Leaving Gotenhafen, its port of four years, the ship would also ferry civilians. Opening the gangplanks to a rush of people seeking safety, the ship’s captains (both civilian and military) were left with too many refugees on board a ship with too few life boats.

For a time, the Gustloff had served as home base for U-boat training crews. It also served as a hospital ship. One of the Reich’s great vessels, its passengers could hear Adolf Hitler live whenever the Fuhrer addressed the country.

On the night of January 30, 1945, the Fuhrer gave one of his speeches. He was finished at about 9 p.m. A few minutes later, the Wilhelm Gustloff would also be finished, mortally wounded by three direct torpedo hits from a Soviet submarine.

Most folks think the Titanic was the deadliest maritime disaster of all time. But its death toll (1,522) was significantly less than the Wilhelm Gustloff’s. There were so many people crowded into the ship and so many bodies in the Baltic Sea that January night, historians can’t be sure of the count. Their best estimate? Somewhere between 9,300 - 10,146 victims.