Kapitän zur See Hans W. Langsdorf: Suicice Letter (December 20, 1939)

Ironically. Graf Spee was named after a German naval commander who had his squadron destroyed in the South Atlantic during World War I. Before shooting himself in his Buenos Aires hotel room with the German naval battle flag laid out on his bed. Graf Spee Kapitän zur See Hans W. Langsdorf penned this suicide note.

"After a long struggle I reached the grave decision to scuttle the Admiral Graf Spee, in order to prevent her from falling into enemy hands. I am still convinced that under the circumstances this decision was the only one left, once I had taken my ship into the trap of Montevideo. For with the ammunition remaining, any attempt to fight my way back to open and deep water was bound to fail. And yet only in deep water could I have scuttled the ship, after having used the remaining ammunition, thus avoiding her falling to the enemy.

Sooner than expose my ship to the danger that after a brave fight she would fall partly or completely into enemy hands. I decided not to fight but to destroy the equipment and then scuttle the ship. It was clear to me that this decision might be consciously or unwittingly misconstrued by persons ignorant of my motives, as being attributable entirely or partly to personal considerations. Therefore I decided from the beginning to bear the consequences involved in this decision. For a captain with a sense of honor, it goes without saying that his personal fate cannot be separated from that of his ship.

I postponed my intention as long as I still bore responsibility for decisions concerning the welfare of the crew under my command. After today's decision of the Argentine government, I can do no more for my ship's company. Neither will I be able to take an active part in the present struggle of my country. I can now only prove by my death that the fighting services of the Third Reich are ready to die for the honor of the flag.

I alone bear the responsibility for scuttling the Admiral Graf Spee. I am happy to pay with my life for any possible reflection on the honor of the flag. I shall face my fate with firm faith in the cause and the future of the nation and of my Führer. I am writing this letter to Your Excellency in the quiet of the evening, after a calm deliberation, in order that you may be able to inform my superior officers, and to counter public rumors if this should become necessary."

Cpt. Langsdorf addressed this letter to Otto Langmann, the German Government's representative in Uruguay. Langmann was a Evangelical Christian pastor in Montevideo and an ardent NAZI. hat seems a strange combination, but many Germans before the War were attracted to Hitler by his patriotic fervor and not the murderous atrocities Hitler would order during the War. Langmann would return to Germany during the War and work at the Foreign Office in Berlin. He was inducted in the Volksstrum and captured by the Red Army during the Battle of Berlin (Apil m195). He spent 10 years in Soviet POW camps and die in Germany soon after his release (1956).

Langsdorf's letter has to be seen in the context of what the German Navy dis at the end of World War II. After the Battle of Jutland (1915), the High Seas Feet returned to port ad basically remained there for the rest of the War. Before the Armistice, the German Admirals planned a major confrontation with the British Grand Fleet which included a few American battleships. It would have been suicide. The battle never occured because Communist dissident sturned many of the sailors against their officers and the men mutinied. This was a matter of great shame within the German Navy after the War. And at Montevideo, Langsdorf is also refusing to fight. It is why Langsdorf sounds so defensive. If he had known that only a battered cruiser force awaited him off Montevideo, he might have fought it out with the British.

Created: 1:40 PM 5/28/2025
Last updated: 1:40 PM 5/28/2025