When the wilhelm gustloff was torpedoed by a soviet submarine and sank, it was an event unlike any in naval history, because of the sheer scale of the tragedy. Novel containing lengthy sequences set on the gustloff. One of the most notorious events of world war ii was the sinking of the mv wilhelm gustloff. 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. Wilhelm gustloff petruskevich edward 9780464960348 at the best online prices at ebay. Select from a wide range of models, decals, meshes, plugins, or audio that help bring your imagination into reality. Among them are joana, emilia, florian, and alfred, whose paths converge en route to the ship that promises salvation, the wilhelm gustloff.
The mv wilhelm gustloff now lies off the northern coast of poland, 450 metres at the bottom of the baltic sea. Through the years, countless ships have been lost at sea, the titanic being the most familiar and much later the andrea doria. In the packed dining hall of the luxury liner wilhelm gustloff, as in most of the rest of the country, a radio was broadcasting hitlers address, but the thousands of refugees from pomerania and east and west prussia who had struggled onto the ship werent listening to the nazi dictator now. Januar 1945 hilfe fur legion condor laube gustloff als,schwimmende kaserne sonnendeck oberes promenaden deck unteres promenadendeck.
More died on this wwii ship than on the titanic and. The sinking of the wilhelm gustloff national vanguard. Roblox, the roblox logo and powering imagination are among our. 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. 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.
The vessel is designed to hold a maximum of 1,880 passengers and crew. It was sunk in the baltic sea on the night of january 30, 1945, by a soviet submarine. 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. Young adult author ruta sepetys revisits the ships 1945 sinking in salt to the. Among them are joana, emilia, and florian, whose paths converge en route to the ship that promises salvation, the wilhelm gustloff.
Youre a german refugee trying to escape the red army. Learn how to pronounce wilhelm gustloff and more about the wilhelm gustloff word at. The wilhelm gustloff was the third reichs classiest passenger liner when she was pressed into service evacuating german civilians from poland as the soviets advanced in the waning days of wwii. He has taken thousands of underwater pictures of baltic wrecks as well as many caves on different continents. Young adult author ruta sepetys revisits the ships 1945 sinking in. Wilhelm gustloff was a german military transport ship which was sunk on 30 january 1945 by soviet submarine s in the baltic sea while evacuating german civilians, nazi officials and. 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. Media in category wilhelm gustloff ship, 1938 the following 27 files are in this category, out of 27 total.
This is a recreation of the german ship wilhelm gustloff which sank on january 30th. The sinking ship resulted in the loss of an estimated 9,300 victims, including 5,000 children. Wilhelm gustloff passenger ship 19371945, wreck, wreck database. Designed to hold only 2,000, during this voyage it held over 9,000 people including military personnel leaving the red army and refugees fleeing east prussia. The last voyage of the gustloff 2008 is a national geographic tv show about the wilhelm gustoff, a german ship that set sail from gdynia, poland to kiel, germany in january 1945. He lived in davos, switzerland and worked for the swiss government as a meteorologist. Ship of fate by roger moorhouse is the story of a ship named the mv wilhelm gustloff. Wilhelm gustloff the greatest maritime disaster in history. Wilhelm gustloff january 30, 1895 february 4, 1936 was the founder and leader of the swiss nsdap ao the national socialist party organization for german citizens abroad. Edward petruskevich, wilhelm gustloff museum curator approximate size.
Wilhelm gustloff stock pictures, royaltyfree photos. Today is the 75th anniversary of the worlds worst loss of life on board a single ship. 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 civilians, german officials, refugees from prussia, lithuania, latvia, poland, estonia and croatia and military personnel from gotenhafen gdynia as the red army advanced. The goal of the daf was the control and direction of the entire german labor force and the kdf was used as a. Mv wilhelm gustloff was a german military transport ship which was sunk on 30 january 1945 by soviet submarine s in the baltic sea while evacuating german civilians, nazi officials and military personnel from gdynia gotenhafen as the red army advanced. 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. The sinking of the wilhelm gustloff caused the deaths of more than 9. Those on board included 9,000 civilians fleeing an advancing red army, german.
Combines historical elements, such as the sinking of the wilhelm gustloff, with fictional elements, such as the books major characters and events. The wilhelm gustloff museum is an online nonprofit museum dedicated to preserving the artifacts from the wilhelm gustloff and her sister ship the e. As adolf hitler watches wilhelm gustloff s widow, hedwig gustloff, breaks a bottle of champagne on the bow christening the ship at the launch ceremony. The kdf was a suborganization of the deutsche arbeitsfront or german labor front daf. A ticket for the gustloff from someone who didnt board the ship at the last minute. As we rightly prepare to mark the 75th anniversary of. Yet, there were other lesser known, but even greater disasters that history would like to forget the wilhelm gustloff is one. More than 1500 people died in this worst peacetime maritime disaster. Learn more about the sinking of the wilhelm gustloff in this article.
