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The sinking of the Wilhelm Gustloff in 1945, with a death toll of 9,343, was the worst maritime disaster in history, surpassing the Titanic’s death toll of 1,517. The vessel was carrying over 10,000 refugees and soldiers when it was hit by a Soviet submarine.
Most people are familiar with the Titanic, the large passenger liner that sank in 1912. Some even believe it to be the worst maritime disaster ever. But the worst maritime disaster in history is actually the sinking of the Wilhelm Gustloff, a German naval vessel that sank in 1945, killing some 9,343 people on board. The death toll was six times the death toll from the Titanic disaster that took the lives of 1,517 people. The Wilhelm Gustloff was a 700-foot-long luxury ocean liner that began sailing in 1937. In 1945 she served to evacuate German civilians from East Prussia, which was quickly conquered by the Soviet Red Army. On 30 January 1945, the vessel, designed to carry at most 2,000 passengers, was carrying 10,582 refugees and German soldiers, almost half of them children. The vessel was hit by a Soviet submarine, killing most of the passengers.
More information on Wilhelm Gustloff:
The vessel is named after Wilhelm Gustloff, leader of the Swiss Nazi Party who was assassinated in 1936.
Navigation lights, which Wilhelm Gustloff’s captains had turned on to avoid collision with a German convoy, made the ship visible to the Soviet submarine.
The Soviet submarine hit Wilhelm Gustloff with three torpedoes.
