Soon, the ship became officially named mv wilhelm gustloff. The sinking of wilhelm gustloff is undoubtedly a tragedy. Once one of nazi germanys most vaunted cruise liners, the wilhelm gustloff packed her decks with some 6. When the wilhelm gustloff was sunk by a soviet submarine, with the loss of nearly 10,000 lives in january 1945, it wrote itself an unenviable record in the history books as the deadliest maritime disaster of all time. Wilhelm gustloff disaster party stormed with inquiries the offices of the party and the navy in all parts of the reich were yesterday stormed by anxious persons, who suspect that their relatives were perhaps onboard the wilhelm gustloff, which was torpedoed by a russian submarine on january 30th at 9. The story of the mv wilhelm gustloff kindle single by roger moorhouse. The accident is termed as the deadliest maritime disaster in the maritime history.
The exact number of deaths is debated, but it was undoubtedly the worst maritime disaster in history. Learn more about the sinking of the wilhelm gustloff in this article. Sinking of mv wilhelm gustloff the deadliest maritime. The wilhelm gustloff museum is an online nonprofit museum dedicated to preserving the artifacts from the wilhelm gustloff and her sister ship the e.
Online shopping from a great selection at books store. Reading a book, the scent of secret, that starts off in 1938 with th. The wilhelm gustloff was a german ocean liner built in the 1930s and named after one of the leaders of the swiss nazi party who was assassinated. By one estimate 9,400 people died, which would make it the largest loss of life in a single ship sinking in history. Germany 75 years on, little known about the wilhelm gustloff sinking. The wilhelm gustloff had been attacked by soviet submarine s commanded by alexander marinesko. Yet, aside from its grim fate in the icy waters of the baltic, the story of the gustloff is a fascinating one, which sheds light. Those on board included 9,000 civilians fleeing an advancing red army, german. The story of the mv wilhelm gustloff kindle edition by moorhouse, roger. The ship had been built as the flagship of the german labor front and had been used by its strength through joy organization to provide recreational and cultural activities for german functionaries and workers and to serve as a propaganda tool touting the glories of german power. Wilhelm gustloff 30 january 1895 4 february 1936 was the founder of the swiss nsdapao the nazi party organisation for german citizens abroad at davos. Mv wilhelm gustloff torpedoed by a soviet submarine.
This is an classical nazi propaganda film, made by nazis for nazis when the ship was. The following is from my book, hellstormthe death of nazi germany, 1944. Ship of fate donald cameron naval thriller book 7 by philip mccutchan. The sinking of the wilhelm gustloff bluejacket books sellwood, a. Wwii naval disaster 10,000 lost souls on the wilhelm. Dec 11, 2018 snow flurries swirled out of the darkness over the baltic sea. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading ship of fate. The mv wilhelm gustloff was a german ship which was sunk on 30 january 1945 by a soviet submarine in the baltic sea while evacuating german civilians, officials and military personnel the sinking of the wilhelm gustloff near the end of world war ii killed german civilians.
The most prolific german author and historian on the subject of wilhelm gustloff is heinz schon, one of the. I indicated that this is a fictionalized account of the sinking, which means that the accounts are true but that they have been retold in a fictionalized format in order to both flesh them out and merge them together into a readable story. Chunks of ice floated on the water, and lookouts shivered at their posts. Hitlers titanic the deadliest and most secret catastrophe in the hi. Wwii naval disaster 10,000 lost souls on the wilhelm gustloff. The sinking of the wilhelm gustloff national vanguard. The ship in question was the wilhelm gustloff, a former cruise liner that by wars end was deployed towards the evacuation of. Mv wilhelm gustloff was a german armed military transport ship which was sunk on 30 january 1945 by soviet submarine s in the baltic sea while evacuating german civilian refugees from east prussia, lithuania, latvia, poland and estonia and military personnel from gotenhafen as the red army advanced. Ship of fate by roger moorhouse is the story of a ship named the mv wilhelm gustloff. The former pleasure cruiser was being used to evacuate german refugees from the soviet onslaught on the eastern front. It was the night of january 30, 1945, and disaster.
While not a secret, the incident did not receive nearly as much attention over the years as it would have had it not occurred during the last stages of a bitter war. Apr 7, 2017 mv wilhelm gustloff was a german cruise ship that sunk by uboat in 1942 9000 people had died was biggest tragedy maritime disaster in history. The author has written a book for young readers called salt to the sea, out tuesday, about four fictional young passengers on the wilhelm gustloff. Sinking of mv wilhelm gustloff the deadliest maritime disaster. It was sunk in the baltic sea on the night of january 30, 1945, by a soviet submarine.
Wilhelm gustloff in gotenhafen gdynia, poland in 1942. Novel containing lengthy sequences set on the gustloff. During the first year of the war, the cruise liner first served as a hospital ship. Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from wikipedia or other free sources online. Wilhelm gustloff ship project gutenberg selfpublishing. This is an apolitical forum for discussions on the axis nations and related topics hosted by the axis history factbook in cooperation with christian ankerstjernes panzerworld and christoph awenders ww2 day by day. He remained its leader from 1932 until he was assassinated in 1936. Geschichtliche wirklichkeit als erzahlte erinnerung. Sinking the wilhelm gustloff warfare history network. Facebook is showing information to help you better understand the purpose of a page. On january 30th, 1945 the german liner mv wilhelm gustloff sank in the baltic sea and became the worst maritime disaster in the history of the world.