Lothar linack and sonja springer prepare the last remaining lifeboat from the cruise ship wilhelm gustloff, which sunk in 1945, to be handed over in hoyerswerda, germany, 05 august 2014. World war ii is drawing to a close in east prussia and thousands of refugees are on a desperate trek toward freedom, many with something to hide. The wilhelm gustloff sank below the waves with the cries of the many still on board being drowned out by the waves and the gale blowing across the baltic. Find highquality wilhelm gustloff stock photos and editorial news pictures from getty images. On its final voyage, germanys wilhelm gustloff carried soldiers and thousands of civilians, many of them children. Were taking modern ship building and taking to its roots with this wooden ship pack that includes 4 modern bohemyths and they have been turned 100% wood. Forced by circumstance to unite, the three find their strength, courage, and trust in each other tested with each step closer to safety. Feb 18, 2016 the biggest maritime disaster in history was not titanic but a ship called wilhelm gustloff that sank and killed 9,343 people. Loaded with 10,000 passengers crammed into every public space available, the wilhelm gustloff departed from gdansk danzig sailing for the german. 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. It was a ship with an interesting history that was being used by the nazis to evacuate germans from the oncoming red army in operation. Sinking of mv wilhelm gustloff the deadliest maritime.
You would think that such an anniversary would be heavily commemorated, but precious few events are planned to mark the sinking of the mv wilhelm gustloff. Dec 12, 2019 mv wilhelm gustloff was a german ship which was sank by a soviet submarine. The nazi cruise ship wilhelm gustloff, with cabins for 1,465 people was brought back into service after having being used as a floating barracks. The ship is named after the former head of the swiss nazi party who was assassinated by david frankfurter on feb. Its one of the millions of unique, usergenerated 3d experiences created on roblox. Polar shift, puttnam, new york, 2005, isbn 9780399152719. Wilhelm gustloff as lazarettschiffe d on the bitter cold night of january 30th, 1945, the former kdf cruise liner wilhelm gustloff, at the time serving as a barracks ship for the kriegsmarine, left from the baltic port of gotenhafen and set sail for the relative safety of the west, away from the advance of soviet forces that were converging on the region. The last voyage of the gustloff online full episodes of. He specializes in deep underwater wreck photography.
Tomasz stachura is one of the most active wreck divers in the baltic sea. Young adult author ruta sepetys revisits the ships 1945 sinking in salt to the sea. Download premium images you cant get anywhere else. Princes death in the baltic is an account of the worst maritime disaster in history, the sinking of the wilhelm gustloff in january 1945. Sank after being torpedoed by the soviet submarine s on 30 january 1945. Mv wilhelm gustloff was a german ship which was sank by a soviet submarine. But the circumstances of the disaster have attracted growing interest and this book by edward petruskevich is a case in point.
Another wilhelm gustloff photo album has this reich youth leadership cruise dated to june 15th and 16th, 1939 from. The true death toll is unlikely to ever be known but what is certain is that the sinking of the german ship wilhelm gustloff was the worst maritime disaster in history. This is the sole site where information of this event comes from, yet with this. On this episode of the sofa king podcast, we travel back in time to look at the worst maritime disaster of all time, the sinking of the mv wilhelm gustloff.
An estimated 9,000 passengers were killed in the sinking, making it the greatest maritime disaster in history. Feb 17, 2016 on its final voyage, germanys wilhelm gustloff carried soldiers and thousands of civilians, many of them children. On 30 january she was crammed with over 10,000 people desperate to escape the red army. He remained its leader from 1932 until he was assassinated in 1936. Mv wilhelm gustloff wikipedia, a enciclopedia livre. Courtesy of the wilhelm gustloff museum soon the nearby soviet submarine s, under the command of alexander. At 55 degrees 07 minutes north, 17 degrees 41 minutes east lies the broken and dead body of a once proud and majestic ship. The worlds largest online museum on the wilhelm gustloff and robert ley. 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.
The ms wilhelm gustloff 25484 brt was launched in 1937 as the crown jewel of the kraft durch freude strength through joy or kdf organization. The accident is termed as the deadliest maritime disaster in the maritime history. According to the list of passengers on the 30th aboard the gustloff were 918 naval officers and men, 173 crew, 373 members of the womans naval auxiliary units, 162 wounded, and 4,424. 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. Fleeing from a brutal soviet red army onslaught, the wilhelm gustloff is ready to leave port jammed with over 10,000 german refugees, naval personnel and wounded soldiers. Dec 17, 2014 gustloff werke weimar, was a located in weimar germany, the facility was the lead firm of the wilhelm gustloff foundation wilhelm gustloff stiftung, which was a state owned corporation founded upon nationalized jewish property the national socialist seized during its early consolidation phase 19331936. Courtesy of the wilhelm gustloff museum soon the nearby soviet submarine s. The wilhelm gustloff, like the titanic, was a big passenger liner and was reasonably new and luxurious.
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