Everyone has heard of the Titanic. Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet made sure of that when they portrayed one of the most tragic love stories of all time in the 1997 film Titanic. When asked to name the most catastrophic nautical disaster, most will probably name the Titanic. Others may name the RMS Lusitania, which sunk in 1915. While lesser known, the Lusitania still holds historical significance for being one of the worst nautical disasters.
However, no one will name the disaster which holds the title for greatest marine disaster in history – the sinking of the Wilhelm Gustloff in 1945.
The Wilhelm Gustloff was a German ship during the end of WWII. When the Soviet Union invaded Germany, and quickly overtook the territory piece by piece, citizens of these territories began to flee. These civilians, who were neither explicitly German nor Soviet, fled to the Baltic Sea in hopes of boarding a ship to sail them to freedom. This ship carried mostly women and children, as they were given priority. There were not enough ships available to carry all the refugees, and therefore many were left behind.
While the ship sailed through the Baltic Sea, A soviet submarine, the S-13, waited patiently below the waves. Aboard the S-13 were torpedoes, three of which ended up in the side of the Wilhelm Gustloff. The torpedoes, which were branded with the phrases like “For the Motherland” and “For Stalin,” were fired at the Gustloff, sinking the ship quickly in the Baltic.
The Gustloff was not prepared for an attack like this. The ship, which had been designed and used as a leisure cruise ship, was meant to hold less than 2,000 people at a time. However, 6,000 people were documented to have boarded the ship to flee the Soviets. Additionally, many people boarded the ship-last minute, undocumented and desperate to escape – some even died trying to board the ship, falling short and drowning in the icy waves of the Baltic. The ship also did not have nearly enough life boats for the 2,000-person occupancy, let alone the true population for that trip. Sinking would surely be fatal.
Historians still aren’t sure how many died when the Gustloff sank, with no number documenting exactly how many people truly were aboard the ship when it left the dock. However, at least 5,348 people were killed when the Gustloff sank, and some historians estimate that the real death toll could be upwards of 8,000. For comparison, about 1,500 people died on the Titanic, and about 1,200 died on the Lusitania.
Like you, I had never heard of the Wilhelm Gustloff. It wasn’t until I read Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys that I learned of this maritime tragedy. This novel, which documents the fictional stories of four teenagers whose paths intersect on the way to the Gustloff, sheds light on this tragic event. Salt to the Sea is a must-read for anyone interested in the truth of one of WWII’s greatest tragedies – and one of the world’s greatest tragedies.
Why haven’t we heard of this tragedy? It is hard to say. It could be that, because the United States and the Soviet Union were WWII allies, United States history classes hide this attack so as not to incriminate the Soviet Union for these deaths. Another theory is that, because the Wilhelm Gustloff was a war tragedy, these deaths are simply shadowed by the overhanging tragedy of WWII in general.
But Ruta Sepetys has shed light on these tragic events – crafting a novel that is both fascinating and enlightening. The story of the Wilhelm Gustloff, and all those who lost their lives when it sank, is one I will never forget, thanks to Sepetys. I can only hope that, one day, our views of history will be more clear, acknowledging tragedies like this one and remembering those who have been ignored.
For more information on Salt to the Sea: http://rutasepetys.com/books/salt-to-the-sea/
