Original Postwar Signature on a Postwar Photo of Heinrich Lehmann-Willenbrock. Korvettenkapitän Heinrich Lehmann-Willenbrock (11.12.1911 † 18.04.1986) earned the Ritterkreuz on February 26, 1941 as Kapitänleutnant und Kommandant of U-96 and the Eichenlaub on December 31, 1944 as Kapitänleutnant und Kommandant of U-96.
Lehmann-Willenbrock ranks sixth of the most successful U-boat commanders in the Battle of the Atlantic against the Allies. He commanded four U-boats, including U-96, a Type VIIC U-boat, which gained widespread recognition when one of its patrols was documented and publicized by an accompanying member of a propaganda company Lothar-Günther Buchheim. The story of the U-96 was eventually made into a mini-series and film called Das Boot, in which the captain was portrayed by Jürgen Prochnow. (Source: Wikipedia).
Provenance: This signature comes from one of the largest postwar signature collection I’ve ever commissioned. This collection was started by a Waffen-SS Veteran, Werner H., in the 1950’s until he passed away.