Sinking of MV Wilhelm Gustloff: World War II's deadliest ship disaster

NARRATOR: January 1945 - the German Reich faces defeat in the Second World War. The Soviet army has surrounded East Prussia. Millions of Germans attempt to flee. In the end, the only remaining escape route is the Baltic Sea. Harbored in the Bay of Danzig are ships carrying military equipment, soldiers and civilians. Also at port is the Wilhelm Gustloff, once the legendary cruise liner. According to the passenger list, it is to bring 10,000 refugees to safety.

URSULA SCHULZE-RESAS: "These people were first subjected to a rigorous selection. Party members were preferred. But the people who were in the harbor, who were hungry, who were thirsty, who were about to freeze to death. They rushed the ship."

NARRATOR: Among the passengers of the Wilhelm Gustloff is a young Jürgen Danöhl with his mother and three siblings. They are relieved.

JÜRGEN DANÖHL: "Mother said 'Children, we made it. No trudging through the snow, no frost, no more wet gloves, no wet feet.' It was music to our ears. It was hope."

NARRATOR: But war is also being waged on the Baltic Sea. A Soviet submarine cruises nearby. The crew is alerted by the noise of the great ship's engines.

FJODOR DANILOV: "Our goal was the same as always: Destroy the enemy. We were supposed to seek and destroy transport ships. That was our mission."

NARRATOR: The commander gives the order to attack. Three torpedoes hit the Gustloff.

DANÖHL: "It was just a short boom. And then mother began screaming 'children, out, out out. We've hit a mine.'"

NARRATOR: On board panic breaks out. Only a few find their way to the deck.

SCHULZE-RESAS: "My sister clung to me and kept saying 'Ulla we're going to die. Ulla, we're going to die.' But I had a lot of courage. I said 'No, I don't want to die. I want to live.'"

NARRATOR: But thousands are trapped within the sinking ship. There aren't enough lifeboats. Many jump into the ice-cold Baltic Sea. A German torpedo boat is nearby.

ROBERT HERING: "It was a terrible situation. What happened to the Gustloff could also happen to us. But then I said 'Saving them comes first. We've got to risk it.'"

NARRATOR: Within minutes many drown. But some are saved.

SCHULZE-RESAS: "And then we were saved. I was hoisted up and then I hugged the first sailor and I said, 'Thank God, I'm saved.'"

NARRATOR: More than a thousand castaways are saved. But almost 10,000 passengers of the Gustloff meet their deaths. Was this the killing of innocent civilians or a normal action of war?

HERING: On the Gustloff was a division of U-Boot trainees, who were, indeed, soldiers. C'est la guerre."

NARRATOR: The survivors are brought to Denmark. Never before and never since has the sinking of a ship taken so many lives.