.After the war, he moved to Canada, where he pursued a successful career and eventually became an honorary member of the veterans' association of HMCS Esquimalt. A key feature for many readers is the technical section that provides a detailed pictorial tour of the Type IX/C40 U-boat, including many previously unpublished photographs discovered in Canadian archives. "Another Place, Another Time" was first published in 2004 and is regarded as a classic of U-boat literature. This paperback edition is printed on the same high-quality paper as the original hardcover to ensure the best reproduction of the many superb photographs.

“"When studying the U-boat war, we tend to forget that the sailors involved had families, girlfriends, wives, and children on the home front. Trying to maintain some semblance of normalcy amidst increasing decay in Germany was daunting, yet Hirschmann puts a very human face on all that was happening. He likely would have remained invisible to history save for the efforts of Donald Graves. ... Future generations will be grateful. Unfortunately, this book will never be as celebrated as Iron Coffins - but that is almost the brilliance of it. Hirschman takes a decidedly low-key theme in relating his wartime adventures, and that makes it easy to connect with what he is saying. He is not over-the-top in describing U-boat warfare, in fact he stresses the weeks and weeks of monotony, which more than offset the combat the boat saw. The book flows extremely well, and is richly illustrated with photos from the author's personal collection that do a wonderful job of bringing to life his time as a U-boat engineer.... Highly, highly recommended." -- uboat.net”

"This autobiography is a mixture of memoir & diary & packed with photographs (one clearly shows the youth of U-boat crews at the war's end). It's not Iron Coffins or Das Boot, but it is a very good read and offers a real insight into the men of the closing stages of the war. As such it's a must for U-boat buffs" -- Navy News, October 2011

After the war, Werner Hirschmann spent a period in Canada and Britain as a pris-oner of war before being repatriated to Germany. In the 1950s he emigrated to Canada. He lives in Toronto and is an honorary member of the veterans association of those who served on HMCS Equimalt, the Canadian warship his U-boat sank. Donald E. Graves, one of Canadas best known military historians, is the author, co-author or editor of more than 20 books dealing primarily with the Napoleonic period, including the War of 1812, and the Second World War. Click here to visit his website for information on all his books.

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