| Barbarossa,
Operation |
The
code name given for Nazi Germany's invasion of the
Soviet Union in June 1941 - a decision that would
ultimately prove to be the biggest mistake Hitler
ever made.
Nazi brutality
during the invasion turned full-circle as the war
neared its end. It provided the roots for
German/East Prussian mass panic and fear of the
Russians that forced thousands of refugees into
ports to evacuate aboard ships like the Wilhelm
Gustloff.
|
| Delivery
of Wilhelm Gustloff |
The Gustloff was
officially delivered by its ship builder Blohm
& Voss and ready for use on March 15, 1938,
where it subsequently went on an overnight test
run.
|
| Frankfurter
(David) arrested |
After
Wilhelm Gustloff was shot on February 4, 1936, a manhunt was not
necessary. Frankfurter showed up at a local
police station in Davos and freely admitted to his
actions. After initial disbelief on the part
of the officer taking his confession, Frankfurter was
finally locked up in his cell late the same night.
|
| Frankfurter
(David) dies |
Frankfurter
died of natural causes on July 19, 1982 in
Israel. He left a wife and two children.
|
| Frankfurter
(David) released from prison |
As
the tides of World War II changed, Frankfurter
applied to the Swiss government for a pardon in
February 27, 1945. He was granted his wish
on June 1st where he promptly was asked to leave
the country and pay restitution.
|
| Frankfurter
(David) trial |
December
9 through 14, 1936 in Chur, Switzerland.
Frankfurter was found guilty and sentenced to
eighteen years in prison.
|
| Great
Patriotic War |
What
the Russians call "World War II" -
covering a period from 1941 through 1945.
The Russians were allies of Germany until invaded
in June 1941 by Hitler's Operation Barbarossa.
|
| Gustloff
(Wilhelm) assassination |
February
4, 1936 in the study of his home in Davos, Switzerland. Shot four
times at point-blank range by David Frankfurter,
he dies almost immediately.
|
| Gustloff
(Wilhelm) funeral |
Held
in his birthplace of the northern German
town of Schwerin on February 12, 1936,
Gustloff is given a state funeral attended by
numerous Nazi dignitaries. Hitler himself
provided the eulogy.
|
| Hannibal,
Operation |
Even
today, Operation Hannibal
remains the largest ever maritime-based
evacuation. Also known as the "German
Dunkirk", Hannibal was ordered by
Admiral Dönitz in January 1945 to evacuate
Germans to the West from the Gulf of Danzig region
(current day Gulf of Gdansk). The Gustloff
was one of over 1,100 ships included in the
operation. Despite the Gustloff's
tragic sinking (not to mention those of the Steuben
and Goya), Hannibal was considered
an overwhelming success by evacuating over 2
million Germans.
|
Hitler's
12th Anniversary Speech |
Hitler's
last speech ever for an anniversary of Nazi
ascension to power in Germany. The speech -
broadcasted from the Reichstag, echoed from the
ship's speakers throughout the Wilhelm Gustloff
as it made its way West. This was very dramatic
because only minutes after the speech ended
(around 9pm) on January 30, 1945, three torpedoes
struck the Gustloff.
Read what Hitler
said here.
|
| January 30
(The date) |
The
date January 30th provides eerie
coincidences in the Gustloff
story. All of
the following happened on a January 30th: Assassinated
Nazi leader Wilhelm Gustloff was born
in 1895. The
Nazi Party came to power in
Germany
in
1933. In
the generally
accepted turning point of the war, the
6th Army was defeated at Stalingrad
in 1943. Finally,
of course, the Gustloff
was torpedoed and sunk on this date in 1945.
|
Keel
laid for the Gustloff 
|
August
1, 1936 at Blohm & Voss shipyards in
Hamburg. Robert Ley, head of the DAF
and KdF drove in the ceremonial first bolt.
|
| Launching
of the Gustloff |
May
5, 1937 at Blohm & Voss shipyard #511 in
Hamburg, Germany. It would be almost another
10 months until the ship was completed and ready
for its first test run.
|
| Lingiad,
The |
A
non-competitive world gymnastics festival event in Stockholm, Sweden
during late July
1939. It was named for a
founding father in Swedish gymnastics and physical therapy
(amusingly better known in modern times as the
inventor of the “Swedish Massage”).
