Schadenfreude is one of those double-barreled German words that signifies more than its literal meaning. Like schweinehund – pig-dog – which brings to mind a whole panoply of images, schadenfreude – sorrow-joy – implies taking pleasant satisfaction at the misery of another, especially when they fully deserve it. One may think of nemesis in action.
Not a pleasant emotion, but we all have experienced it, to some extent. I was thinking of such ways of divine providence – which guides all things – when I read of the tragic sinking of HMS Leinster on this October 10th in 1918. The passenger boat, sure enough carrying soldiers (who were not, of course, in combat), also had hundreds of civilians aboard, including many nurses. The Germans at this point were engaged in unrestricted submarine warfare, careless of, if not actively seeking, innocent deaths (recalling the targeting of the Lusitania in 1916, and a prelude to the greater evils of the Second War).
At 10 am, U-Boat-123 launched a torpedo towards the Leinster which missed, but the next two found their target, and the ship, its hull destroyed, sank quickly in the heavy swells. Of the 77 crew and 694 passengers, at least 594 perished, making it the largest loss of life on the Irish Sea.
While on patrol nine days later, the UB-123 struck a mine, and was destroyed. There were no survivors of the 36 man crew.
There is no freude in such tragedies of war. Only schaden. May God have mercy on all their souls.
