Creepy Reason Nobody Talks About The Deadliest Ship Disaster In History

[@JS.5230]

My grandfather and his family were fleeing from the russians during that time and also wanted to board the gustloff. They barely missed the departure of the ship. If they were not that lucky I most likely would not be here, it is crazy to think about how close it was.

[@WeazleHD]

the grandparents of a friend of mine as well. crazy right?

[@randied603]

Yeah. Imagine they barely board the ship

[@CommunistSteak]

My Great grandfather lost his life in the sinking, and he was Navy so he was a good swimmer

[@WeazleHD]

@TenSack well i do.. at least. but what the f. i understand your logic but i think it is wrong. there are billions of possible outcomes to every action and every human beeing. if you were born it meant this string of outcomes happend. nothing to owe, nothing to prove. it just IS and thats that

[@harpastanman8952]

What's the rest of the story?? What happened? How did they make it out instead? I love survival stories 😯

[@wolfspirit99]

This ship is criminally underrated and unknown

[@GabrielUngacta]

Because its overshadowed by WW2.

[@cowerdnerddespacito9518]

History is written by the victors

[@daywalkersarkis3983]

This was a true crime unforgivable

[@thebirdbrand]

What does that even mean…?!?

[@LITTLE1994]

I know right. Titanic was bad and got so famous by the movie, but this really put ship disasters to the next level, and nobody realized it.

[@arnonym1801]

I´m from Germany and my grandfather was on the Wilhelm Gustloff as a kid. He, his mother, and his two siblings were on the ship. Only he and his mother made it to Germany alive. His siblings, 2 and 7 years old died.

[@mtoni93]

😢 i'm sorry.

[@Samxd90]

So sad for your loss

[@giovanniquintana7625]

Sorry to hear

[@historynerdneiledits]

What happened to his two siblings? So sorry for them

[@N30N_4U]

@@historynerdneiledits they died HE LITERALLY SAYS IT

[@tribeofone486]

It’s so strange to have never heard of something that impacted so many lives. Great video

[@amacca2085]

WW2

[@RundfunkerOnline]

Due to WW2 ignorant people think it is acceptable to ignore the Death of German civilians, even of completely innocent children. I cannot imagine the disturbing view of literally thousands of children drowning, but some people are so inhumane that they ignore their horrible and sad death.

[@lazarus8018]

@@RundfunkerOnline A lot of them have also said that they wished they could've seen the Atom bombs go off over Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

[@amacca2085]

@@RundfunkerOnline Dresden

[@RundfunkerOnline]

@@jerryh2954 Thank you for telling. It’s true, but sadly it often gets overlooked or even ignored, because ignorant people see it as „deserved“, which is a horrible view, that doesn’t make any sense. Two wrongs never make a right.

[@simple-commentator-not-rea7345]

During WWII, there were more than perhpas 3 dozen different maritime disasters in which the casulties were higher than the Titanic. And most of them were Axis powers.

[@noobie1890]

The Bismarck...

[@unddasheit4034]

@@noobie1890 that's not a disaster

[@noobie1890]

@@unddasheit4034 it was a very well known maritime disaster (for the krauts)

[@unddasheit4034]

@@noobie1890 well, they scuttled it because of heavy damage

[@dutchthespitfire3204]

@@unddasheit4034 and 2000 peopls died on it

[@germaninja6055]

My great grandmother was a nurse on this ship. I’ve always tried to educate people about this ship when I can. One of the torpedoes hit the swimming pool where the nurses were staying. My great grandmother was on a walk at the time. Had it not been for that fact I wouldn’t be here

[@Deep_Dish]

On a walk?

[@germaninja6055]

@@Deep_Dish she was doing her nursing rounds on the ship is the story I was told by my grandmother

[@ЮлианГуруев]

It's strange to see how modern German government support Russia even if modern Russia is leaded by KGB man, so basically same ideology that justify killing innocent people. My both grandfathers were participating in WW2 on Soviet side. But I'm feeling really sorry for innocent souls. It's very depressing how many innocent people died on that war

[@postmortem3260]

This is very interesting. It’s a shame not many people know about this. Rip to all the lives lost.

[@Xgujgjxggxxgkgx]

True

[@lauraandel2298]

There was another ship nearby that hears the distress call of the Olympia, not the titanic most all of the people were saved they been lying to us for years .

[@loboloo6991]

@Laura Andel true

[@redshuttleredacted6422]

lots of these lives were nazis and I think that their fate serves them right

[@NavlinskyGamin]

@@redshuttleredacted6422 *No no Germans

[@ives3572]

Fun Fact: Sometimes, the greatest tests of our strength are situations that don't seem obviously dangerous. Sometimes, surviving is the hardest thing of all.

