Laconia Order.
1942 German naval order forbidding the rescue of Allied survivors
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About Laconia Order
The Laconia Order was issued by Großadmiral Karl Dönitz during World War II as a result of the Laconia incident, forbidding the rescue of any survivors. Prior to this incident, vessels of the Kriegsmarine sometimes picked up survivors of sunk Allied vessels out of mercy. In September 1942, off the coast of West Africa in the Atlantic Ocean, the German submarine vessels—among them U-156, U-506 and U-507—attempting to rescue British and Italian survivors of the ocean liner RMS Laconia were indiscriminately attacked by patrolling American aircraft, despite flying Red Cross flags and having informed the Allies of the rescued soldiers, as well as civilian women and children, via open radio.
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