The Waterbury Democrat., 1939-12-20
Langsdorff Obeys His
 Orders From Hitler
,continued from Page D
Obeyed All Orders

ne HuQ reporteQ to ms SuperlorS that the orders he received were carried out. He had foregone the sa tiSfaction dear to any naval commander of his type - of stand- Ing on the bridge of his ship while he pressed the button that blew her to pieces,
 Now, he disclosed in his letter, he was free to follow the course he himself chose,
 This morning an aide found his body at S:S0 Q, m, There was Q letter by his side, addressed to the ambassador.
 Later, the embassy issued this statement
 "rhe commander of the glorious cruiser Graf Spec, Captain Langs- dorff, sacrificed his life last night for tho fatherland by taking his life voluntarily,
 According to a letter he wrote to the German ambassador he de. cided from the first moment to share the fate of his beautiful veS- lsel.
 "only by overcoming powerful selfsresiStanee and considering the responsibility which fell on him for the safe disemharcation of his crew composed of more than c thousand young men, was he able to postpone carrying out his decision until he had complied with his duty and rec ported completely to his Superiors. J Last Talk With Men It was disclosed that only yester- day Langsdorff said farewell to the men of his crew.
 He asked authorities Ut tho Hos tel De Immigrantes if he mlght have heart.to.heart talk with my men. They granted his ro- quest, possibly suspecting his pur- pose, and the hotel grounds were cleared of all except members of the crew and Argentine offieials.
 The men who had stood with Langsdorff on the decks of the Graf Spec formed a hollow square around their commander in tense silence He spoke to them quietly but there was deep emotion In every word as he gave his Inst commands.
 Men Wouldn't Believe It
 Most Of tho Graf Spec crew are lodged at the hotel where LangS- dortf killed himself. Two members of the crew stood guard at the gates this afternoon and refused to permit Q United Press reported to enter.
 When asked If the commander had killed himself, one of them re- piled:
 That Is e liel"
 Even when the embassy issued It's statement, they continued to insist that Langsdorff still was alive.
 T saw him half an hour ago, one Of the sailors said, I'm sure 1t was Langsdorff. Are you trying to be funny2 Don't you think l would know my own eaptain9"
 Sailors inside the hotel grounds were moving about normally and 1t did not appear that any of them were aware Of Langsdorff's death for some hours after his body had been found.
 The members of the crew--whose average age Is 22-were laughing, taking and reading newspapers which still carried long stories about the Graf Spec case.
 DO you think we would be laughing and joking If our captain were deadP" one of the guards at the gate asked. He called four sailors who were walking nearby and they also weer indignant when told that Langsdorff was dead.
 This mission was completed last night. The destiny of brave sailor who has written another glorious page in the history of German maritime war was fulfilled"
 Aide Discovers Body
 officials said that Langsdorffs aide had gone to his room this morning as usual and discovered the body of his commander in bed.
 He immediately notified the ans bassador, who hastened to the ho- tel. The ambassador then personal ly notified the Argentine minister of marine and sent a message to Foreign Minister Jose Maria Cam tillo excusing himself from ban quet which he had been scheduled to attend tonight.
 The body was prepared for burial and sealed and now rests in the marine naval arsenal. Burial will be in Buenos Aires, 1t was understood, with full honors for the man whose destiny prevented nini from going down on che blazing deck of his ship.
 There had been no intimation of Langsdorff's decision. Even after he had sent his s20,000,0 eco ship Co the bottom of the Plate estuary Sunday night he had appeared debonair and cheerful. Upon arriving in Buenos