At least that’s how the film, which is based on the bestseller by Lothar-Günther Buchheim, ends. I also assumed that the boat was indeed destroyed there — I had never really verified it.

I believed the film — as likely many others did. But the boat was not destroyed there. However, much more exciting than this long-known information was another piece of news presented to us by journalist and author Gerrit Reichert in mid-2024.

He found several pieces of evidence that led him to believe with high probability that the remains of U-96 are embedded in the Grodendamm in Wilhelmshaven. He wrote about this in the current edition of his book “U-96: Reality and Myth.”

For us, this was indeed news — whether an old U-boat wreck lies in a dam may not be exciting for everyone. However, since the film and the book remain extremely present in Germany to this day, it quickly became clear to us: There is more to this story.

Revisiting history

Nordwest-Mediengruppe decided to produce a podcast series based on this new information. Starting with: Why are so many people still fascinated by U-96, the book, and the film, even 40 years after the first broadcast? What role does the book play? How is history dealt with? How can we address the topic of U-96 while objectively and critically examining and contextualising the role of the U-boat weapon during World War II in Nazi rule? And what evidence can we find regarding the whereabouts of the U-boat in the Grödendamm in Wilhelmshaven?

As a regional publisher, we also need to consider how to allocate sufficient resources for such an elaborate project that targets a nationwide audience rather than just a regional one. Two reporters were temporarily assigned to the extensive research and collaboration with Gerrit Reichert, who plays an important role as an expert in the podcast.

A highlight of the research was certainly the collaboration with an engineering firm that offered to scan the dam, because we had no more than hints. They scanned the dam with specialised technology to a depth of three metres — we will, of course, reveal the results in the podcast. 

Going beyond audio

Additionally, we received exclusive audio material from Gerrit Reichert featuring the original crew, who were also subjects of the book and film. The crew had met in parts during the 1980s and recounted what happened after their time on U-96. Some ended up as prisoners of war afterwards and then tried to rebuild a normal life.

We published parts of the audio recordings at the end of each podcast episode.

In addition to the podcast, we also renewed a magazine that had been published years earlier. It covers the diaries of Friedrich Grade, who served as the chief engineer on several U-boat missions — including in La Rochelle. He secretly kept a diary during that time and we are now republishing these diaries in connection with a critical contextualisation of the era.

We sold around 1,000 copies at the launch of the podcast episodes.

To further open the funnel for the products, we created several quizzes that also promoted a four-part newsletter, which was meant to build anticipation for the podcast launch. Over 1,000 people subscribed to this over time.

Some of the articles received more than 100,000 views. Overall, we achieved very high visibility on Google through this. Editorial, readership market, advertising, and marketing worked very closely together during this time, and it was successful.

We also tested a paid model for the first time: Subscribers could listen to all six episodes directly in the news app or the e-paper app. Non-subscribers had to wait a week for the next episode (or secure a subscription).

Tracking shows 8,000 times the podcast episodes were streamed by subscribers (print, e-paper, online), either through the e-paper app with the podcast player or in an article in the news app. We want to make our subscription offer more attractive by using such approaches to increase retention.

Audiences respond

In total, 80,000 people nationwide listened to the podcast, making this one of our most successful products. We repeatedly ranked in the Spotify charts (highest ranking: 22nd place) in the history category.

For us, the project was and is a great opportunity as a regional publisher to undertake a project that is relevant nationwide.

As a newspaper, we have recognised podcasts as an important component of our digital strategy. Two full-time positions are dedicated solely to podcasts — many colleagues also participate as guests, such as in our True Crime podcast, whilst others have their own podcasts, like our sports department. We see that many of our podcasts are used by younger people, specifically those we only partially reach through our other channels.