| Owned by VeteranWebDesign LLCAt 55 degrees 07 minutes north, 17 degrees 41 minutes east lies the broken and dead body of a once proud and majestic ship. On 2nd of July found her at sea with 750 of her countries wounded on board heading for Kiel & Swinemunde. Her crew except for the Captain and several officers and of the black gang was released. But the people onboard MV Wilhelm Gustloff had quite a different experience when they boarded this massive ship.The year was 1945, and Germany was losing its grasp on the Second World War. Apr 7, 2017 - mv Wilhelm Gustloff was a German cruise ship that sunk by U-boat in 1942 9'000 people had died was biggest tragedy maritime disaster in history. Schön, who ultimately devoted years to studying the shipwreck he had survived, later recounted in a Despite the magnitude of the tragedy, in the frenzied closing months of the war it would receive little attention. 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. The Soviet advance south of them had cut off land routes; their best chance at escape was on the Baltic Sea., under the command of Alexander Marinesko, who was in a tenuous position with his own chain of command after his mission was delayed by his land-based alcohol consumption habits, spotted the large, illuminated ship.
Ahead of the advancing Red army refugees by the hundreds then by the thousands flooded the Gulf cities. Cruising and relaxing on a lavish ship in the sun is a dream of many people. The KMS Lowe was able to rescue 472 passengers.3 German mine sweepers were able to pull 179 people to safety. Snow, sleet and wind conspired to challenge the crew and sicken the already beleaguered passengers. (Courtesy of the Wilhelm Gustloff Museum) The realities of … One word of hope came through, an unexpected ray of hope that over two million refugees laid their life on. The fall of the Third Reich was by this point inevitable; Berlin would succumb within months. By word of mouth terror and hysteria turned into flames of panic as news of Russian retribution and vengeance against any German man woman or child for deeds against the motherland and her people. It presented an easy target for a commander who could use a boost to his reputation. The sinking of MV Wilhelm Gustloff by the Soviet Submarine S-13 resulted in the greatest maritime disaster in history with the largest loss of life at sea. !” Once there Marinesko sees for himself an enormous target and orders a shadowing course be set, tubes one through 4 to be loaded and the crew called to battle stations. “Here was comparative safety inside the boat, on the other side certain death.”For those who remained on deck, it was becoming apparent that death in the freezing water was imminent. Her luxurious interior was gutted and rebuilt-as operating, treatment and exam rooms as well as x-ray facilities and ward rooms. Ernst Wilhelm …
The Wilhelm Gustloff was torpedoed on Jan. 30, 1945, killing thousands of people—many of them refugees ... 10,582 people were packed onto a cruise ship that was meant to … She was to obtain minor repairs and replenishments and return to Oslo but her Captain received orders to proceed to Stettin and await further directives.From first rate military hospital ship, the Kriegsmarine required the services of the Gustloff in a different way now. She is to be used by the to house about 1,000 sailors which will be her duty for the next four years.
By October 1944 the Russian army began to fight its way west across the eastern front toward Germany. By January 1945 Danzig was crammed with hundreds of thousands of fleeing German men, women, children, retreating soldiers and high ranking German officials with their families trying to escape west. Gustloff was given a state funeral in his birthplace of Schwerin in Mecklenburg, with Adolf Hitler, Joseph Goebbels, Hermann Göring, Heinrich Himmler, Martin Bormann and Joachim von Ribbentrop in attendance. Despite having earlier been prohibited from fleeing, German citizens understood by the end of January that no other choice existed. Her career as a cruise ship for the German citizen was unfortunately cut short as Hitler’s Titanic was only in service for 2 years, from 1937 to 1939 before war time duties came., 1939 she was requisitioned in to the Kriegsmarine… for the war effort a hospital ship for the Third Reich. Note: there are various different accounts however the list beneath is generally accepted as being most accurate.Escorting the Wilhelm Gustloff, was the Torpedo boat “Lowe”. With these obvious changes in the west came cracks in the German military armor on the eastern front as well. Men, women, children, soldiers and wounded were all in the fight for their life but for most, a losing fight.With the list of the great ship continuing to increase, more and more people were sliding and falling into the icy water, with some choosing to jump in an attempt to swim to a raft or life boat that appeared near or possibly just to end it quickly. The KMS Heavy Cruiser Admiral Hipper arrived to lend assistance but had to sail due to the threat of submarines.KMS Patrol Boat VP-1703 arrived on the scene 7 hours after the sinking, locating a life boat with frozen bodies in it, miraculously heard the faint cries and rescued an infant.Freighters Gottingen and Gotenland arrived much too late and were only able to pluck frozen bodies out of the sea.Number of Refugees & crew at the time of her last voyage: 10,600, 1945) situation and condition of the country, there was no reporting of the sinking of the Wilhelm Gustloff to German citizens. Frantically available crew and passengers worked at dropping life boats and rafts but frozen davits, ropes and pulleys plus mad panic along with sub zero temperature made it all nearly impossible.