Remembering the Cap Arcona: Nazi ship sunk with concentration camp prisoners on board

The Sinking of the Cap Arcona

• The Cap Arcona was a German cruise ship that was transformed into a floating concentration camp by the Nazis towards the end of World War II, ultimately resulting in the deaths of nearly everyone on board during an aerial attack just hours before liberation (10s).
• The ship was anchored in Lübeck Bay in the Baltic Sea when it was attacked, and its improbable journey from luxury liner to death trap is one of the most horrific and little-known war stories (35s).
• A memorial in Lübeck Bay honors the victims of the Cap Arcona and a smaller cargo ship that were bombed on May 3rd, 1945, resulting in the loss of around 7,000 lives (1m39s).
• The memorial recalls the nationalities of the victims, including Americans, Greeks, Italians, and Jewish people, with most of the victims being on the Cap Arcona (1m47s).
• Every year, a somber ceremony is held at the site to remember those who perished and those who suffered (2m11s).
• Bruno Norrath Wilson's father, Willie, was one of the survivors of the sinking of the Cap Arcona, and Bruno visits the memorial to honor his father (2m23s).
• Only around 400 prisoners survived the attack, including Bruno's father (2m32s).

From Luxury Liner to Death Trap

• The Cap Arcona was launched in 1927 and became known as the "Queen of the Atlantic," transporting well-heeled passengers from Europe to South America in two weeks (2m53s).
• In its heyday, the ship had its own tennis court, a heated swimming pool, and a wonderful restaurant, making it a luxury cruise liner (3m9s).
• The ship traversed the Atlantic dozens of times, but in 1933, Germany underwent a significant change with Adolf Hitler coming to power, and the Nazis eventually commandeered the Cap Arcona to serve as a floating barracks in the Baltic (3m37s).

Stories of Survivors

• Manfred Goldberg, a 94-year-old survivor, was forcibly removed from his hometown in central Germany and sent to concentration camps, where he survived confinement in the Riga ghetto and four different camps (4m15s).
• Herman, the seven-year-old brother of Manford, along with three other children, was taken by the SS and never seen again, leaving Manford and his mother heartbroken (5m3s).
• Manford Goldberg and his mother ended up in the Stutthof camp in Nazi-occupied Poland, where they experienced the horrors of the crematoria and gassing of bodies (5m28s).
• George Schwab, a nine-year-old boy, was also imprisoned in Stutthof, where his father, a prominent physician, had tried to protect other Jews in their hometown of Leopoldville before being arrested, beaten, and killed by German soldiers (5m49s).
• Bruno's father, Willie Neth, was not Jewish but actively opposed the Nazi regime, distributing anti-fascist flyers, which led to his arrest and imprisonment in the Concentration Camp No. G, a work camp that held mostly political prisoners (6m33s).
• Willie Neth managed to survive the work camp, but he, along with Schwab, the Goldbergs, and others, would eventually end up at Lübeck Bay, one of the last Nazi defensive positions in 1945 (7m22s).

Final Destination: Lübeck Bay

• As the Allies closed in, the Cap Arcona, a rusted and battered ship, was repositioned to Lübeck Bay, where thousands of prisoners were sent to be evacuated from concentration camps, following an order by Himmler that no prisoner was to be delivered into the hands of the enemy alive (7m41s).
• The main concern was to get rid of evidence, as prisoners could talk about the atrocities committed by the Nazis, leading to the forced relocation of thousands of prisoners, including Willie Neth, Manford Goldberg, his mother, and George Schwab, to Lübeck Bay (7m57s).
• The prisoners were sent to a nearby town called Neustadt, also known as "Hell," and put on barges with terrible conditions, including no toilet facilities, hardly any food, and no space to sit or sleep (8m27s).
• The barges, each packed with about a thousand prisoners, were towed by tugboat for six days, about 400 miles across the Baltic, to where the Cap Arcona was positioned (8m48s).
• The Cap Arcona arrived in Lübeck Bay on April 14th, 1945, two weeks before Hitler's death and three weeks before the end of the war in Europe, and was anchored offshore with its engines barely running and little food and water (8m57s).
• The former luxury ship was turned into a floating concentration camp, with over 4,000 prisoners, including Willie Neth, jammed onto the ship with nowhere to hold them (9m31s).
• The Cap Arcona was a ship meant for 1,500 people but was carrying 4 to 5,000 prisoners, with the Nazis intending for them to die (9m37s).

