The sinking of “Wilhelm Gustloff ” has been considered as the biggest maritime catastrophe of all time- even surpassing the combined calamities of Titanic (which sank taking more than 1,500 people with it after hitting an iceberg) and Lusitania (which sank with 1,119 people after getting hit by a German torpedo). We have often heard and even seen (through movies, of course) the magnitude of “Titanic” and the greatest tragedy (as it has frequently been put) associated with it. However, if one digs into the metaphorical “graves” of history, one would realize the sheer magnitude of the devastation that was represented by the German ship.
Although the ship didn’t take logs of the passengers count it is estimated that 9600 German women, children, and wounded German soldiers sank to their death on that fateful night.
So bros, the next time someone brings up the Titanic as the biggest maritime disaster in history you know how to reply.
It was a war crime of monumental proportions against the Germans.