Vor 81 Jahren, am 30. Januar 1945 um 21:16 Uhr, sank das deutsche Schiff Wilhelm Gustloff, nachdem es von einem sowjetischen U-Boot torpediert worden war, in der Ostsee. Es beförderte über 10.000 Passagiere, hauptsächlich Flüchtlinge, und sank innerhalb einer Stunde. Über 9.000 starben, darunter viele Kinder. Der Untergang ist die tödlichste Seekatastrophe der Geschichte.
https://i.redd.it/avna180a0jgg1.jpeg
Von SirLadthe1st
11 Kommentare
FAFO
Entirely avoidable as well. They were operating as if they still controlled the seas thoroughly. Went into deep waters, was fully lit, and was visibly armed. If they intended to use it to transport civilians rather than continue to use it as a troop transport they could have shrouded the guns and marked it as a hospital ship.
Yet another nazi war crime, using human shields for their troop transport
Fun fact is that the ship would have been named after Adolf Hitler, but he decided to name it after his Swiss colleague, who was assassinated by a brave Jew.
For a moment I thought it was the Cal Arcona (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Cap_Arcona). But sadly apparently a similar event happened 3 months later again…
RIP to all those who died.
The Soviet captain who torpedoed the ship, Alexander Marinesko, was imideatly awarded the order of the red banner and later the hero of the Soviet Union, the USSR’s highest award. Many Russians as well as the Russian government still consider this tragedy a „military success“.
She was a valid military target. This does not mean it is not a tragedy but this is not a war crime.
Remember that during the evacuation of the Baltics themselves it were Soviet ships on the receiving end. Unfortunatly, the Eastern front of WW2 is a story in which civilians were not excluded from the violence and international treaties were generally ignored. A tragedy for all innocent people involved
Read Salt to the Sea- superb book which culminates in the disaster. Historical fiction with a really interesting style.
As much as number of death, sinking Wilhelm Gustloff isn’t a war crime. This ship was a legitimate military target due to fact it move enemy personel, didn’t show any sign of being a non-combatant (like flying Red Cross flag), was armed and participate in military operation („Operation Hannibal“).
BUT it’s always worth to remember more context
>Initially, Erich Koch, the Gauleiter of East Prussia, forbade evacuation of civilians (until 20 January 1945), and ordered that civilians trying to flee the region without permission should be instantly shot. Any kind of preparations made by civilians were treated as defeatism and „Wehrkraftzersetzung“ (undermining of military morale). Koch and many other Nazi functionaries were among the first to flee during the Soviet advance.
A tragedy but unfortunately perfectly legal. Of the 10,000 on board, 1,500 were military personnel and the ship was armed and not marked as a hospital ship. Germany seemed to be operating as if the Soviet navy didn’t exist (which to be fair they barely did), and I’m not sure why this came as a shock to them.
🖕🏻🇷🇺👎🏻