The Other German Submariner: Decoding a Forgotten War Rumour in U.S. Occupied Trinidad,1942-1945

By Richard Escalante

A German Submariner in U.S. Occupied Trinidad.

It is February 1942. In the Trinidad colony, the unthinkable happens: a German submarine attack occurs in the Port-of-Spain harbour. Two merchant vessels are torpedoed.

Although more than two years have passed since the Second World War began, the attack is a wake-up call for the colony's inhabitants. The war is no longer far away from the Trinidad colony: The war is at their doorsteps.

But in a colony filled with German spies, British spy hunters, and American troops, the incident spawns rumours of another possible attack that quickly spreads. One of these rumours emerges as the dominant war rumour: The Other German Submariner. But is it true? Did this Nazi submariner actually infiltrate the colony that was under the protection of more than 92,000 Allied soldiers stationed throughout the island?

This book explores this long-forgotten and undocumented rumour: a new ingredient that provides a fresh look at our socio-military interpretation of Trinidad society in World War II. Drawing on recently-released German U-boat archival material and other U.S. Naval resources, the book looks at how an actual German U-boat attack, together with the U.S. military presence in the colony, lent credence to the hidden messages behind the rumour and of Trinidad society.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 9769706701
• ISBN13: 9789769706705
• Release Date: June 2023
• Publisher: Richard M. Escalante
• Length: 318 Pages
• Weight: 0.94 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.0" x 9.0"