The Wilhelm Gustloff was a cruise liner, built and launched specifically for this purpose in 1937 by the Blohm & Voss shipyards in Germany.
As a cruise ship, she served the Kraft durch Freude (Strength through Joy) program of the Nazis, where working-class people were offered luxurious holidays at affordable prices, provided they sit through Nazi propaganda and indoctrination.
However, she was to remain in history as the greatest naval disaster EVER.
Just before the final collapse of the Eastern front in 1945, the Wilhelm Gustloff was evacuating civilians and military personnel.
She left the harbour of Gotenhafen, near Danzig, in East Prussia in the afternoon of January 30 1945. She carried about 1500 military personnel and as many as 9000 civilians (estimates vary between ~5000 and 8900+ ).
Because of traffic in the area, it was decided that she leave some navigation lights on.
This proved disastrous. She was spotted later in the evening by S-13 , a Stalinets-class Soviet submarine, commanded by Captain Alexandr Marinesko, without anyone being able to identify the ship by name.
Stalinets-class SubmarineThe torpedo marked FOR STALIN jammed in the tube but the other 3 were launched and scored direct hits on the Wilhelm Gustloff.
Only about 1230 people were rescued. It was a disaster that claimed at least twice the number of people that died aboard the Titanic and the Lusitania combined.
Interpretation of the Gustloff's final moments by Irwin J. KappesTechnically, no. The Wilhelm Gustloff did not have the insignia of a hospital-ship, no red cross and she carried military personnel.
In fact IT WAS a war crime, for which the Nazi regime were to blame, since they stubbornly refused to evacuate civilians in time to save them from the unspeakable vengeance that the Red Army soldiers were sure to exact to avenge the brutality of the Germans during Barbarossa.
For this bloody achievement, Captain Marinesko was awarded the order of the Hero of the Soviet Union only posthumously, since at the time he was not a good example of an officer to receive such a decoration...
Marinesko monument at Kaliningrad (Königsberg)PS 2: The Third Reich has 2 other important anniversaries this day.
On January 30 1933, Franz von Papen and Paul von Hindenburg, in their good judgement and far-seeing cunning, appoint Adolf Hitler as Reichskanzler in order to tame him...
On January 30 1943, Adolf Hitler promotes the fidgety Generaloberst Friedrich Wilhelm Ernst Paulus to the rank of Generalfeldmarschall, expecting that, since no German Field Marshall was taken alive by the enemy, Paulus would commit suicide when the last remains of the German 6th Army would be crushed by the Soviets. Paulus failed him even in that. He was captured alive.
Congratulations on your promotion, Herr General. And congratulations on the whole outcome of the war and the fates of millions of Germans, Herr Hitler....
Friedrich Paulus
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