How 11 Irish seamen saved almost 200 Nazi sailors.

[@liamp.oriordan7736]

My late father, a Leading Stoker in the Irish Naval Service was one of those who assisted those German sailors on arrival in Cobh. He described their condition as pitiful as they had been in the sea for so long and had seen their comrades perish in the icy waters. The Naval Service and Irish Army personnel gave them every assistance and compassion.

[@ThreeMinuteTales]

Wow Liam. That is fascinating. Amazing to see such compassion and humanity being shown towards those sailors. It was obviously a scene so dramatic, that your father remembered it so vividly. Incredible. Thanks for your comment.

[@kelloscully9632]

Humanity costs nothing and if we can all show it to each other there would be no wars only peace. Great video TMT, míle buíochas

[@ThreeMinuteTales]

Thanks a mill Kello. You are 100 per cent correct. Much appreciated.

[@tutts0558]

Another wonderful story of Irish people showing compassion. It's a shame so much Irish shipping and men were lost in that dark time.

[@ThreeMinuteTales]

Thanks a million Tutts0558. Much appreciated.

[@stevl4307]

Another great one AL 👏.. Your story's always make me be proud to be Irish 🇮🇪

[@ThreeMinuteTales]

Thank you buddy. Much appreciated as always. Cheers.

[@jasonsabourin2275]

The Humanitarian qualities of the Irish are unparalleled, those German boy's were truly lucky that day! All of those prisoners being taken in as house guests of the Irish i'm sure were treated very kindly, nevermind that it was during War time, and provisions were tough to come by.

[@brianc889]

Nice one! Too often we underestimate the power of compassion that act of caring which have the potential to turn a life around. Like what these heroic Irish seamen did. We can't heal the world today, but we can begin with an act of kindness. "The Irish, They are people of great worth"

[@ThreeMinuteTales]

I couldn't agree with you more Brian. Much appreciated, my friend.

[@lilliankeane5731]

Watching from Australia... that was a great story thank you... Irish heroes.. I liked the captain sticking to his guns, about where they should land first. I wondered what else they ate ? Only oranges? I also liked they developed friendships. Sad the other Irish boat got sunk though. War is never tidy though. And it’s grand to hear the accent now and then. 🇨🇮😁

[@ThreeMinuteTales]

Thank you Lillian. Glad you enjoyed the story.

[@oliverlane9716]

Its important to note that the "Law of Sea" to render aid was not followed by German Uboat, due to how vulnerable a surfaced Uboat was, as well seeing that their victims were civilians was terrible for morale. So to provide aid to those who would not have given you the same courtesy is additionally gallant.

[@thrandumbguy]

Absolutely brilliant. That's irish mentality summed up

[@pauledmondson7071]

A great story, but surely they were German Navy sailors not "Nazis"

[@ThreeMinuteTales]

Thanks Paul. But they were part of the regime, so I guess they were Nazis?

[@Shemus_Beasken]

The Kriegsmarine(1935 to 1945) was it's official designation ,so technically the NAZI's operated the navy at that time....I do understand where you're coming from do;as Nazi is used to often these days for things it shouldn't be used for....but you can definitely use it here!..ish...they did not take over the ship..legends

[@Murphy1968]

True. They weren't all Nazis

[@FyodorUshakovSuka]

@@ThreeMinuteTales Guessing is first symptom of rasism. Dummy

[@liamp.oriordan7736]

Yes, they were German Nany sailors. In a very distressed condition.

[@a-skepticalman6984]

The Law of the Sea is to render aid to any and all in distress. It has been so since people first ventured upon the waters. Those that would ignore it commit a great sin.

[@Flurb_Xray]

Hello. A very interesting and heart breaking war story. Beeing fo Polish and German decent directly because of WW2, I know that galantry and human kindness are a very rare luxury in times of war. Greetings!

[@ThreeMinuteTales]

Thank you for your comment. Yes indeed, it's lovely to know that even in war times, human kindness can be sometimes displayed. Ironically, I have a number of other videos that show expressions of kindness between 'enemies'. You should check them out. Thanks again and have a wonderful and peaceful weekend. 🇮🇪

[@Flurb_Xray]

@@ThreeMinuteTales Hello. Yes, when the world breaksdown, those stories stand out. I will check your channel for those stories. Thank you. Btw.: Lived in Cork City for half a year. Loved it. Greetings to Ireland.

[@ThreeMinuteTales]

@@Flurb_Xray Cork is a beautiful city. I've only been there a few times, but it really is a nice, friendly town. Thanks again for taking the time out of your day to watch the video and comment. Much appreciated.

[@jasonsabourin2275]

Nice work Three Minute Tales! Keep up the good work. P.S. Maybe you could look into that interesting story that Mr. Phillipe Cook typed in.

[@ThreeMinuteTales]

Thanks Jason. Much appreciated.

[@gerardomartinessanches2318]

Irish people always show his heart to those whos neds dosent care nationality or political ideology👏👏

[@fandangofandango2022]

Nicely Told Sir.

