So while the book is in part a record of Buchheim time, much of the book is fictional. Places and dates are also not used in the book also. Other submarines are given fictional names also like: UF, UX or UY. In the book, the submarine is only referred to as the fictional UA. Buchheim refers to himself as Herr Leutnant as the narrator, but not given a submarine job. One ensign is named Ullmann and two noncommissioned officers are named.
In Das Boot the other officers are unnamed and referred to by their job on the submarine. Willenbrock was given the nickname 'the Old Man' and Herr Kaleun. In Das Boot, the main character is the commander, who is modeled after commander Heinrich Lehmann-Willenbrock (1911-1986) of U-96, a Type VIIC U-boat. Buchheim also wrote the books: The Fortress and The Farewell in which he used also fictional names. The novel is based on Buchheim's six weeks of experiences on several U-boat trips. As part of his work, Buchheim was a 'guest' on board Kriegsmarine ships and submarines. Buchheim was employed by the Nazi propaganda company, Propagandakompanie (PK). “I was either too hard on the Nazis or too soft on the Nazis, it merely depended on one’s attitude to Nazis” Buchheim on the Das Boot novel Buchheim īuchheim was a painter, author, and war correspondent for the Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine.
