The Arabian Notes
Kyle Foster
Prologue
The Horn of Africa
May 3, 1944
Major Felix Rause checked the ship’s coordinates and locked the torpedo in, jettisoning 500 gold dore' bars, and his future in Germany, from Uboat 852 into the Indian Ocean. Down the galley he heard the frantic voice of the captain ordering the first mate, “Beach the boat - full speed into land, we’ll need it to clear the reefs.” The captain then ran through the cramped ship ordering the crew to prepare for impact. Felix grabbed his canvas pack, sat against the wall and buckled in, pulling the straps tight across his chest as the rest of the crew sat and locked in.
The submarine rose out of the blue and white surf slicing directly toward a palm grove on the lonely African shore, careened over the reef with a roar of twisting and tearing metal, lifted nose-first and crashed on its side, shattering the interminable silence of the long white-sand beach at Cape Gardafui.
Bare-chested fishermen wearing long, checkered skirts and white prayer caps were on the beach mending their nets. Startled by the thunderous crash, they ran to invistigate, thinking that a huge whale had beached. As they reached the boat the forward hatch flew open and sailors began scrambling out, pistols drawn, shouting and looking up and down the beach.
Moments later a British Wellington warplane flew in low from over the ocean and circled twice before veering off to the north.
The fishermen stood transfixed, eyes wide, looking on as sailors continued to climb out of the submarine. One sailor fell out, rolled and trained his pistol on the fishermen. Felix helped him up and gently grabbed the pistol down, urging him on up the beach. The fishermen, now cowering behind the sub, watched as the sailors argued amongst themselves for a few minutes before gathering and running up the beach to the north. Felix ran at the rear of the group for several strides, slowed to a jog and then slipped unnoticed into a grove of palm trees while the others continued to run on.
Most of the crew, including Captain Heinz Eck, were captured by the British over the next few days. Eck, the first-mate and the doctor were tried by the War Crimes Tribunal at Nuremburg, sentenced to death and executed by firing squad. Five escaped to North Yemen where they were given asylum by the Imam-King, Yahya. They returned to Germany in 1947. Felix Rause escaped and was never accounted for.
This is the story of Felix Rause, who was never captured and lived out his days in Yemen. His remarkable life would change the course of at least four people‘s lives over three generations – including my own.
And this is how it happened.