[@hokemoseley2934]

That's not very fun at all

[@lazarus8018]

@@hokemoseley2934 Neither are any other "fun facts" worth hearing

[@TheLakabanzaichrg]

Tbey should be called gloom facts instead

[@OnePieceWonPeace]

ALWAYS, surviving is the hardest thing of all. Trust me. Getting your Lamborghini towed is not as hard as cutting off your hand that is wedged beneath a boulder in the middle of a desert. (duh)

[@kylebolton6007]

@@hokemoseley2934 nor is it a fact

[@teknofreak2387]

I once did an internship in an Rehabilitation Hospital in Germany. One old man was very talkative with me and liked me. He said he lived in east Prussia and during the escape from there he saw terrible things, mass executions etc. On the way, his Brother died of Pneumonia, which caused them to miss their ship. He then told me the name of the ship and that his brothers death saved them. I heard the story of the Wilhelm Gustloff before and will never forget what this man told me.

[@Zoologically_Explained]

imagine your story being replaced by a story about an unsinkable ship that well um...... sunk

[@Byebyeyoutube666]

countryball and satw?

[@zuzannabrzeszczak1578]

The only difference is that the tragedy of Wilhelm Gustloff happened by the hands of a communist, who in his mind was doing the service for his own country... to me, it somehow makes more sense than the sinking of Titanic, which could be avoided completely. Like, come on. Hiding from torpedos which can attack you from every angle cannot compare to a freaking ice-berg. Easy math.

[@princeofpokemon2934]

Apparently the word unsinkable does not really live up to its definition. If I go on a ship that claims to be unsinkable, someone grab the nearest blunt object and just smack me with it.

[@Sevdetrdls]

@@zuzannabrzeszczak1578 maff it’s maff

[@Irobert1115HD]

a ship that later became a myth that is compeletely debunked by now.

[@alan_decker]

Wow, someone actually covered the wilhelm gustloff, finally.

[@That1Guineapig.]

Ikr

[@bf2840]

Finally? Really? There have been many videos about this ship over the years.

[@AuroraBoost]

@@bf2840 There many videos but compared to the Titanic it is extremely overlooked

[@bf2840]

@@AuroraBoost Well compared to the Titanic every ship disasters are very overlooked. 💁‍♂

[@AuroraBoost]

@@bf2840 Thanks for missing the point I guess...?

[@utkarshraghav2816]

Imagine what would have happened if someone like Alexander Marinesko was in place of Stanislav Petrov or Vasili Arkhipov during the 1983 Soviet Union nuclear false alarm incident.

[@maxthecharacter1296]

Yikes. The world would've been over.

[@Saunakiuas06]

"Comrade Marinesko! Computer reports multiple nuclear missiles coming towards us.* "Send our (hic) own missiles. Capitalist (hic) pigs don't bomb the motherland without (hic) penalty." "But comrade, it could be false alarm!" "Coward, eh? Fine, I'll do it myself." *Presses button*

[@DarkTaylick]

Armageddon on a human scale

[@chromite_chromite]

@@Saunakiuas06 US: They nuked us! US 2: *C O M M I T W A R C R I M E S N O W*

[@Asterion_Moloc_1]

We would have Fallout 5 UVR (Ultra-VR)

[@GreenEyedGerudo]

Fun Fact: the actor that played John Jacob Astor in 1997 Titanic was on this ship as a kid 👍

[@caribbeanspice19]

i recently found out about this ship...truly horrifying. also, the sinking of doña paz is also a very tragic event that was even worse than titanic imo.

[@randied603]

Yeah. The Dona Paz collided with a oil tanker (I've think) called MT Vector. They both caught fire and sink

[@That1Guineapig.]

Yeah it was a Huge fire

[@benthompson2136]

Yea, the known casualties of the Dona Paz were comparable with the Titanic (about 1500) but about 3/4th the casualties of the Dona Paz (3000 - 4000) weren't officially listed on the ship's manifest and we will never know for sure how many died.

[@Anubis2862]

in terms of survivors Hood only had 3 people survive

[@windsofmarchjourneyperrytr2823]

And the Joola in 2002. 1,800 dead 2nd deadliest in peacetime

[@2128jrandall]

Was always fascinated by the Titanic, but never knew this story. Thank you.

[@xaviershoooops283]

Wow,I love how he’s not disturbed by this stuff

[@LoneWoIfPack19]

Compartmentalization

[@Chess_Piece]

Time

[@BLACKMAMBA-og1lf]

Time

[@manuelroger1035]

Time

[@huckfead8607]

Time

[@jamesricker3997]

The reason it is so little known is because with everything that was going on in 1945 ,9000 civilians dying was barely noticeable

[@lukeschultz6886]

History is written by the victors.

[@duartesimoes508]

More so being German.

[@onlyyoucanstopevil9024]

Kitten DID nothin wong

[@Patriarch.Chadimus]

It's far more about the people being German, tbh.

[@j.w.b5048]

There were several ships which were destroyed at the end of the war. Over 20,000 people died during the attacks, mostly civilians or even former concentration camp inmates.

[@Deep_Dish]

Any links?