The Horrors of Lübeck Bay

• The prisoners were initially left on barges, where some managed to use floorboards as oars to sail towards the shore, while others were intercepted and killed by the SS and German troops (10m23s).
• The surviving prisoners were lined up and told they would be shipped to a place called Karona, where they would board the Cap Arcona (11m13s).
• At the beginning of May 1945, the war in Europe was almost over, and the Nazis were evacuating concentration camps, packing thousands of prisoners onto the Cap Arcona (12m0s).
• On May 3rd, 1945, 13-year-old George Schwab was ordered to board the ship, but the Cap Arcona could not come close to shore, so the prisoners were transported to it by another ship (12m47s).
• While waiting to board, the prisoners witnessed bombers and fighter planes coming, but could not see any markings on the planes (13m20s).

The Attack and Its Aftermath

• The Cap Arcona was hit with more than 4,000 prisoners on board, becoming a "fiery tomb" after being attacked by British Typhoon Fighters who were part of the Allied Forces (13m41s).
• The mistaken attack on the Cap Arcona is considered one of the most wrenching tragedies of the war, with thousands of prisoners killed, despite the British coming to liberate them (14m23s).
• Many prisoners had hopes of surviving the war, which gave them the strength to carry on, but the attack on the Cap Arcona was a devastating blow (14m32s).
• The Cap Arcona was a Nazi ship that was sunk by British Typhoons on May 3, 1945, resulting in the deaths of approximately 7,000 concentration camp prisoners, with only about 400 survivors from the ship. (14m38s)
• The British military targeted the ship, believing that Nazi elements were attempting to flee to Norway and continue the war, but the pilots were unaware that concentration camp survivors were on board. (15m29s)
• Other members of the British military did know about the presence of prisoners on the ship, as they had received intelligence on May 2, 1945, that the ships had been loaded with concentration camp prisoners. (16m47s)
• The intelligence officer admitted that a message was received on May 2, 1945, but failed to inform the RAF pilots, and the report blamed RAF personnel for the error. (17m4s)
• A British war crimes investigator interviewed the intelligence officer after the bombing, and the report strongly urged a follow-up investigation, but it never happened. (16m42s)
• Historian Daniel Long wrote his PhD thesis on the attack on the Cap Arcona and accessed fragile war documents at the British National Archives in London. (16m17s)
• The sinking of the Cap Arcona is considered one of the worst cases of friendly fire in the Royal Air Force's history, with Sebastian Cox, Chief Historian for the RAF, blaming the incident on the fog of war. (15m9s)

Tales of Survival and Reunion

• Survivors of the tragedy later wrote accounts of the hell they endured at sea, describing the intense fire and the burning flesh of the prisoners. (18m9s)
• Bruno Neth Wilson's father, Willie, a political prisoner, survived the tragedy by staying at the back of the ship, which was not burning, and not jumping into the water, where prisoners were shot by the SS. (18m42s)
• Willie Neth and other survivors of the Cap Arcona were rescued from the listing deck and taken to shore, where they were met by their loved ones, including Bruno's mother, Ava, who had been searching for her husband (19m24s).
• Ava, a naval staff assistant, was transferred to the Naval Base at Lübeck Bay and saw the bombing, prompting her to search for her husband, whom she eventually found on the beach, weak and dirty from the burning, but recognizable by his nickname for her, "Mle," which means "I love your round face" (19m31s).
• The Cap Arcona, which was a graveyard for many people, ironically brought Bruno's parents back together, and their story serves as a testament to the power of love and survival (20m20s).

Life After the Cap Arcona

• George Schwab, a survivor of the Cap Arcona, went on to have an illustrious career as an academic and peace broker, earning a PhD in political science and working with world leaders, including King Hussein and Bill Clinton (20m43s).
• Manfred Goldberg, another survivor, settled in London with his mother, started a business and a family, and has made it his life mission to share his story, considering it part of his "revenge on the Nazis" (21m2s).

Remembering the Cap Arcona

• The Cap Arcona lay half-sunken in Lübeck Bay for four years before being dismantled, but its story has been kept alive by survivors and their families, who sail to the site of the bombing every May 3rd to remember the victims and survivors (21m43s).
• The tradition of sailing to the site of the Cap Arcona's sinking serves as a reminder to the world to remember the tragedy and its victims, and to honor the survivors who have shared their stories (22m7s).