World War: Clever Boys

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Last week the 51,731-ton luxury liner Bremen, missing for six weeks, was discovered in the place where she had been most generally believed to be hiding—Murmansk. The pride of the German merchant marine* had been sitting in Russia's only ice-free Arctic port for a full month. The account of her hair-raising northward run from New York, through the British blockade to sanctuary, came from Elbert Post, ship's cook, only Dutchman in her crew. Repatriated, he gave the story of the Bremen's, last voyage to the Amsterdam newspaper, Het Volk:

"The Bremen left New York harbor [on Aug. 30] at her full speed of 32 knots in the direction of the English Channel. The captain changed direction 200 miles from New York, removed all flags and declined to answer radio calls.

"While she was speeding on, we worked hard and painted the ship grey all over. We were told to paint or drown. On September 3, Captain [Adolf] Ahrens told us that war had started and that the situation was bad.

" 'I don't know why the American Spitzbuben [young rascals] detained us,' he said. 'I am pledged that the enemy shall not get us. I would rather go down and shoot myself.'

"All the crew 'Heil Hitlered' except me, and sang psalms. . . . Eventually we realized we were sailing north. The captain said we were near Iceland, and later disclosed that he was warned just in time that between Iceland and Britain one British ship was watching every ten miles.

"The crew of 940 were trained in lifeboat drill daily and hardly slept. Drums of gasoline stood on deck in order to burn the Bremen at any moment. Lifeboats were kept swung over the side, and intake valves on the hull were ready to be opened.

"We sailed between Iceland and Spitsbergen, and on the morning of September 6 viewed Murmansk and saw a Russian cruiser. The Bremen had luck: fuel for half a day was left when we arrived.

"The old man [Captain Ahrens] brought us through, and no matter what you might say about a Nazi captain, he, together with all these clever boys, outwitted the British Navy."