[@AbulArbaIjun]

@@Deep_Dish I suppose he means the "Steuben", the "Goya" and the "Kap Arkona". Together with the "Gustloff".

[@pennypay1]

I'm 50, and I just learned about this tragedy ten minutes ago. When my husband, a WW2 history buff, gets home, I'm going to ask him what he knows about the ship. I remember studying the Allies and the Axis Powers in 9th grade, but this was never mentioned. And about a year ago, I first learned about the Dona Paz and was told THAT was the worst maritime disaster in terms of fatalities. There's disproportionate focus on the Titanic and a few other 'high-profile' ships. I cynically noted that a ship overcrowded with poor Filipinos didn't generate the same 'interesting' story as the class divides on the glamorous Titanic's maiden voyage. And I suppose there wasn't much sympathy for Axis civilians in this case.

[@dleyba3199]

same, I'm 50 as well, and first time hearing about this too

[@shan8613]

I just learned about this tragedy from Ruta Sepety’s “Salt to the Sea”. I cried at her book, then even more after realizing that this catastrophic event was actually true. She’s a great researcher and storyteller, I recommend her if you like historical fiction.

[@deanmathewson5136]

My Oma's aunt had tickets to the Gustloff for her family, the place that the family was staying in wasn't allowing anyone else in because it was so full of refugees. The aunt need the money so she turned around and sold the tickets. My Oma's family got a spot on a small fishing boat called The Break. On their way across the Baltic her mother called her to the deck to see the wreckage. When she tells the story she say's that she saw the mast and the funnels and all sorts of debris. She probably saw the bodies too, but since she was a child then, she either blocked that part of the memory out or simple chooses not to tell it.

[@aquilasteckel2533]

Your poor Oma, glad they didnt get on that ship.

[@Rob774]

@@aquilasteckel2533 U think this story is real?

[@Zeder95]

@@Rob774 Why shouldn't it be? A lot of these things happened back then. Since there were thousands of people on the Gustloff and many thousands more who tried to flee the same way, there is a large number of people who has stories to tell from their ancestors back then.

[@jinxgirl5]

It's incredible how many lesser-known ship sinkings there are that make Titanic look like a teacup tragedy in comparison. Lusitania is one I only learned of a few years back. Today is the first time I've heard of the Gustloff. There are so many tragedies that get rug-swept that no one knows about them unless they go looking.

[@dieglhix]

There is a German movie about this with the same name (Wilhelm Gustloff), it's very well made and I will never forget the scenes.

[@Pugetwitch]

EL FARO❤

[@ToreDL87]

Most of them were in wartime though. Titanic is famous exactly for entirely civilian setting. Anyone worth their salt knows about Gustloff, same as Titanic there's nothing new about it.

[@jinxgirl5]

@@ToreDL87 lol k

[@nathantudor5763]

Have you heard of the MS Estonia?

[@7STB7]

My grandmother used to tell me about this story and that her mother missed going on the ship for just some minutes as it was already leaving the port. I'm glad my great grandmother missed it. Otherwise I couldn't comment on this video today.

[@LITTLE1994]

Wow. That is a good thing she did miss it...

[@BlakeGibbons]

Wouldn't make a difference either way lol

[@7STB7]

@@BlakeGibbons deine Antwort und Meinung ist mir scheißegal lol

[@CrispyPillow6]

@@BlakeGibbons it would

[@datvik7187]

@Punx is idol and noise lool

[@Da_SpongeGun]

5:58 Actually the lifeboats on the port side would be the only ones that could be lowered bc the list to port was so bad that the lifeboats on the starboard side couldn’t be lowered without grinding against the hull and spilling everyone in the lifeboat into the water. Unfortunately the davits to lower the lifeboats had been frozen so the only way of getting the boats away was to cut the ropes that were holding the boats to the davits

[@millzyoutube]

i thought that too

[@duartesimoes508]

That happens very often, and the problem appears disregarded. In many sinkings - the last case being Costa Concordia - only HALF of the lifeboats, from one of the sides can be used because of the listing. Counterflooding, when feasible, may also accelerate the sinking. When the MV Estonia sunk in 1994 I guess only the starboard lifeboats could have been launched and even so I believe that with the speed of the sinking, absolute panic, darkness, lack of training and severe list probably not even one was lowered; I certainly saw none on TV, only inflatable lifeboats, some upturned. The sinking of the MV Estonia was truly horrible. When SILJA EUROPA and MARIELLA reached the scene, the ship was gone. There were douzains of lights from life jackets in the water, but most of the people had succumbed to hypothermia, even people inside the lifeboats. At first light, CH-46 helicopters from the Swedish Air Force were scrambled but for most of those on the water it was too late. It was horrible.

[@lukaszslm]

This should be a lesson never to be repeated again. My uncle survived the war by miraculously not getting on to Gustloff because he was late.

[@wontnotawill1356]

I have a morbid respect for the guy who used all his ammo on mercy killings and drowned so they didn't have to.

