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PANIC
Full-fledged
panic is erupting in
East Prussia
in January 1945.
Tales of Russian revenge for the Nazi invasion of
the “Motherland” spread like wildfire all the way to
the Wilhelm
Gustloff’s port in Gotenhafen’s Oxhöft Pier.
Hundreds of thousands of German refugees continue
to stream in to the
Danzig
, hoping for safe
passage to the West.
Alarm
widens even more after news of massacres in Nemmersdorf
filter through. On
a counteroffensive, the German 4th Army managed
to temporarily recapture Nemmersdorf, the first town
within German borders to be run-over by the Soviets in
October 1944. Nazi
news agencies are quick to document Soviet brutality.
Newsreels exhibit horrifying images of rape and
murder (especially women and children) with the hope that
the world will be appalled over the brutality of the
“Bolsheviks”. A
defiant Hitler hysterically calls for all able-bodied men
to defend
Germany
.
Many of these “men” are boys as young as 15 or
senior citizens of the Volkssturm
– Hitler’s desperately assembled homeland defense army
where any male capable of fighting was thrown into battle
(often with only a gun and an armband to identify them).
The
western world is not sympathetic.
Newsreels, newspapers, radio reports and tales of
Red Army carnage only serve to intensify the panic within eastern
greater-Germany.
From the decks of the Wilhelm
Gustloff, sounds of advancing artillery grow louder
with each passing day.
Despite heroic efforts to hold the front, the Reich
is collapsing. A
major offensive launched by the Soviets in mid-January
accelerates the exodus from
East Prussia
.
Many Ethnic Germans cut off from the Danzig by Red Army
troops negotiate passage across the frozen Frisches Haff,
a freshwater lagoon on the Baltic coast. Soviet
planes circle in the sky, bombing defenseless
refugees. Direct hits are not necessary - weakening
the ice is enough to send families with their wagons and
horses through to an icy death. To the many refugees streaming toward ports in the
Danzig
, escape to the West is the only hope of avoiding certain suffering and
death. Hitler's brutal 'war of extermination' that
began in June 1941 in the East and causing unprecedented
human suffering - has turned upon him with a vengeance.
OPERATION
HANNIBAL
Hope
is in the form of Operation
Hannibal
.
Eventually to become the most successful wartime
evacuation in history,
Hannibal
will be responsible for
transporting 2 million Germans safely to the West.
Despite Hitler’s refusal to yield an inch, Gross
Admiral Karl Dönitz of the Navy manages to send
the one word coded signal ‘HANNIBAL’ on January 21 for
his submariners to flee to the West.
Unlike Hitler, Dönitz accepts the true nature of
the desperate situation and uses this opportunity to
evacuate all Germans possible – including refugees.
On
January 22, 1945
, the Gustloff
begins preparations to accept thousands of refugees.
There are also obvious challenges involved in
getting the ship running properly.
With the exception of minor test runs, the Gustloff’s
engines have not operated in over 4 years.
Ships
of all shapes and sizes are assembled and prepared for
sailing West. Joining
the Gustloff for the evacuation will be other submarine training ships
such as the Hansa,
Hamburg
, Deutschland
and Cap Arcona
combined with numerous cargo vessels.
All are directly under the command of Dönitz to
ensure urgency.
THE
SOVIET SUBMARINE
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Captain
Marinesko |
Meanwhile,
a maverick submarine captain with the Soviet Navy arrives
in
Gulf
of
Danzig
waters. Captain Alexander
Marinesko of Soviet submarine S-13
is under the gun. On
January 2, 1945
he is supposed to leave
port in
Turku
,
Finland
to patrol the Baltic
with a team of three other Soviet subs.
Unfortunately, his New Year’s Eve celebrations go
out of control. He
disappears on
December 31st,
1944
for a three-day binge
on alcohol and brothels.
Despite all efforts of his shielding crew, they
cannot locate him.
At
sea, Marinesko is a skilled and decisive submarine captain
who enjoys the admiration and devotion of his crew – and
never touches a drop of alcohol.
On land he is volatile and impulsive, with a
history of drinking beyond excess.
The crew finally locates him, dries him out in a
sauna and returns him to base one day after the other subs
have left.
