| Horst Woit's
childhood would be unimaginable to most people.  On May 20, 2005
at his home in "cottage country" Ontario, he
provided a glimpse into a youth he says was stolen by Hitler
and his cronies - a youth that happened to include
survival of the greatest maritime disaster in history. Privileged
and present to hear his fantastic story were filmmaker Marcus
Kolga from Realworld Pictures and David Krawczyk from
wilhelmgustloff.com.
When we arrived, we were
treated to a brief tour of his beautiful lakefront property
and home (most of it built by Horst himself). After
meeting his wonderfully hospitable (and very patient!) wife
Grace, we sat down by the fireplace in the den and listened
carefully as the emotional survivor told his story. The
picture to the left is of Horst around the time of the
disaster.
In the future, you will be
able to learn even more about Horst's story. Marcus Kolga is currently in
early production of a unique documentary film dedicated to the story
of the Wilhelm Gustloff. It will be like no other
film ever produced and is sure to raise the profile of
this important historical event. Needless to say,
Horst's story will be an important element in the documentary.
This survivor is no stranger when it comes to contributing his
perspective on the tragedy - for he has previously appeared in
numerous books, newspapers, radio, and television programs on the
subject. There is even a reference to him in Crabwalk (Im
Krebsgang) by Günter Grass. Stay tuned to this area
of the website because we will add more details to coincide
with the release of the film.
 It is January 1945 and Horst
is a mischievous 10-year old boy in Elbing (present-day
Elblag, Poland).
Residents desperately wait for official permission to flee
from the Russians. Finally, with a knock on the door by
the Hitler Youth, the order is given to head west and away
from the Red Army advance into East Prussia. With
collapse of Nazi Germany inevitable, the Woit family had previously
made a pact to regroup near Frankfurt as the war was coming to
its bitter end. Meta Woit (pictured at the right) and her son Horst leave
behind Elbing forever, making their way to the Bay of Danzig
by small boat and by foot. Before he leaves however,
Horst steals a small jackknife from his uncle's belongings
stored in his bedroom - an
object that in the near future will prove to become useful
under the most catastrophic of circumstances.
Eventually arriving in
Gotenhafen, Horst and his mother are one of the first to board
the Gustloff. They are issued passes earlier and
less-problematically than many others - mostly because they
are a mother and child (men, adults, larger families have much
more difficulty). In fact, Meta and Horst make it onto
the official passenger list - one that would unofficially grow
more than double as panic mounts closer to departure.
Horst remembers a relatively orderly boarding as they take up
residence in the Gustloff a couple of days before
departure. Of course, to a 10-year old boy, he admits
that it all seemed like some sort of terrific adventure.
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Horst
Woit tells his gripping story to filmmaker Marcus
Kolga in May 2005 |
Once on board, Horst recalls
initially being placed in a large hall somewhere on the
ship. Eventually, he and his mother with her friend and
daughter are relocated to a cabin
in the upper decks on the port side at the stern (back) of the ship. He
clearly remembers leaving Gotenhafen, seeing other former KdF
cruise-ships turned refugee ships at their piers and other
sights (particularly the two lighthouses at the mouth of the
harbour). He recalls the panic increasing
before departure as small boats desperately jockey for a
position beside the Gustloff to transfer more desperate
refugees.
Like any young boy on a
"big adventure", excitement catches up to Horst and
he is eventually lulled to sleep in the cabin once the Gustloff
has left Gotenhafen well-behind it. Like his mother
and many others on board, initial feelings of being
"safe" set in - feelings that will soon vociferously
vanish.
While the young boy soundly
sleeps, Captain Alexander Marinesko of Soviet submarine S-13
fires his salvo of torpedoes soon after 9PM. Deep in
sleep, Woit does not recall hearing the first impact.
Although it most certainly causes him to stir. He hears
and feels the second and third impacts that seal the fate of
the former KdF cruise liner turned escape ship.
Almost immediately, the ship begins to list to the port side.
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Horst
points out key facts about the night of the disaster on
original Gustloff artwork |
Horst and his mother
hurriedly make their way onto the decks and down a gangway
toward the lifeboats. Thankfully, due to their location
on the ship and a fair amount of luck, they are spared the
treacherous below-deck pandemonium and are selected to get on
a lifeboat relatively quickly. Horst sees the SOS flares
being shot from astern into the cold night sky (a
extraordinarily vivid memory he still sees today just like it
was over 60 years ago).
Horst's "misdeed"
of stealing his uncle's jackknife back in Elbing will soon be
forgiven. In fact, it is this very wayward deed that may
have saved his life - and others in the lifeboat. After
the boat is lowered into the water, someone shouts that the
ropes are frozen. If they are not cut loose, the
lifeboat could be pulled down into the depths with the
stricken liner. The young Woit boy produces his knife,
hands it over to a man who eventually cuts the frozen thick
ropes, setting the lifeboat free.
As the lifeboat pulls away
from the Gustloff, Horst's eyes lock in on his former
"ship of adventure" as it slips below the
waterline. As an ironic last gasp, he sees all the
lights in the ship come on in a blaze before it heads down to
its watery grave.
Horst is one of the first to
be rescued in the Gustloff disaster. When the
waves cooperate and with careful timing, he is snagged by an
officer aboard the sole Gustloff escort turned rescue
vessel - Torpedoboat Löwe. He is taken down to
the engine room where the warmth is a considerable contrast to
the frigid temperatures endured in the lifeboat. A
ship's mate looks after him - managing to acquire a marmalade
sandwich for Horst to eat.
Becoming separated from Horst
worries Meta. She is not pulled into the Löwe
until well after her son Horst has been on board. She
frantically searches for him, including a harrowing incident
where she checks under a blanket near the front of the Löwe
- a blanket covering the bodies of children who did not
make it. Finally, mother and son are reunited in an
emotional embrace. The Löwe drops the survivors
in Kolberg (today Kołobrzeg).
After the disaster, Horst and
his mother spend one year in Schwerin, East Germany -
ironically the birthplace and burial place of former Swiss
Nazi leader Wilhelm Gustloff. After experiencing further
unspeakable "challenges" under Soviet rule, they
escape to the west and keep their promise to the rest of the
family to reunite near Frankfurt. Remarkably, Horst says
that none of his family members who made that promise
were killed. Even though it took many months and years,
all somehow made their way to the place they agreed upon -
while the last vestiges of the Nazi empire crumbled while an
iron grip of Soviet rule filled the void.
Horst has been in Canada
since 1953. After working for the Eaton's retail chain
for many years, he retired north of Toronto, Ontario
with his wife Grace.
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