Over
the course of two weeks, the Gustloff acted as a
floating dormitory for over 1,000 gymnasts, who were shuttled
back and forth from events via motorboat.
Typical for the time, due to strict Nazi control the Gustloff
did not tie up at port in Sweden because it was not “officially”
considered an Axis ally.
|
| Lübbe
(Carl) dies |
On April 28, 1938, the
Gustloff's first captain suffered a heart
attack on the ship's first "official"
cruise. It occurred while he was on the
bridge during the second day of the journey to Madeira. During his short tenure, he had
captained the Gustloff for its overnight test run, two
unofficial cruises, and during its role as a
floating polling station in England.
|
| Nuremberg
Laws |
Two
key laws passed by the Nazi government in
September 1935 that effectively (and formally)
reduced Jews to second-class citizens within the
"Reich". Among other things,
marriages or relations between "Germans"
and "Jews" were outlawed. German
Jews lost political status and had their
citizenship revoked to become mere
"subjects". The Nuremberg laws
paved the way for more severe anti-Jewish
legislation that eventually stripped Jews of all
human rights.
David Frankfurter
noted that these laws were a main contributor
toward his desire to act against Swiss Nazi
leader Wilhelm Gustloff.
|
Olympic
Games
Tokyo 1940 |
During
the launching of the vessel bearing his name,
Robert Ley, head of the DAF, stated that he
intended to send his KdF ships (including
the Gustloff) to Tokyo in 1940 for the
planned Olympic Games. He expected
that a convoy of up to 12 ships filled with
workers and athletes would sail to the Far East
via America. Of course, these Olympics were
cancelled once World War II broke out.
|
| Sea
Lion,
Operation |
Was
the codename of Hitler's planned invasion of
England in 1940 (in German: Seelöwe).
The Wilhelm Gustloff was ordered to Wesermünde
with many other ships to prepare for operation,
which would eventually be postponed indefinitely on
September 17, 1940. The Gustloff
(known officially as Lazarettschiff D as a
hospital ship) was to be stationed in Rotterdam,
Netherlands to accept wounded soldiers.
|
| Pegaway
Rescue |
On
April 3, 1938 during the second ever voyage by
the Wilhelm Gustloff, the radio room
received an SOS from an English coal steamer Pegaway.
A victim of a unforgiving storm in the English
Channel, it was damaged, rudderless and sinking.
Captain
Lübbe ordered an immediate course set for the Pegaway,
and nineteen seamen from the condemned English
steamer were rescued using one of the Gustloff’s
motorboats.
|
| Spanish
Civil War |
Between
1936 and 1939, Spain was in the grip of a complex
civil war fought between Republicans and
Nationalists. Nazi
Germany provided support to the Nationalists who,
under the leadership of fascist dictator Francisco
Franco, were ultimately victorious.
The conflict was
considered a prime preparation/testing ground for
the Nazi war machine, which provided troops,
equipment and armaments. Approximately
20,000 Germans served in Spain as part of the
infamous Condor Legion.
After the civil
war officially ended, in late May 1939 the Wilhelm
Gustloff was diverted from its cruise duties to
the port of Vigo in Spain. Along with a
convoy of German ships, the Gustloff picked
up over 1,400 Condor Legion troops and returned them
home to a triumphant welcome in Hamburg.
|
| Test
run of the Gustloff |
Once
officially delivered, on March 15, 1938 the Wilhelm
Gustloff embarked on an overnight
test run in the North Sea. Filled mostly
with employees from the shipbuilder (Blohm &
Voss), it was a stormy cruise - but from most
accounts leaves a very positive impression upon
the participants lucky to be aboard the world's
most advanced passenger cruise ship of its time.
|
| World
War II starts |
World
War II officially started on September 1, 1939
when Nazi Germany invaded Western Poland, while
Soviet Russia claimed the Eastern portion some two
weeks later.
Within three
weeks, the Wilhelm Gustloff became a
hospital ship (known as Lazarettschiff D)
and was stationed in the Danzig area at port in
Gotenhafen. Ironically, the Gustloff
initially treats more Polish soldiers than Germans
once casualties come on board the floating medical
facility.
|
