ABANDON SHIP!

The story of the fates of passengers on a British former luxury liner torpedoed by a German U-boat in September 1942 off the west coast of Africa.

The Laconia, with nearly 3,000 passengers aboard—Italian POWs, Polish guards, British military personnel, and civilians—was traveling from Egypt to England via the Cape of Good Hope. After being hit by the German submarine, survivors scrambled to board the insufficient number of lifeboats and rafts. After realizing the POWs—Germany’s allies—were onboard, along with women and children, U-boat Cmdr. Hartenstein tried to save as many people as he could and radioed for assistance. However, during the rescue, an American plane bombed the U-boat, forcing another evacuation of the frightened passengers. The personal stories of a few of the British survivors of varying ages and backgrounds will especially grab readers’ attention. This powerful account of human resilience and behavior during crises will inspire contemplation of the impact of war. The book explores extremes: the British mistreatment of the POWs, Hartenstein’s humanitarian actions, stronger survivors throwing a weakened sailor off a lifeboat, and an ill doctor who drowned himself, sacrificing his own life to avoid infecting others on his lifeboat. The lengthy lifeboat voyages under the brutal sun with little food and water and the experiences some survivors had in a Vichy French prison camp in Morocco are vividly described.

A gripping wartime story that probes moral uncertainties.