Historical fiction on board the mv wilhelm gustloff. At 55 degrees 07 minutes north, 17 degrees 41 minutes east lies the broken and dead body of a once proud and majestic ship. It was a luxury ship but not designed as a playground for the rich, instead, it was to be used to provide cheap, heavily government subsidized vacations to the workers of adolf hitlers third reich. On january 30, 1945, the greatest maritime disaster in history occurred when the mv wilhelm gustloff, a german luxury liner turned military transport ship sank in the baltic sea after being torpedoed by a russian submarine. Mv wilhelm gustloff was a german ship which was sank by a soviet submarine. The wilhelm gustloff was the most lethal shipwreck in history, but some. Novelist ruta sepetys cant say for sure, but its obscurity made it exactly the kind of story she wanted to tell. Read this book and over 1 million others with a kindle unlimited membership.
Young adult author ruta sepetys revisits the ships 1945 sinking in salt to the sea. Dec 12, 2019 mv wilhelm gustloff was a german ship which was sank by a soviet submarine. Gotenhafen would be the last port the wilhelm gustloff would sail from. The explanation i find most convincing for why this event has been forgotten is that any attempt to integrate it into any particular national memory to put it into a narrative of victory or defeat, right or wrong. There, it remained in the docks at gotenhafen port near the coast of the baltic sea.
The mv wilhelm gustloff was a german ship which was sunk on 30 january 1945 by a soviet submarine in the baltic sea while evacuating german civilians, officials and military personnel from gdynia gotenhafen, occupied poland, as the red army advanced. Sellwood to the list of books about the wilhelm gustloff. The sinking of the wilhelm gustloff history smithsonian magazine. Wilhelm gustloff the greatest maritime disaster in history. Nov, 2004 the wilhelm gustloff, which was packed with refugees when it sank on the night of jan 10, 1945, in what experts say is the worst maritime disaster in history, has been stripped of everything from.
The figures from the research of heinz schon make the total loss in the sinking to be 9,343 total, including about 5,000 children. More than 1500 people died in this worst peacetime maritime disaster. In the final months of world war ii, 75 years ago, german citizens and soldiers fleeing the soviet army died when the wilhelm gustloff sank. Polar shift, puttnam, new york, 2005, isbn 9780399152719. Hitlers titanic the deadliest and most secret catastrophe in the history of maritime warfare. The wilhelm gustloff, like the titanic, was a big passenger liner and was reasonably new and luxurious. It was the first i can recall of hearing about this ship and then reading of the tragedy in 45. On its final voyage, germanys wilhelm gustloff carried soldiers and thousands of civilians, many of them children. An estimated 9,000 passengers were killed in the sinking, making it the greatest maritime disaster in history. Please let me say something to this special film work with 3 parts.
One of the most notorious events of world war ii was the sinking of the mv wilhelm gustloff. The sinking of mv wilhelm gustloff by the soviet submarine s resulted in the greatest maritime disaster in history with the largest loss of life at sea. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Then in 1945, it was used as barracks for the trainees of uboats. Barbarossa class ocean liners, cruise ships of germany, ferries of germany, ships of north german lloyd, ships of the hamburg america line, victorian era passenger ships of germany, world war ii passenger ships of germany, world war i passenger. The following is from my book, hellstormthe death of nazi germany, 19441947 for millions of germans cut off on the baltic coast by the rapid red army advance, only one avenue of escape remained openthe sea. By promoting and displaying such artifacts, they are prevented from falling into the hands of private collectors to which they will be lost to the world.
Combines historical elements, such as the sinking of the wilhelm gustloff, with fictional elements, such as the book s major characters and events. The story of the mv wilhelm gustloff kindle edition by roger. The museum currently houses the largest public collection of artifacts from. Jan 29, 2016 the author has written a book for young readers called salt to the sea, out tuesday, about four fictional young passengers on the wilhelm gustloff. It was not possible to simply book a voyage on the gustloff, however.
The sinking remains the worst maritime disaster in history but the titanic and other muchpublicised losses tend to shield the wilhelm gustloff from greater scrutiny. The wilhelm gustloff, which was packed with refugees when it sank on the night of jan 10, 1945, in what experts say is the worst maritime disaster. Fascinating book of a terrible tragedy that largely remains unknown, difficult to see how this ship was a so called military target but what happened happened short book but very informative. Crabwalk by gunter grass wake county libraries book a. But the circumstances of the disaster have attracted growing interest and this book by edward petruskevich is a case in point.
To this day, the deliberate sinking of this refugee ship filled with women and children remains not only the worst nautical disaster in world history but one of the most heartless and sadistic war crimes ever committed. The story of the mv wilhelm gustloff kindle edition. Mv wilhelm gustloffthe soviet sinking of mv wilhelm gustloff in january. Wilhelm gustloff, german ocean liner that was sunk by a soviet submarine on january 30, 1945. The german ship mv wilhelm gustloff plowed through the choppy water, her cabins, decks, saloons, and even her drained swimming pool jammed with refugees. Mv wilhelm gustloff wikipedia, a enciclopedia livre. Over 9,000 people died in the baltic sea on january 30, 1945, in an attempt to evade the red army. Even here, however, soviet aircraft controlled the skies above and.
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