WW2 WWII German Navy Kriegsmarine Admiral Graf Spee Battleship Crew POW Pass

Description

The Admiral Graf Spee pocket battleship was the pride of the German navy. It conducted 5 non-intervention patrols during the Spanish Civil War and participated in the Coronation Review of King George VI in May of 1937.  It was deployed to the South Atlantic in the weeks before the outbreak of WWII to be positioned in merchant sea lanes once war was declared. Between September and December of1939, it sank 9 vessels totaling 50,089 gross register tons before being confronted by three British Cruisers at the Battle of the River Plate on December 13. It inflicted heavy damage on the British ships but was very damaged and put into port at Montevideo, Uruguay.  False reports of a superior British Naval force on its way, the commander of the ship ordered it scuttled.  Wounded sailors were taken to local hospitals and the dead buried with full military honors. On December 20, the commander committed suicide in full dress uniform.
The ship's crew were taken to Argentina where they were interned for the remainder of the war.  Many were interned on Isla Martin Garcia and were allowed to leave the prison for town on occasion. This Argentinian document is a pass which each sailor going on "leave" had to execute by which they swore they would return on the date specified on the document. A very interesting part of WWII history for a crew that managed to be imprisoned, albeit in a minimally secure way, for most of the war. Document measures about 8 5/8 inches by 4 3/8 inches.
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