[@jesusisreal3209]

Won't, not a will: very unfaithful thing to do

[@xds3185]

This was incredibly sad and there was no hope for those people :c. Seeing people die in front of you, sinking drowning with sadness that they cannot be saved

[@ErikDayne]

Unless they’re Nazis in which case it’s fantastic

[@FluttershyIsAGoddess]

I couldn't imagine having to do that to my family and be forced to drown after. That was sad AF.

[@daveanderson3805]

Fun fact. When Marinesco reported back to his base nobody believed his claim that he sunk the Gustloff. He would earn himself a dishonourable discharge for persistent drunkenness and, as I understand it, drunk himself to death. Sometime in the 80s he was posthumously awarded a medal for the sinking of the liner

[@travistucker1033]

Hero of the Soviet Union.

[@kerotomas1]

@@travistucker1033 disgusting, getting a medal for killing 9000 civilians

[@explosivemodesonicmauricet1597]

@@kerotomas1 Apparently Gorbachev had restored the posthumous title, but then, the SU collapsed in his lifetime, so...karma I guess.

[@historywatchdog2923]

​@@kerotomas1It was an act of war. Second of all, how could Marinesko have known that the Gustloff was packed with more than 10,000 people?

[@smiglo112]

@@kerotomas1 Not all of them were civilians. Gustloff was carrying military personel, including high ranking officers (one of them being a Kriegsmarine Lieutenant Commander and submariner that argued that Gustloff should sail closer to the shore but was ultimately overruled by the ships civilian and original captain) and military equipment including but not limited to anti-aircraft guns. It was also not marked as a hospital ship and thus was a valid military target. And even if it hadn't and was full of nothing but civilians, this is the Russians vs Germans we're talking about. Neither side shied away from commiting absolutely heinous crimes against humanity against basically anyone with the Russians not even caring about their own people. So does it still surprise you that Marinesko got a medal, even if posthumously?

[@SupaHoon]

I'm a pretty tough guy. I've been through some rough things. I've worked in medical field for over 20 years. I'm no stranger to death and suffering. The story of the German Soldier killing his family just broke me. I have a wife and son and daughter...it's the final act of love.

[@dcmkeudnf]

The Wilhem Gustoff was just one of many ships involved in a huge operation named "Operation Hannibal," which moved people away from the advancing Russians. On the whole the operation was a success despite the loss of this one ship. In fact, it was the most successful wartime evacuation in history. Hannibal was responsible for transporting 2 million Germans safely to the West. The course of the ship was almost certainly set by the Krigsmarine, the German navy, which conducted the operation, not by the captain. Submarines seldom know what ships are transporting when they attack. It could have been German solders. Unless there is some special evidence to the contrary, it is same to assume the submarine captain did not know the cargo was 10,000 civilians.

[@nathanjones6638]

How many collaborators were on board, versus how many true refugees? Is there any way to know? If it were a ship full of willing collaborators, I can't be that sad about them dying.

[@hamstsorkxxor]

@@nathanjones6638 At that stage of the war, it would have been almost only women, children, elderly men and young boys on the ship. Also, do not be too quick to deal out death and judgement to all collaborators. Statistically speaking, you and your parents probably would have been much more likely to have been collaborators than heroes as well. I am not saying to forgive them, but remeber that the demand for vengeance is much of what enabled the rise of the nazis is the first place.

[@ryanparker4996]

@@nathanjones6638 unless youre going to turn thst cold shoulder towards the soviet union also, then you should shut your evil ideologically possessed mouth.

[@92mrcheese]

How come the Germans in Prussia fled from the Soviets but the Germans in East Germany stayed put?

[@tomfrazier1103]

@@nathanjones6638 Collaborators? It was full of people on the German side, from pure Na$is to indifferent to antisemitism. People whom became in the wrong place & time.

[@EpicJoshua314]

Interesting fact is that Eric Braeden who plays Victor Newman on "The Young and the Restless" and played John Jacob Astor IV in Titanic (1997) survived the sinking of the Wilhelm Gustloff. Also, all 4 of the Gustloff's Captains got into the lifeboats and were dry when rescued while thousands of their passengers died and there were crewmembers who frantically tried to break the glass on the Promenade deck to save trapped people until the water lapped over them and were wet when they were rescued.

[@WR-NC-ASPL]

Captain need wait for ticket less passengers to escape

[@ValentinoB]

That's crazy! My wife and I rewatched the Titanic recently (because, given recent events, how could you not?) and she told me about JJA's actor being in The Young and the Restless. That was days before I found out about the Wilhelm Gustloff. I just wiki'd him and it seems that he has high grade cancer of the bladder; much respect to the gentleman! As an aside, that sounds almost like the Sewol tragedy: the captain and 21 of 33 crew escaped, after telling a ship full of HS students/teachers to stay in their cabins. I think 304 out of 476 people perished, ~250 of whom were students.

