The Dampfschiff (DS) General von Steuben^[1] (formerly called the München (after Munich), but renamed in 1938) was a German luxury passenger ship which was turned into an armed transport ship in World War II. She was named after Baron Friedrich Wilhelm Augustus Steuben, a famous German officer from the 18th century. Coordinates: Time zone: CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2) Administration Country: Germany State: Bavaria Administrative region: Upper Bavaria District: Urban district City subdivisions: 25 borroughs Lord Mayor: Christian Ude (SPD) Governing parties: SPD / Greens / Rosa Liste Basic Statistics Area: 310. ... Year 1938 (MCMXXXVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... Combatants Allied Powers Axis Powers Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000,000 Total dead: 50,000,000 Military dead: 8,000,000 Civilian dead: 4,000,000 Total dead 12,000,000 World War II (abbreviated WWII), or the Second World War, was a worldwide conflict... This article is about the American Revolutionary officer. ...

The sinking of the General von Steuben

The 14,600-ton liner set sail from Pillau in the bay of Danzig (now Gdańsk, Poland) on February 10, 1945, her destination being Swinemünde. On board were 2,680 wounded soldiers,285-ship team, 100 soldiers, 320 nurses and 30 doctors as well as about 2000 refugees /lot of women and children / fleeing the advancing troops of the Soviet Union_)All together about 5000-5200. Just after midnight, two torpedoes from the Soviet submarine S-13 hit the Steuben. According to survivors, she sank within about twenty minutes. When it became apparent the ship's fate was doomed, one female survivor remembers hearing the sound of "popcorn popping." After walking down the hallway where the sound was coming from, she realized to her horror it that she was hearing the sound of wounded German soldiers, committing suicide with their pistols. One told her they did not want to take the lifeboat space from the women and children. Baltiysk (Балтийск) – known prior to 1945 by its German name, Pillau – is a Russian sea port in the strait between Vistula Bay and Gdansk Bay, called Strait of Baltiysk on the territory of Kaliningrad Oblast with about 20,000 inhabitants. ... GdaÅ„sk (IPA: ; German: , Kashubian: , Late Latin: ; older English Dantzig; also other languages) is Polands sixth-largest city, and also her principal seaport and the capital of the Pomeranian Voivodeship. ... GdaÅ„sk (IPA: ; German: , Kashubian: , Late Latin: ; older English Dantzig; also other languages) is Polands sixth-largest city, and also her principal seaport and the capital of the Pomeranian Voivodeship. ... February 10 is the 41st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... Year 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1945 calendar). ... ÅšwinoujÅ›cie (pronounce: [,É•vinÉ”ujÉ•tÉ•È‹e], German Swinemünde) is a town in Pomerania, north-western Poland, situated on the islands of Uznam and Wolin with about 41,000 inhabitants (2004). ... S-13 was a Stalinec-class submarine of the Soviet Navy. ...

Approximately 4,500 people died in the sinking of the General von Steuben; there were 659 survivors.

National Geographic ran a detailed story on the Russian sinking of the von Steuben in its February 2005 issue. The National Geographic Society was founded in the USA on January 27, 1888, by 33 men interested in organizing a society for the increase and diffusion of geographical knowledge. ...

References

• [1]

See also

• Cap Arcona
• Goya
• Wilhelm Gustloff

Memorial of Cap Arcona victims, Neustadt in Holstein. ... The Goya was a German refugee ship which was originally built as the freighter Akers in Oslo in 1940 with a length of 131 m and width of 17 m. ... The Wilhelm Gustloff slides into the water during launch ceremonies. ...

Footnotes

1. ^ This article is about the World War II German auxiliary cruiser "General von Steuben". For the World War I German auxiliary cruiser that was interned by the Americans and renamed in 1917 as the "Baron Von Steuben", please see the article on the ship Kronprinz Wilhelm, and for other uses please see the disambiguation page Von Steuben