The Sinking , Wilhelm, Gustloff ,30 ,January 1945 ,CLAIMED the loss in the sinking to be "9,343 men, women and ESTIMATED 5000children".
The Sinking of the Wilhelm Gustloff 30 January 1945 CLAIMED the loss in the sinking to be "9,343 men, women and ESTIMATED 5000children". The Deadliest Disaster at Sea Killed Thousands, Yet Its Story Is Little-Known. Why? In the final months of World War II, 75 years ago, German citizens and soldiers fleeing the Soviet army died when the “Wilhelm Gustloff” sank The Wilhelm Gustloff before its first departure in 1938 and after its test in the Hamburg harbor by the time the Soviet Union advanced on Germany’s eastern front in January of 1945, it was clear the advantage in World War II was with the Allies. The fall of the Third Reich was by this point inevitable; Berlin would succumb within months. Among the German populace, stories of rape and murder by vengeful Soviet forces inspired dread; the specter of relentless punishment pushed many living in the Red Army’s path to abandon their homes and make a bid for safety. The province of East Pru...