[@icy2507]

I did a report about this and ask multiple people about what the most deadliest ship disaster was and they all responded titanic, after that I told them about the Wilhem gustloff and how around 9000 people died, they were shocked and surprised I wished more people knew and in todays society ships can almost carry 10,000 people may all those lost soul rest peacefully trying to escape a devasting war

[@duartesimoes508]

What I've found, at 56, is that most of the people around is staggeringly ignorant, and the younger the more they are. I learned about the Wilhelm Gustloff in John Tolland's book "The last hundred days".

[@theducknamednewepicla9507]

Yup

[@ComicalRealm]

Note to self: do not board a cruise ship during war.

[@harrold.j.marakta.1505]

It was an ocean liner.

[@drdestrukt1367]

Well i think if u are trying to flee an active warzone you would rethink that.

[@ruhri0411]

Strange comment. People didn't want to go on a cruise, they wanted to escape the Russians!

[@randied603]

It was not about the cruise. It was about fleeing for dear life. And unfortunately, they lose their lives

[@indridcold8433]

Do not board any ships. They are floating cesspools of disease where you are surrounded by profuse quantities of strangers with no way off the floating potential epidemic. If you fancy being surrounded by a plethora of disease ridden strangers with no retreat to get distance between the pathogen sacks and yourself, then board and make merriment. If you value your privacy and haleness, then the floating communicable disease factories are neither intended for you nor your kin.

[@lizzybearstar1661]

Absolutely Heartbreaking. I have always considered this Event in history to be the worst for almost if not almost any ship.

[@ageeshgeorge9405]

i like how infographics talks about every ship whether famous or not he taks about important it is to know this

[@gianttacogod]

An og style infographic show. Feels nice.

[@kakitembak23]

This so heartbreaking story about the loss of innocent lives during that time of war...Dropping some tears while watching this

[@spacetaco4500]

Honestly i love hearing about these story’s of sunken ships even though they end up being sad and depressing its nice knowing the story’s of these people

[@changeshifter4852]

Thank you for enabling subtitles. I couldn't handle the background music, but could still enjoy the video :)

[@evanneiswanger4794]

We read a book called ‘Salt to the Sea’ in school about this. It’s amazing

[@mrsandvich6929]

Eric Braeden, actor who played John Jacob Astor IV in The Titanic (1997) is a survivor of this tragedy.

[@rorymoore9269]

Wow. Guess it’s quite sad. Being in a film about a tragedy but suffering a tragedy 6 times as worse

[@lahey4850]

You should do a video about the Halifax Explosion!

[@weightycarlos]

2 of the worst maritime disasters had both cases of letting more passengers in way above the ships' capacity.

[@janfg1578]

My great-grandmother had already packed everything to get on board with my grandma and her brother, but cancelled it the day before because she got a sudden feeling of dread. If she didn't, likely nobody of my family would exist today. Fate can be weird sometimes.

[@Mikebuster]

nor would your comment. fate is certainly weird

[@pokelogan]

same

[@eqborn]

Tell me your grandparents were Nazis without telling me your grandparents were Nazis

[@Zeder95]

@@eqborn You realize most of the passengers were civilians and families and there were a lot of people who were against/didn't support the Nazis in the german population? People couldn't openly criticise the Nazis because it was too dangerous for them but there were a lot who didn't support them.

[@eqborn]

@@Zeder95 on an exclusive ship like the Hindenburg? Assumingly wealthy people on a new type of aircraft aren't generally fighting the government. It was likely good riddance

[@jamessplane7929]

The Wilhelm Gustloff stopped being used as a Cruise Ship when World War II broke out, not when the war turned against Germany.

[@JayHeartwing]

The deadliest maritime disasters worse than the Titanic: The MV Wilhelm Gustlof, happened in wartime The MV Doña Paz, happened in peacetime

[@lightningboltt5437]

RIP EVERYONE WHO DIED ON THIS SHIP

[@TEKKENKING23]

This is why I'm not going get on Titanic 2 next year.

[@randied603]

Titanic 2?! Dafuq?

[@icy9478]

@@randied603 I swear if that mother fker gets sanked by a ice burg there finna be a problem

[@liamnehren1054]

i forget the name of the boat but my great uncle was a sailor on one of the boats sunk by the Russians that was just full of refugees, one of his friends came to my family to tell them that he died, making sure women and children escaped, his sister, my grandmother was heart broken both of her brothers died around then and if it wasn't for her cousins the family name would have gone with them.

[@aquilasteckel2533]

He was a hero!

[@Barflax]

The Wilhem Gustloff was a Military ship belongs to the Navy, not at that time a civilian ship. It's a movie over what happend that you can watch. RIP to all that lost their life

[@Xpwnxage]

Also I'm fairly certain it was armed and despite losing two of them, it had one transport vessel still escorting it. That transport vessel did it's best to pick up survivors out of the water. Weird that a channel this professional would get important facts wrong.

