The Wilhelm Gustloff (1937) at Tilbury in 1938.

The Wilhelm Gustloff (1937) at Tilbury in 1938. © National Maritime Museum, London

Repro ID: N38150

Description: The German passenger liner 'Wilhelm Gustloff' (1937, 25,484 GRT) alongside the Tilbury Passenger Landing Stage in 1938. Built by the Nazi regime as a cruise ship for deserving workers under the 'Kraft durch Freude' scheme, she was named after the leader of the Nazis in Switzerland (who had been assassinated in 1936). She had a dramatic end. After serving as a hospital ship and barracks for the U-boat service, she joined other liners in the evacuation of Germans from East Prussia in January 1945. Over 2,000,000 Germans were rescued from the retribution of the advancing Red Army, brutalised by the bestial Nazi occupation of the Soviet Union. The 'Wilhelm Gustloff' was sunk by torpedoes from the Soviet submarine 'S-13' on 30 January 1945. She had over 10,500 people on board, including nearly 9,000 refugees. An estimated 9,343 people died in the worst single maritime disaster in history.

Creator: Unknown

Date: 1938

Credit line: National Maritime Museum, London