[@ThreeMinuteTales]

Thanks so much. Glad you enjoyed the story.

[@DomhnallOSuileabhainPrin-tm1fw]

They were no more Nazi sailors than the Irish rescuers were Fine Gail seamen

[@petergrossett6763]

Three minute tales,@ 9.46, that Irish, in a nice way!

[@jaykay6107]

So please edit the Nazi to German and ignore our own Nazis in Molesworth Street thank you very much!

[@trainingchannel1]

Three minute tales at nine minutes plus. Very Irish indeed!

[@nickjupp6868]

greatly done...

[@bluebear6570]

What´s a Nazi sailor? I know of no country called Nazi? Those sailors were German sailors!

[@marymamiekelly635]

Heard it all from my Grandparents - no country should kill prisoners

[@ThreeMinuteTales]

Absolutely Mary. I couldn't agree with you more. Thanks for the view and comment.

[@nawkir]

Good one Al

[@ThreeMinuteTales]

Cheers Ro. Just waiting for you to send me the transcript on the Poops story. Lol

[@phillipecook3227]

Great story. Unsurprisingly we don't hear about acts of humanity like this carried out by the Irish in WW2. Those 168 German sailors were lucky; you could do much worse than be interned in a neutral country as opposed to being treated as POWs.

[@ThreeMinuteTales]

You are 100% correct Phillipe. Someone was watching over those sailors that day and yes, to be interned in a neutral country was just the icing on the cake for them. Thanks so much for the view and comment. Much appreciated.

[@phillipecook3227]

Earlier this year I heard the historian Dan Snow tell how German and British internees shared accommodation in Ireland under very benign conditions which lead to some interesting interactions in the local town! He told what might be one of the most bizarre episodes of WW2 when an interned British Spitfire pilot simply didn't bother returning to his internment camp at the end of the day and made his way over the border into NI thinking he would be welcomed back to his Squadron with open arms. Snow said the British military immediately locked the guy up before returning him under guard to Ireland because the British didn't want to break the agreed international convention between a neutral country and s protagonist!

[@ThreeMinuteTales]

@@phillipecook3227 That is fascinating. I must look into that story. I live beside the Curragh Army camp where the POWs were kept and I've never heard that story before, but could very well be true. Yes, there were also US and British troops interned at the camp and apparently they often played soccer matches against each other. The precursor to the 1966 World Cup final. Lol

[@jasonsabourin2275]

@@phillipecook3227 That is A fascinating story, and could definitely be turned into A short story! 😯🙆😀

[@Shelldrake489]

@@phillipecook3227 all the officers were allowed a local furlough so long as they signed out of and back into the camp,this signature was a technical agreement that kept the officers interred and was very much a gentleman’s agreement,one Allied officer signed out of the camp and then made a ruse of leaving his gloves behind in the billet ,as he had already signed himself out he gallantly agreed to sign back in just to get his gloves and then he went straight back out on the pretext of obtaining his gloves,technically he was now a free man as he had signed out and back in and was not in breach of the camp rules,there is a very good book called “ guests of the state” the story of Allied and Axis prisoners in Ireland,but T Kyle Dwyer,we’ll worth a read.

[@imeldamullane5479]

I'm a irish man from county kerry

[@francollins4036]

Thats grand.

[@ThreeMinuteTales]

Thanks Fran. Hope you enjoyed it.

[@webbsmotorhomeadventures1231]

Do one of paddy mayne worlds greatest soldier from newtonards

[@ThreeMinuteTales]

I've actually read about Paddy Mayne. An interesting life, Soldier, Golfer, Boxer and Rugby player. Some man. Thanks for the comment David. Cheers.

[@fandangofandango2022]

Plenty of History in Your Part of the World.

[@ThreeMinuteTales]

Yes. There sure is. 👍

[@kelzuya]

Why do you list them as "enemy sailors" when Ireland was neutral?

[@declanreck1755]

The German sailors were not Nazi's

[@seanmoran1056]

Why would they be kept in Kildare , if Ireland is neutral? Are they lint treated the same as the English?

[@ThreeMinuteTales]

There were many prisoners of war during this time. I guess that it was to keep them safe. As far as I know, the Curragh was the only place in the Republic that kept POW's.

[@liamp.oriordan7736]

They were not prisoners of war. They were in the care of the Irish nation. They were allowed their freedom to work locally for farmers to earn their own money and were free to socialize. Naturally they were too far from home to be repatriated. On the other hand, British airmen who crash-landed in Ireland were quietly taken to the border with Northern Ireland and handed over to the Northern authorities. All in the interest of Irish humanity.

[@tonymurphy9795]

They were not 'Nazi' sailors, they were German servicemen. It's like calling the Irish Army 'Fianna Fail' soldiers.

[@tonymurphy9795]

Great story though!

[@trailblazer1047]

So what,its humanity,they saved others,not full of hate like you..Go ahead and ignore what Egland did to Ireland,which owe them nothing.

[@stopscammingman]

They probably weren't all Nazis