STBaltimore: That is indeed a classy looking ship.
Claas saved me from terminal frustration by sending me a terrific copy of the article that STBaltimore posted earlier. In answer to Steve’s question, there isn’t anything really new in it, except that the author, Reinhard Bense provided photos of U-Deutschland-related artifacts I didn’t know existed. He also wrote an interesting bit regarding the iron EK paperweight shown above. Without providing a source, he said, “It is suggested that this souvenir iron cross was made by an American-owned firm, National Radiator, in Schönenbeck in 1916.” He says the story is supported by the fact that so many of them are available in the Schönenbeck area. But he then adds that another author, Jörg Nimmergut wrote an article in 1990, “Ein Erinnerungskreux besonderer Art,” that appeared in Orden-Militar-Magazin in which he said the souvenirs were made in Baltimore using the U-Deutschland’s iron ballast.
That’s the information I had when I was doing the research for The Merchant U-Boat. One thing is for sure, those iron cross paperweights were on sale in Baltimore and New York, along with several other ballast-made items while the U-Deutschland was still there in July, so there is no way those could have been made in Germany. STBaltimore talked to someone who said they were made in Germany and brought to the US aboard the U-Deutschland. That might be true, but they would have arrived in New London in November 1916. It’s possible that they were made in two places, and it’s an interesting possibility to discuss. If that’s what happened, how is it that they all look alike? Was the mold used in Baltimore identical to the one used in Germany? The photo that Bense put in his article looks exactly like mine. What fun. Dwight
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