GERMAN SHIP ARRIVES

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22319, 17 January 1936, Page 10

GERMAN SHIP ARRIVES

CHRISTMAS AT SEA GREETINGS SENT TO HITLER LEADER'S FRIENDLY REPLY The reply to a radio message to Herr Hitler, conveying New Year greetings, is a valued document hung in a frame in the saloon of the North German Lloyd steamer Wiegand. which arrived yesterday morning from New Orleans. The radio was sent by the captain on behalf of the ship's company. "Dear Captain.—The Trader am! Chancellor has requested me to convey many thanks to you and the crew of your ship for the friendly New Year's greetings which you have sent him," reads the reply, which was signed by a Secretary of State. "He returns them to you and the crew in the heartiestmanner. and wishes you and your ship a happy voyage for the New Year.— Hei! Hitler!" The Wiegand, which, apart from the Eriangen and the barque Magdalene Yinnen is the only German vessel to visit Auckland for several years, flies the new German national flag from her stern, a black swastika in a white circle, on a red ground. Of the four pictures in her saloon, two are photographs of Hindenburg and Hitler, and the others views of Bremen, her port of registration. Captain K. Schulz, who is in command, wa3 given command of a destroyer during the war, and later served with the German land forces. Ail the crew are Germans. Although in the middle of the Pacific, thousands of miles from their homeland, the ship's company cehtbrated Christmas in traditional fashion. Long table; were erected on deck, at which officers and crew sat down together, with the captain at the head.of the assembly. A Christmas tree had been specially brought from Germany in a tub for the occasion, and a meal of Christmas fare had l«?en prepared, while songs and music made the occasion a truly festive one. The Wiegand. which is a steamer of 69 tons gross, loaded a general cargo, including 1000 tons of bulk sulphur, at American ports. After leaving New Orleans, rough weather was encountered on the run to Panama, but thereafter the vessel enioyed favourable conditions until two days from the New Zealand coast, when she ran into a gale which delayed her arrival at Auckland by about 12 hours.