[@Patriarch.Chadimus]

The Russians deliberately targeted it KNOWING it was vast majority civilians onboard. This is unjustifiable.

[@patriciajacobs8224]

*So really the story of The sinking of the Titanic isn't so TITANIC as these disasters!*

[@randied603]

Basically, yes. And this is still the biggest disaster in maritime history

[@naopak6750]

The story of Titanic is titanic because someone wants to hide the real truth about how it was sunk.

[@bobsleigh9464]

@@naopak6750 how did it sink in reality?

[@naopak6750]

@@bobsleigh9464 I don’t believe in most conspiracy theories but i do believe it’s easier to make people believe in a lie the bigger that lie is. A lot of government high officials were on the ship that didn’t agree on certain things with some other officials/non-officials who weren’t on the ship. I suggest you do some research and make your own opinion on the subject. The real question is whether you believe some people are capable of doing horrendous things for profit. And all the things they would do to cover it up.

[@someonee3186]

RIP Civilian Victims of the Whilhem Gustoff, those who weren’t involved in those war crimes, May they rest in peacey

[@justintang2294]

They might not have actively participated in war crimes, but they definitely didn't raise objection to all the mass murders and genocides occurring, and in fact they allowed them to continue as long as it kept them alive.

[@Vollmilchwirdsauer87]

@@justintang2294 No civilian deserves to die during war. People who think its ok that civilians died are the type of peolpe who comiting war crimes and genocieds.

[@justintang2294]

@@Vollmilchwirdsauer87 You must be referring to the Americans and Germans during WW2, because they were okay with the atomic bombings and Holocaust, respectively.

[@prte100]

Im a german, KZbin just recommended me about this, and I never heard about this anywhere in german school or similar, I always was educated that Titanic was the most deaths :( So horrible to hear. Thank you for expanding my knowledge, will share the video

[@krd8511]

I read about this in School. Apparently the Wilhelm Gustloff had AA guns and was painted like a navy ship. It was also used to transport troops and equipment back to Germany. By definition the ship was a military ship and therefore fair game for the soviets. That doesn't make it less tragic though. I wonder if the soviets could see any civilians or even knew what kind of ship they were firing on.

[@duhni4551]

With WWII technology and on top of that in middle of the night, no chance they would see nothing but the light and silhouette of the ship. I don't know did they mark civilian ships with flags or something though, that would make sense but then again, who knows. Things happens in wars.

[@Vollmilchwirdsauer87]

@@duhni4551 Red Cross ships had to be white, marked with the red cross and needs to be reported to the red cross in switzerland. They didnt see the need to mark the ship because they were aware of other reported russian attacks on medical units during the war.

[@Zeder95]

Since a lot of mass evacuations of civilians were done by ship in that time and situation, they should have known that there are likely a lot of civilians on the ship.

[@mashka2299]

@@duhni4551 Hospital ships were painted white with a red cross, had no weapons on board and operated without a convoy. I think ordinary civilian ships were at greater risk of being sunk than hospital ships. Also wikipedia says that Wilhelm Gustloff had a warship convoying it so it was definitely not a civilian ship.

[@IZAQ_]

Imagine if the Estonia was packed with people like this

[@Whitneypyant]

Wilhelm Gustloff was a military. It was original an hospital ship but it was converted into military transport that was armed with anti aircraft guns. It wasn’t marked as civilian ship.

[@erikpeittersen9296]

I could not imagine killing your wife and kids. Staring into them knowing it's the best way out for them. I could not imagine the wife and kids eyes, heart breaking

[@danieldusentrieb4082]

Finally you did a video abaut it thanks.

[@yesyoucanTellme]

Привет all, imagine being lost at the ocean and be rescued by Wilhelm Gustloff.

[@BlenderStudy]

Thank you for the update, The Infographics Show..!! I recently saw a comparison photo of modern day cruise ships and Titanic.. Titanic is tiny now. 🤣🤣🤣

[@novacentorium4943]

Uhhh u sure those emojis are appropriate

[@claireconover]

I thought I knew about most notable shipwrecks but I genuinely didn’t know about this one… and holy cow! what a horrible story!

[@miapdx503]

I recently saw a video about this tragedy. And I was stunned that, not only had I never heard of it, I couldn't find anyone who had. Something this huge, this incredible, and it's as if it was a of no significance. That needs to change. RIP to the many souls lost...you are *not* forgotten. 🌹

[@Edgeverse]

This story of this ship is by far scarier than the Titanic. I had more terror in this than full 2 hours of Titanic. What war can take humanity to its frightening. I feel like this would lead us to be the architects of our own destruction.

[@dbmikeyg255]

I wouldn't say that the Titanic took 2 hours to sink. People thought they will be saved the tension and false hope made it so much worse in my opinion. These people hade 0 hope due to military action. And the people who did hade a extremely lucky escape

[@Edgeverse]

@@dbmikeyg255 I was referring to the movie.

