Interrogation of ISN-5-2 (NA)                      U-701                                       September 8, 1942  
 
  Fireman 3cl Bruno Faust by  
  Capt. H.W. Boesch  
     
 
A. May I sit down there?
   
Q. Yes, I am an officer of the Army.  Effective today all Navy prisoners of war are taken over by us.  We have to complete or files and I ask you whether you are willing to answer a few questions?
   
A. Yes, I believe so.
   
Q. Your rank?
   
A. Mechanic mate.
   
Q. You were taken prisoner on July 7th?
   
A. No, we were sunk then.
   
Q. That's right, you were picked up swimming 50 hours later.
   
A. Yes.
   
Q. Do you have any brothers?
   
A. Yes, two of them.
   
Q. How old are they?
   
A. One of them is 14, the other one is 15.
   
Q. When is your birthday?
   
A. May 6th.
   
Q. Born in?
   
A. 1923.
   
Q. What was your trade in civil life?
   
A. Mechanic, at Mannesmann Werke.
   
Q. Where is that?
   
A. Bielefeld.
   
Q. That's in?
   
A. Westphalia.
 
   
 
( 1 )
 
     
     

 

     
   
     
 
Q. Is it near Osnabrück?
   
A. Yes.
   
Q. How large a city is Bielefeld, I have come thru there in former days frequently.
   
A. Bielefeld has about 300,000 inhabitants
   
Q. Is that somewhere in the vicinity of Osnabrück and Dusseldorf?
   
A. Yes, it is.  Do you know Paderborn?
   
Q. No I don't.  I only traveled from Bremen to Osnabrück and Köln as a rule, and sometimes from Köln to Hannover.
   
A. It is about 100 Km. from Hannover.
   
Q. See, I am trying to form a picture in my mind of where that is.
   
A. Yes, of course, if you have been in Germany then you should know it.
   
Q. Yes, I did even pass thru Bielefeld on several occasions.  Now I remember - - (rest unintelligible, needle jumps out of grooves.)
   
A. No, that's closer to the Rhine.
   
Q. What do the manufacture in Bielefeld now-a-days.  Isn't it a Railroad Center?
   
A. Yes it is.  And there are the Durrkopp Werke.  And the German American - (unintelligible)
   
Q. I know them they have been used here.
   
A. We make bicycles and sewing machines.
   
Q. Sure, everybody knows that:  AnkerWerke.  And then there were those huge Export Houses at Bielefeld.
   
A. No, the majority of them are trucking companies.
   
Q. Yes, I remember again.  What was their name?
   
A. (Unintelligible)  Dryer.
   
Q. Sure, Dreyer - I simply do not remember anymore which way I passed the city.  I have been there once several years ago.  What else is being
 
   
 
( 2 )
 
     
     

 

     
   
     
 
Q. manufactured there?  I do not think that they turn out any more sewing machines.
   
A. They are still turning them out.
   
Q. How about the bicycles?  I assumed these plants were turned into vital defense industry.
   
A. We need bicycles and sewing machines despite the war.  They are turned out regardless.
   
Q. Militarily spoken that was before the bombardment of Cologne.
   
A. Yes.
   
Q. Do you smoke?
   
A. Yes.
   
Q. I have a bad cold and therefore I smoke Menthol-Cigarettes.  Maybe you won't like them so much.  Since when have you been with the Navy?
   
A. Since January '41.
   
Q. Where did you receive your training?  Wasn't that near Flensburg?
   
A. Yes.
   
Q. How much time did you spend there?
   
A. Eight weeks.
   
Q. After such a length of time at school, you ought to know the name.  It was from 10 to 20 Km. outside Flensburg.  Where did you get transferred to, after those eight weeks.  Was it Kiel or Gdingen?
   
A. No, Gotenhafen.
   
Q. I used to believe that was in Norway.
   
A. No, it is in old Poland.
   
Q. Oh yes!  It is near Danzig, isn't it?  In earlier days I traveled by ship from Danzig to Kopenhagen.  I've done that several times, and once from Kiel to Kopenhagen.
 
   
 
( 3 )
 
     
     

 

     
   
     
 
A. It takes about one hour by train to get to Danzig.
   
Q. Tell me; how does it look at Gotenhafen?  Did you use the large ship in harbor as garrison?
   
A. Yes, sir, we did.
   
Q. What was the name of that ship?
   
A. It was the "Wilhelm Gustlov", named after the German diplomat, who was killed by a Jew in Switzerland.
   
Q. When was that?
   
A. That was about 1936.
   
Q. How large is the "Wilhelm Gustlov"?
   
A. It is a ship of about 24,000 tons.
   
Q. Did you ever see the aircraft carrier "Graf Zeppelin" at Gdingen?
   
A. No, sir, I did not see it.
   
Q. Tell me; when did you get to the U-Degen for the first time.
   
A. In May.
   
Q. Was it this year?
   
A. Yes.
   
Q. Then you had to travel to Brest with the train?
   
A. No, I made the trip on a sub.
   
Q. Oh, then you were at Brest.
   
A. No, I was not at Brest.
   
Q. Was it in Lorient?
   
A. No, La Rochelle - in a repair shop.
 
   
 
( 4 )