Wilhelm Gustloff
Wilhelm Gustloff in 1940
The Wilhelm Gustloff was a ship built by Blohm & Voss Schiffswerft und Maschinenfabrik in Hamburg and named after the assassinated leader of the Swiss Nazi party, Wilhelm Gustloff. It was launched on May 5, 1937.
Its original purpose was low-cost cruise market. The German Kraft durch Freude (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.
On 30th January 1945 left port in Gdynia with more than 10 500 passengers (official data: 173 crew, 918 seamen from 2nd school division, 162 wounded, 4424 refugees and 373, 17-25 years old, women from Kriegsmarine support service; there were also thousends of other civilians without boarding passes).
At 21:16, the first torpedo from soviet submarine S-13 strikes the front of the ship, blowing a gaping hole in the port bow. Moments later, the second hits further astern where the swimming pool is located. Finally, the third scores a direct hit in the engine room below the funnel. About 50 minutes later the ship slips below the surface of the icy Baltic, taking thousands of trapped people with it. With the Gustloff gone, the rescue effort continues. The Löwe, obviously first to be on the scene, continues to pluck survivors (in total 472) out of lifeboats and the water using nets. It is no easy task – waves can be metres high. Another torpedo boat T-36 arrives just in time to see the liner go under. It gets to work rescuing survivors (total of 564). The heavy cruiser that the T-36 had been escorting - Admiral Hipper - arrives later but cannot stay due to fear of U-boat attack. Three minesweepers eventually arrive to assist in a desperate race against time and the cold waters of the Baltic, saving a total of 179 survivors between them. By the time freighters Göttingen and Gotenland and other smaller boats arrive to assist, they are plucking mostly frozen lifeless bodies from the water. Seven hours after the ship went down, a small patrol boat VP-1703 arrives to a sea of floating bodies. It saves living infant from one of the life boats. This is the last official survivor of the Wilhelm Gustloff.
The total number of survivors rescued number approximately 1230. Over 9.000 go to their deaths - trapped at the bottom of the Baltic or floating frozen on its unforgiving surface.
) | Map of Gustloff, Steuben and Goya tragedy |
Wilhelm Gustloff on postcards:
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Pictures of Wilhelm Gustloff:
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) | Colour picture of Wilhelm Gustloff in port of Gdynia (Gotenhafen) |
Inside Wilhelm Gustloff:
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