The battleships of the Kriegsmarine are only four vessels in total,
which they managed to put into operational service in 1935-1941. The
first two of those, Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, did not make as
spectacular combat career as the other two. So far, no extensive
memories of seamen sailing them have appeared, because their career
practically boiled down to staying in a port, dock or roadstead until
they sank or the hostilities ended. The current publication is a form of
compromise between combat operations, shortened in it to a necessary
minimum, in the case of Scharnhorst, and a broader description of use of
the wreck of Gneisenau after the war, and a photo album that represents
life on the ship.