Some Schwerin hsf from Tirpitz opinions please

[Simon O.]

The Tirpitz is not a War Grave! How disgusting is that? So only the victorious Nations can have protected War Graves, anyone else just does not matter! Can you imagine the outcry if a British, American or Norwegian wreck was being picked over by everyone and anyone, with no regard for the dead what so ever....................? The Tirpitz may have been an "enemy" ship in the eyes of many, but the crew were just human beings, some very young. Treat the dead with respect, no matter what country they originated from.

Maybe someone knows for sure what the Norwegian salvage crew members did with the remains they found upon entering the "Tomb" of the Tirpitz? When she sank in November 1944 I presume the German rescuers who cut through the hull to rescue those trapped, also removed some of the dead as well? But in 1947 when the salvage operation started, there must have still been many bodies within the wreck? I do hope that they did the salvage in a respectful way.

Perhaps if it had been made a War Grave, as most wrecks are, the it would have been towed out to deeper water {somehow} and sunk!

After the war German wrecks were regarded as scrap, not war graves. All of them were bought for 1 Norwegian Kroner by a privat shipbreakers,
Høvding. Today the company is called Saga Shipping and they still 'own' what's left of Tirpitz as well as the other German wrecks.

The law is quite clear. Unless you have permission from the owner of a wreck to remove anything then it's illegal to do so. Whether or not anyone is bothered enough to enforce the law is another matter.