January 1945: the outcome of World War II has been determined. The Third Reich is in free fall as the Russians close in from the east. Berlin plans an eleventh-hour exodus for the German civilians trapped in the Red Army's way. More than 10,000 women, children, sick, and elderly pack aboard the Wilhelm Gustloff, a former cruise ship. Soon after the ship leaves port, three Soviet torpedoes strike it, inflicting catastrophic damage and throwing passengers into the frozen waters of the Baltic. More than 9,400 perished in the ...
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January 1945: the outcome of World War II has been determined. The Third Reich is in free fall as the Russians close in from the east. Berlin plans an eleventh-hour exodus for the German civilians trapped in the Red Army's way. More than 10,000 women, children, sick, and elderly pack aboard the Wilhelm Gustloff, a former cruise ship. Soon after the ship leaves port, three Soviet torpedoes strike it, inflicting catastrophic damage and throwing passengers into the frozen waters of the Baltic. More than 9,400 perished in the night - six times the number lost on the Titanic. Yet as the Cold War started no one wanted to acknowledge the sinking. Drawing on interviews with survivors, as well as the letters and diaries of those who perished, award-wining author Cathryn Prince reconstructs this forgotten moment in history. She weaves these personal narratives into a broader story, finally giving this WWII tragedy its rightful remembrance.
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Seller's Description:
PLEASE NOTE, WE DO NOT SHIP TO DENMARK. New Book. Shipped from UK in 4 to 14 days. Established seller since 2000. Please note we cannot offer an expedited shipping service from the UK.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
PLEASE NOTE, WE DO NOT SHIP TO DENMARK. New Book. Shipped from UK in 4 to 14 days. Established seller since 2000. Please note we cannot offer an expedited shipping service from the UK.
"World War II not only wiped away whole villages and populations. It also wiped away pieces of history." (Page 175, Death in the Baltic)
Cathryn Prince tells a harrowing story, one of a mass murdering. Many think of the Titanic as a tragic shipwreck; the Wilhelm Gustloff sunk with more than 4 times the passengers of the Titanic aboard.
I learned so much from this book; the information about this piece of hidden history is priceless. I learned of the tortures that the Germans had to face during WWII. Commonplace Germans were afraid of the Nazis too, not just the Jews and other persecuted races. German families became refugees of a war that their own country started, but they wished to take no part in it. These families just wanted to get away... and the Wilhelm Gustloff was their ticket out of the war zone.
Sadly, this ship, carrying so many to safety, was chosen as the object of a torpedo attack. This great and mighty hulk sunk to the bottom of the Baltic Sea, taking an almost uncountable amount of souls with it.
How is it that no one has really heard of this ship and its tragic end?
Because it happened during a deadly war. (The Germans controlled the news of the sinking, and actually, not many knew about it at the time the sinking took place in 1945. The few survivors were silent. The story didn't travel far.)
"Death in the Baltic" holds all the information you could ask for about the Wilhelm Gustloff. It contains volumes of information of the ship, her history, her demise, and the travelers aboard her decks.