Oskar Schomburg

Oskar Schomburg was a Nazi naval officer. He commanded the Wurrfler, a U-boat, in 1936, when it was used to intercept the Bantu Wind after it left Egypt with the Ark of the Covenant.

Biography
In 1936, Schomburg stayed aboard his submarine and was not involved in the apprehension of the Ark of the Covenant or Marion Ravenwood, leaving that task to Colonel Herman Dietrich and archaeologist René Emile Belloq. When the U-boat arrived at Geheimhaven, Schomburg stood in the vessel's conning tower as Belloq, Dietrich, and Toht disembarked.

Behind the scenes
Oskar Schomburg was played by the late and uncredited Michael Sheard in Raiders of the Lost Ark. Sheard later went to play Adolf Hitler in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. The character, however, is never referred by name in the film. U-26 was captained by Werner Hartmann in 1936. The film's original script credited the character as The Wurrfler Captain.

Before he was cast in the role of Schomburg, Sheard originally auditioned unsuccessfully for the role of Major Arnold Ernst Toht. However, at the end, his late friend Ronald Lacey was cast as Toht and Sheard was cast as Schomburg.

In the third draft of the film's original script, written by Lawrence Kasdan, Schomburg had more participation than in the final film, speaking with Colonel Shliemann (Herman Dietrich's original name in the script). However, many of his lines were cut from the final film. Also, while additional scenes with the captain may have been filmed but cut, the captain appears in the background when the principal villains exit the submarine.

As an interest fact, the Raiders of the Lost Ark Sourcebook was the first Indiana Jones media who referred to Schomburg by name, identifying the Wurrfler captain as Oskar Schomburg, though the historical Oskar Schomburg commanded U-26 in 1938 and 1939, but not in 1936.

In LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures and its sequel, Schomburg and his men are absent. In the first game, the entire Wurrfler submarine is controled by Belloq and Dietrich, while in the second game, the Wurrfler is controlled only by Belloq and Toht.

Appearances

 * Raiders of the Lost Ark