[@dupleforce7023]

The background music changes the feeling of it

[@mateuszslawinski1990]

Actually, the ship was armed (with AA guns) and was carrying military personnel. It didn't show any signs of being a hospital vessel (such as red cross flag). So it was legitimate mititary vessel.

[@Unknown-rm8zp]

But there the problem was that it carried some civilians too, like he said was that it also had civilians onboard.

[@joemacscott2677]

@@Unknown-rm8zp military ships carry civilians all the time. They weren’t on a family cruise. They were refugees on the run. On a ship previously used for military operations. Don’t get me wrong It’s absolutely terrible what happened to them.

[@pavelslama5543]

@@Unknown-rm8zp Than it was a crime committed by the German military personnel who let civilians on board an active military ship in the middle of a warzone.

[@markmitchell450]

@@Unknown-rm8zp yet there are numerous other incidents of mass civilian ships sunk Lithutania off the north west irish coast was another well known one This too carried ammunition in large quantities

[@drdestrukt1367]

@@Unknown-rm8zp it carried mostly civilians

[@45pints87]

“They stand for Germany they die for Germany” Viktor Reznov

[@Ms12369]

This video really just shows you the value of branding and marketting

[@donm5354]

Like Private Joker in FULL METAL JACKET said "The DEAD know only one thing - it is better to be ALIVE".

[@sirsaltzalot9369]

Why was I never taught about this….? Also, the atmosphere you created in this video with the soundtrack and voiceover was top notch. Well done.

[@andreanalen8588]

Lots of diving videos on the wreck on KZbin, apperantly still a lot of bones and belongings left there

[@Nate-bn5kk]

Are you sure they're bones? Bones don't last very long in sea water.

[@andreanalen8588]

@@Nate-bn5kk not salt water brackish water. And yes there are X hundred year old human remains in a lot of wrecks of the Baltic ocean!

[@Chisszaru]

As a guy who lives close to the baltic sea, i can agree that it is a cold sea. As i sm a Swede, the Baltic sea is the only sea i can go to, and you don't really want to go there to cool down, even during the summer, it's that cold. It's sad that so many died that day. It's almost like with the ship named Estonia, which also sank in the Baltic sea decades later, with at least a few hundred dead

[@antguy3195]

If this ship had more than 10,000 people on it, and only 1,000 survived, then why do we still consider the sinking of the Titanic the greatest disaster in maritime history? Titanic only had around 2,200 people on it.

[@nightsofthefilms]

It was what happened afterward. The fallout of the Titanic disaster was like a domino effect. It had a huge impact on the shipping industry, and safety regulations for passenger ships, as a whole! And it doesn’t help that the Gustloff sank in the middle of wartime. Many people believed the Germans just got their karma, considering the Gustloff at the time, wasn’t a passenger ship. And did have military personnel aboard. But I personally don’t agree with that. Most of the deaths on the Gustloff were refugees, mainly women and children, who wanted no part in the war. So why should they have to suffer for one man’s stupidity, you know?! Anyway, the Gustloff, the Mona Páz, both maritime disasters with a horrifyingly high loss of life is definitely something that we as a society should know, or at least acknowledge. However, those disasters didn’t have the same impact on history as the Titanic. We don’t remember the Titanic from how many lives were lost. We remember what the disaster instilled for us. All maritime disasters, regardless of loss of life, should be remembered. At least, to honor those who died. 🥺🙏🏻😔

[@antguy3195]

@@nightsofthefilms Very enlightening, I genuinely love learning about what happened in the past and I learnt a lot from this. Thanks. Also, yes, we should remember these tragedies and the innocent people who died because of them.

[@kiromikhail4925]

My grandpa died on this ship trying to escape the Russians. Rip pop Muller

[@IAmMrQ]

What an absolute nightmare for so many souls.

[@stealthyezio1273]

The book Salt to the Sea had the sink of the Wilhelm Gustloff a very good book

[@narutoakatsukigirl]

This channel never slips A+ content

[@AmericanJustus]

I can only recommend the book Salt to the sea which is about the last moments on the Wilhelm Gustloff.

[@davidlorez8485]

The music is so calming

[@larryhill9729]

What is the song?

[@davidlorez8485]

@@larryhill9729 idk

[@smokingun710]

Thank you for teaching us about this, we will never forget the lives lost.

[@svp2864]

For the same reason Americans don't talk about concentration camps for Japanese population in USA during WW2, don't talk about Japanese war criminals experimenting on live humans and asked to join USA research efforts for biological weapons after the war, Dresden bombing, suffering of Hiroshima and Nagasaki civilians, nuclear experiments on native Marshal islands population, etc. Some topics are just extremely uncomfortable from political point of view.

[@Da_SpongeGun]

The lifeboats were not destroyed. The davits were frozen and the davits were how the lifeboats would be lowered. Some lifeboats only got away by the ropes holding them to the davits being cut

[@FoxtrotStudi0s]

Funfact for anyone who watches this: The same submarine captain who sunk this very ship, got a medal for his actions and the pain he caused on this night, Russia after the soviet union took his medals away but still defend the actions that he did.

