Wilhelm Gustloff (ship)

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Image:WglaunchMTL small.jpg The Wilhelm Gustloff was a huge passenger ship built by Blohm + Voss, named after the assassinated Nazi Wilhelm Gustloff, and launched on May 5, 1937. On a mission to help evacuate the millions of Germans trapped by the approaching Red Army in East Prussia, it was hit by three torpedoes of a Soviet submarine in the Baltic Sea in the night of January 30 1945. The sinking remains the worst disaster in shipping history, in terms of loss of life in a single vessel, leaving over 9,000 people dead, more than half of them children.

1 History
2 Sinking
3 Wreckage
4 Novel
5 See also
6 External links

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History

Its original purpose was to target the low-cost cruise market. The German KdF organization provided cultural activities to German workers, including concerts, cruises and other holidays. The Wilhelm Gustloff was the flagship of the KdF cruise fleet until 1939.

From September, 1939 to November, 1940, it served as a hospital ship. During the majority of the Second World War, Wilhelm Gustloff was used primarily as a barracks ship for U-boat trainees.

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Sinking

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Final voyage

The ship's final voyage was an evacuation of civilians and wounded German soldiers and sailors from Gdynia (known by Germans as Gotenhafen or Gdingen) near Danzig (Gdańsk) to Kiel.

The ship left Gdynia early on January 30, 1945, accompanied by the passenger liner Hansa and two torpedo boats. The Hansa and one torpedo boat developed problems and could not continue, leaving the Gustloff with only one torpedo boat for escort. The ship had four captains on board, and an argument broke out about whether or not to light the red and green navigation lights to avoid a potential collision with an oncoming minesweeper convoy. Captain Peterson, in command, reluctantly agreed to activate the lights, and the ship was subsequently sighted by the Soviet submarine S-13. The Gustloff was torpedoed 30 kilometres offshore and somewhere between Władysławowo ( Neustadt in Westprussia) and Łeba, taking three direct hits soon after 9.00 p.m. One of the torpedoes which struck had been chalked with the phrase "For Leningrad." Another, with "For Stalin" written on it, failed to fire. The Gustloff sank 70 minutes after being struck and plunged to a depth of 45 meters (150 feet).

An eyewitness account claimed that 400 members of the Women's Auxiliary of the German Navy died almost instantly after the second torpedo hit almost directly under the empty swimming pool in which they were sitting. The mass panic that followed the torpedo hits resulted in an increased loss of life, as many of the refugees ignored orders to allow women and children to disembark first. Many were trampled in a rush for access to the lifeboats and life jackets available. Some equipment was lost as a further result of the panic. The Gustloff slipped below the surface at approximately the 70-minute mark. The water temperature in the Baltic Sea at this time of year is usually around 4°C; however, this was a particularly cold day with air temperature of -10 to -18°, with ice floes covering the surface.

The ship was built for fewer than 2,000 passengers. However, because of its original recreational purpose it actually had the capacity to board many more. Unfortunately, it was carrying less than 50% of the rescue equipment necessary for the significantly increased number of passengers.

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Estimated deaths

7956 refugees were registered. It is estimated that after the registration further 2,000 people were allowed to come onto the ship. With the crew added, there must have been over 10,000 people when the ship set out. And again, on the sea, hundreds of refugess from Reval came onto board.

Only 1,239 passengers survived, saved by German vessels in the vicinity. According to the ship's own records, the official total was 6,050 people. However, taking into account those who snuck on board the ship unaccounted, the death toll was almost certainly much higher. Today, one may find reports of 9,000, 10,000 and more. Of course, these numbers are only estimates made by different methods. For example, the Discovery Channel program "Unsolved History" has undertaken an extensive computer analysis of the sinking of the Gustloff, which in particular supported an estimate of 9,400 dead (among over 10,600 on board). The analysis considered load density based on eyewitness reports and simulation of escape routes and survivability in conjunction with the timeline of sinking. More than half of the victims were children.

Until the beginning of April 1945, the German marine managed to evacuate about 2.5 million people as part of their campaign to transport the trapped Germans from East Prussia into the Reich, while 33,000 refugees, members of the marine and soldiers lost their lives.

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Controversy

There were many other refugee transport ships sunk during the war by the Allies and Axis. However the Gustloff remains the worst disaster in shipping history, in terms of loss of life in a single vessel. There is some debate over whether the sinking was a war crime or not. Proponents claim that it was a refugee ship (unlike the Cap Arcona with her deportees), while others claim that since it was a military training ship, and was carrying German soldiers, it was a legitimate military target.

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Wreckage

Template:Coor d is the resting place of the Gustloff. This is 30 km offshore, east of Łeba (17.33E) and west of Władysławowo (18.24E). It has been designated as a war memorial site (off-limits to salvage crews). On Polish navigation charts it is noted as "Obstacle No. 73".

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