17 MAY 1945, Page 13

U-BOAT SYMBOLISM '

Sts,—The symbolism of the picture of the U-boat in front of the Houses of Parliament which I saw in a little house in Hersfeld must not be allowed to be eclipsed by the 1916 reminiscences of Captain Paterson. The picture was a perfect symbol of the German character, the display in the quiet of a sitting-room for thirty years of a picture depicting an antici- pated conquest. Captain Paterson's innocent theory is exploded by the legend under the picture, which he has conveniently ignored. The legend read: "Es kommt der Tag! " Janus included this prominently in his paragraph, and Captain Paterson's inability to note this has led• to yet one more attempt to whitewash the German character.