Soviet
security forces (NKVD
– precursor to the KGB) are livid and suspect Marinesko
of treachery. They
want him court martialled.
On the other hand, the Navy is more
“forgiving”. Stalin
has pressured the Navy for all possible resources deployed
to destroy the “fascists”.
His loyal crew wants him back and could cause even
more problems if denied.
Finally after numerous days of interrogation and
waiting in limbo, Marinesko heads out to the Baltic aboard
the S-13 on
January 11, 1945
.
He still commands his vessel at sea, but needs a
big score to mitigate his misdeeds while on land.
He will find it soon enough.
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Soviet Submarine S-13 |
THE
WILHELM GUSTLOFF - DESPERATE SHIP OF HOPE
The
"German Dunkirk" spearheaded by Gross
Admiral Dönitz is about to begin.
The Gustloff once again finds itself in the role as flagship in
Gotenhafen. This
time however, it is not a gleaming white flagship of the
KdF cruise program. It
is a naval-grey ship of hope for anxious throngs of
refugees who are lucky enough to make it as far as the
docks. On
January 28, 1945
, the Gustloff
is ordered to be ready to leave within 48 hours.
The
scene in Gotenhafen is panic-laced chaos.
Thousands and thousands of refugees - mostly women
and children - jam the harbour.
You won’t find too many able-bodied men.
Those who can fight the Russians have already been
procured for duty (feared SS Stormtroopers patrolling the
crowds ensure none are overlooked).
Many are not well - having endured bitter cold and
long distances by carriage or foot in unforgiving January
weather. Thousands
do not make it to the
Danzig
ports.
Unimaginable death litters the roadsides and in
places like the frozen Frisches Haff lagoon.
Despite
the mass of pulsating humanity on the docks, boarding the Gustloff
is relatively orderly in the early stages.
Armed sentries guard the gangways to keep out those
without priority or privilege.
The ship’s printing press, once used to create
colourful cruise agendas, now cranks out the coveted “
Identity
Pass
” that allows access to the Gustloff.
The precious piece of paper with the Gothic type
offers hope.
As
expected, the first right to these passes is provided for
the U-boat officers, crew members, and a few hundred
members of the Women’s Naval Auxiliary (some members of
which are accommodated in the drained swimming pool).
Wounded soldiers arriving by train are also given
priority. “Privileged”
refugees then get their turn.
The first ones to receive passes are those with
“connections” – to family and friends on board, or
to those with local influence.
Of course, those with money attempt to buy them.
We will never know how many underhanded deals are
made. One
thing is sure: as more and more privileged board, tension
and envy mount in “ordinary” refugees crowded around
the gangways.
With
less than two days until the ship until departure, 10 of
the 22 lifeboats are missing.
After over four years as floating barracks, lifeboats
have gradually disappeared from their davits –
requisitioned for other duties in the harbour such as
creating smoke screens to obscure Allied air raids.
Hastily, 18 small boats are hoisted on and secured
to the sundeck. Numerous
life rafts are added in strategic places around the decks.
Anti-aircraft guns are affixed to the deck to offer
token protection - Luftwaffe control of the skies a
distant memory.
According
to an official list, only three thousand refugees are
already loaded onto the Gustloff
by the morning of
January 30th,
1945
(they have stopped
counting). As
it becomes more certain the ship will sail on this day,
more crowds rush the gangways.
Mothers and children become separated.
Children and infants are handed to those going on
board. In
terrifying manner, shoving on gangways throw some children
overboard – disappearing into the ice cold water between
the dock and hull. Small
boats pull up along side filled with mothers and children
begging for a spot on board.
For some, persistence is rewarded as nets and
gangways are lowered to take more on board.
On
this bitter cold grey day in Gotenhafen, scattered with
snow and sleet, exact numbers of those aboard will never
be known. By
the time the Gustloff
is ready to leave port, well over 10,000 anxious evacuees
are crammed aboard the ship.
Within
9 hours, 3 torpedoes will hit the Wilhelm
Gustloff. It
will sink to the bottom of the
Baltic Sea
, taking over 9,500
souls with it.
the Gustloff's last hours and sinking
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