ID=31499 Name: Kuchenbecher, Kurt

[t-geronimo]

Correct last Name: Kuchenbecker
Born: Kühren bei Lütjenburg

Cedula 979.
Kuchenbecker war mit Fritz Noetzel von der Insel Martin García am 20 November 1944 nach URUGUAY geflüchtet und beide baten dort um politisches Asyl als Anti Nazis. Sie wurden beide von Montevideo aus statt Buenos Aires mit der H. MONARCH repatriiert.
Besonders wilde Geschichte aber diese erreichte das Kriegsmarine Gericht erst nach Abschluss Zeitpunkt 25/11/44 der letzten Verfahren Eintragungen am  8 April 1945 als 'Von der Truppe entfernt' gemeldet.
Quelle: Carlos Benemann

[Hubertus]

 

[Carlos Benemann]

Hi Hubertus and Thorsten.
Some day I will have to write the story about these two sailors swimming 3 and a half hours from Martín Garcia island to the coast of Uruguay.
The reason Martin Garcia was considered a secure location not just for the interned Graf Spee men, but also many political and other prisoners was that crossing the "Canal del infierno" (The chanel of Hell) with it's extremely forceful current was thought to be an impossible feat.
All other escapes from there were by boat or even some sort of floats in the  opposite direction, but to reach that Argentine coast without a boat also required superhuman effort and superb physical condition because of the distance.
One of the Graf Spee crew members that claimed to have swam over 10 hours to reach it (he was later caught),  I do not believe his story. He was probably covering for someone that picked him up waiting by  at a predesignated buoy downriver. That was actually successfully done.
Cheers, Carlos