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Update in progress August 2008:

Canadian town honors Captain Langsdorff.

The Town of Ajax, Ontario gave a warm Canadian welcome to Dr. Ruediger Nedden and his wife Inge Saturday 6th October 2007. While visiting Canada with their friends Mr. and Mrs. Kurt Dambach, the Neddens dedicated Langsdorff Drive in honor of Inge’s famous father – Captain Hans Langsdorff– who commanded the German pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee in the Battle of the River Plate.

This ferocious 80 minute sea battle between Graf Spee and three British cruisers took place 250 miles off Uruguay, South America on 13 December 1939. Counting both sides, more than 100 stalwart young men lost their lives. Langsdorff accepted his defeat at the cruisers’ hands with outstanding chivalry and composure. Immediately after the battle he applauded and praised the courage and efficiency of his enemy.

Some strident criticism questioned the sensibility of a Canadian town honoring a German war veteran. Uninformed journalists asked if the captain had Nazi baggage in his career. On reflection, Langsdorff entered the Imperial Navy in 1912 and fought in the Battle of Jutland. In the postwar German Republic he continued naval service in the Reichsmarine. When the Nazis won power the navy became the Kriegsmarine. Captain Langsdorff served his country under three types of government and his high personal standards of chivalry and courage remained intact.

Many letters of support praised Mayor Steve Parrish for the Ajax, Ontario initiative. Most important, unanimous plaudits came from the British and New Zealand veterans’ associations that had faced Graf Spee’s guns. What a marvelous day for Ajax and Canada! I raise my cap and bow my head to Mayor Parrish and his fair minded citizens on this unique event.

Joseph Gilbey, Hillsburgh Ontario.
1 August 2008

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