Hans-Alfred Szuldrzynski travelled the world from 1943 to 1945 as a radio seaman on the German submarine 532 and was later a prisoner of war in England for three years. He wrote a skilful contemporary document, a warning against war and a lesson in resilience that can be a light to us all in dark times. His vivid descriptions of the beauty of nature in East Asia and his encounters with the people there make fascinating reading. Without the cruelty of war and the fear of death, it must have been an enchanting world.
Author Hans-Alfred Szuldrzynski was born on 24 November 1923 in Lehe, now Bremerhaven, as the son of the merchant Felix and his wife Maria. In 1941, he completed his training as a machine fitter with the company Grundmann und Gröschel Hochseefischerei and in the winter of 1942/43 he joined the navy. This is where his extraordinary story begins, one of the few accounts of German submariners who survived the Second World War.
