Jürgen Rohwer was a German military historian and professor of history at the University of Stuttgart. Rohwer wrote over 400 books and essays on World War II naval history and military intelligence, which gained him worldwide recognition as a prominent historian and a leading authority on U-boats.

Z24 was one of fifteen Type 1936A destroyers built for the Kriegsmarine during World War II. Completed in 1940, the ship spent the first half of the war in Norwegian waters. She was very active in attacking the Arctic convoys ferrying war materials to the Soviet Union in 1941–1942, but only helped to sink one Allied ship herself.