In 1916 Paul König was given command of the trading submarine Deutschland. The mission of this underwater cargo ship was to transport goods to America while circumventing the British naval blockade. In early summer and autumn, raw materials, colorants and other chemicals were transported. The journeys were forced to cease after the entry of the USA to the war in 1917. Further planned trading submarines were converted to cruisers. Paul König described his experiences and his enthusiasm for the engineering innovation in naval combat as early as 1916 in his book The Journey of the Deutschland (Ullstein), from which some chapters were also taken in 1918 for the German Juvenile Library as a heroic role model for young people. The sound recording also appeared after the first journey in 1916.