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Yikes. My thinking was that their uni's would have been a bit cleaner than in WWII because many patrols had a shorter duration. It's a shame b/c I love the more formal look that some of the Kaiserliche Marine uniforms had, as opposed to the more functional Kriegsmarine clothing.
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Not necessarily shorter, there were some very long patrols in the Mediterranean, and anyway the main difference is that submarine technology was starting and also general motors/mechanics were not as developed ( Specially the diesel engines). They discovered the hard way that humidity condensation was a huge problem, that it would shortcut electric wires, and used grease all around as insulator, as plastic was not yet discovered or well used. Add to that the fact that some diesels were 2 stroke and reversible, and that 4 stroke ones were over-oiled and lost and burnt a good deal of the lubricant oil, and you get a good picture of how dirty and unhealthy those boats were. Look at the fac of the guy behind, he looks really dirty:
http://img1.photographersdirect.com/...m/pd576393.jpg
The two others might have cleaned up a bit for the picture or be officers, but undoubtedly there is lots of dirt and grease in that engine room.