[@freegamer4549]

thank you for telling me

[@duartesimoes508]

The USSR took his medals away and discharged him because of he being drunk on duty too many times, not because of the sinking.

[@travistucker1033]

@@duartesimoes508 he was later awarded the Hero of the Soviet Union posthumously in 1989.

[@thunderbird7020]

Because it was a valid military target. It was a military ship and the Nazis did not leave any markings or signs that so many civilians were aboard. There was no possible way to know so many civilians on board. The Nazis were the only ones responsible for their negligence.

[@atharvmishra5548]

Their lives were way more miserable than those of Titanic passengers but still they did not get attention 😖

[@naopak6750]

Because the story of how Titanic was sunk is not true.

[@joemacscott2677]

I think it has more to do with wartime vs peace time. Wartime people know there is always a risk. Peace time normal cruise ship sinking is a surprise. Plus I imagine both Soviet and new German government didn’t want the tension as the war ended.

[@Logjambam]

Not making light of the innocent lives lost, but it is a cruel irony for Germany that a ship named after a man who was assassinated was, well... you know.

[@BubuluIX]

Very interesting, I knew about Gustloff tragedy, but didn't know there were any Croatians on board.

[@randied603]

I only thought there were only Germans onboard

[@steventesar5223]

This needs to be made into a movie!

[@AbulArbaIjun]

There a two movies about it: "Nacht fiel ueber Gotenhafen" ("Darkness fell on Gotenhafen", 1960) and "Die Gustloff" ("The Gustloff", 2008). I don't know, if they are available with English subtitles.

[@zachbraxton1997]

I would if I could

[@LITTLE1994]

Yeah, everybody ALWAYS forgets about that disaster.

[@Zexceeda]

Nobody ever cares about the war crimes committed against Nazis. They're NAZIS right?! Sadly though, no. These aren't killers. These are f-king civilians. I understand the concept, but despise the practice.

[@derschubsi]

@Facts don’t care about your feelings , KZbin ! By that logic it was also fair for the Germans to sink American supply ships, although they also had passengers on board

[@TheGwennyGreen]

My grandfather was on the ship and survived 🤍 I just now learned so much about what he went through all through this video. Thank you.

[@AbulArbaIjun]

1:02 "...the province of East Prussia - squeezed between the Soviet Union and Poland..." This province wasn't squeezed until after the war. In January 1945 it still belonged to Germany. Gotenhafen (today Gdynia) belonged to Poland, but was occupied by Germans during the war. Most of the civil refugees came from East Prussia, Pomerania and Silesia, at this time still German provinces. 9:18 "...not only include German civilians, but Prussians...". Prussia was a German state, dissolved after the war.

[@ottosaxo]

You are merciless, but right. There is always such a little sigh of relief if finally someone really knows the facts. Well, the big majority of the Silesians headed directly to the west, not to the north. Even today, most of their descendants are living deep inland, in Southern Germany, whilst Pomeranians and East Prussians preferred to stay in the north. If it was possible, they even tried to settle down in landscapes that resembled their lost home countries. But of course, they weren't welcome anywhere. Nobody was eager to share their rooms and beds with those strangers from far away.

[@SuperBlessedKing]

Even during dark and morbid topic being explained, the infographics show always brings a very well balanced and calm explanation of the events. That’s very great about this channel.

[@tabita_07]

My Great-Grandmother and her Children missed the Ship and survived. Their neighbors and friends from their village died on this ship.

[@samuelmijares2073]

There is a really good book about this called Salt To The Sea. I read it in highschool and it's really interesting

[@SatanSpawn801]

I’ve never heard about this. This is heart breaking.

[@ZhongXina01]

It’s not a war crime if you win

[@oliversherman2414]

I love your channel keep up the great stuff

[@LukeJukeDuke]

SO the quote “the Victor's always write the history books" is the living truth to this story.

[@historywatchdog2923]

@The Infographics Show You guys are pretty spot on I'm your video. However, the Women's Naval Auxiliaries were berthed in the swimming pool which was hit by the second torpedo. The third torpedo struck the engine room and knocked the lights out. In addition, the ship's list to port rendered the starboard lifeboats unusable: only the port boats could be launched. Furthermore, one should also explain why despite the horrific loss of life the sinking of the Wilhelm Gustloff is not a war crime. The Gustloff was actually carrying anti-aircraft guns and was a registered Navy ship at the time of her sinking. In addition, she was carrying nearly 1,000 newly trained U-boat cadets to man the new Type-21 submarines which posed a huge threat to Allied convoys. Thus, the sinking of the Gustloff was an act of war.

[@lordgnk8695]

5:35 Travis Scott Concert Moment

[@dudeonthemoon3290]

So tragic. Can’t believe we haven’t heard of this one. This is far worse than titanic just due to sheer amount of people… civilians.