Memorial of Cap Arcona victims, Neustadt in Holstein.

The SS Cap Arcona was a 27,500 gross ton German luxury ocean liner of the Hamburg-South America line[1]. She was named after Cape Arkona on the island of Rügen in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. Launched in 1927, she was considered one of the most beautiful of the time. She carried upper-class travelers and steerage-class emigrants, mostly to South America. Image File history File links Neustad_Holstein_Cap_Arcona. ... Image File history File links Neustad_Holstein_Cap_Arcona. ... Neustadt in Holstein is a town in the district of Ostholstein, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. ... The word ton or tonne is derived from the Old English tunne, and ultimately from the Old French tonne, and referred originally to a large cask with a capacity of 252 wine gallons, which holds approximately 2100 pounds of water. ... A postcard of SS United States. ... Hamburg from above Hamburgs motto: May the posterity endeavour with dignity to conserve the freedom, which the forefathers acquired. ... South America South America is a continent crossed by the equator, with most of its area in the Southern Hemisphere. ... View on Cape Arkona Cape Arkona is a cape on the island of Rügen in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany. ... Map of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania highlighting the district Rügen Rügen (Polish: Rugia) is an island located off the coast of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania in the Baltic Sea. ... Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania (German: Mecklenburg-Vorpommern) is a state in northern Germany. ... 1927 (MCMXXVII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... The steerage was one of the lowest decks of a ship. ...

In 1940, she was taken over by the Kriegsmarine (German Navy) and used in the Baltic Sea. At the end of 1944, the Kriegsmarine transferred her back to transport use and she was used to transport refugees from East Prussia to western Germany. Year 1940 (MCMXL) was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1940 calendar). ... The Kriegsmarine (or War Navy) was the name of the German Navy between 1935 and 1945, during the Nazi regime, superseding the Reichsmarine. ... The Baltic Sea is located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. ... Year 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ... East Prussia (German: Ostpreu en; Polish: Prusy Wschodnie; Russian: Восточная Пруссия — Vostochnaya Prussiya) was a province of Kingdom of Prussia, situated on the territory of former Ducal Prussia. ...

She also had a brief stint in the world of cinema. In 1942, she was used as a stand-in for the doomed Titanic in the German film version of the disaster, which would later prove to be a cruel twist of irony. Year 1942 (MCMXLII) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1942 calendar). ... For other uses, see Titanic. ... Titanic was a 1943 Nazi propaganda film made during World War II in Berlin by Tobis Productions for Ufa Films. ... Irony, from the Greek εἴρων (iron), is a literary or rhetorical device made of iron, in which there is a gap or incongruity between what a speaker or a writer says, and what is generally understood (either at the time, or in the later context of history). ...

Sinking

On April 26, 1945, she was loaded with prisoners from the Neuengamme concentration camp near Hamburg and, together with two smaller ships, Thielbek and Athen, was brought into the Bay of Lübeck. During these days, informed by British Intelligence, Count Folke Bernadotte, vice-president of the Red Cross, gained much goodwill leading a rescue operation transporting west European deportees to hospitals in Sweden, of whom some were French-speakers (like Michel Hollard) transported aboard the Cap Arcona. April 26 is the 116th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (117th in leap years). ... Year 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1945 calendar). ... Neuengamme was a concentration camp near Hamburg, Germany during World War 2 [1]. The site is one of the few concentration camps in Germany where most of the buildings have been conserved and serves as a memorial today. ... It has been suggested that Internment be merged into this article or section. ... Hamburg from above Hamburgs motto: May the posterity endeavour with dignity to conserve the freedom, which the forefathers acquired. ... The Thielbek was a 2,815 register ton freighter sunk with the Cap Arcona and the Deutschland on May 3, 1945 in the Bay of Lubeck with the loss of 2,750 lives. ... Nickname: City of Athena or Cradle of Democracy Location of the city of Athens (red dot) within the Prefecture of Athens and Periphery of Attica Coordinates: Country Greece Peripheries Attica Prefecture Athens Founded circa 2000 BC Mayor Nikitas Kaklamanis Area    - City 38. ... The Bay of Lübeck (German: Lübecker Bucht; Polish: Zatoka Lubecka) is a basin in the southwestern Baltic Sea, off the shores of German lands of Mecklenburg-West Pomerania and Schleswig-Holstein. ... The Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), more commonly known as MI6 (originally Military Intelligence [section] 6), or Her Majestys Secret Service or just the Secret Service, is the British external security agency. ... Count Folke Bernadotte af Wisborg (January 2, 1895 - September 17, 1948), is noted for his negotiation for the release of prisoners from the German concentration camps in World War II. He was the son of Oscar Bernadotte, Count of Wisborg (formerly Prince Oscar of Sweden) and his wife, née... The Anarchist Black Cross was originally called the Anarchist Red Cross. The band Redd Kross was originally called Red Cross. This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... This article is about the continent. ... Michel Hollard, born on July 10, 1897 in Epinay, Eure and dead on July 16, 1993, is a french colonel, who was a famous resistant during the World War II. // In 1941, he constitute the net AGIR, rattached to the S.I.S. and composed of one hundred of agents. ... The Cap Arcona was a 27,500 gross ton German luxury passenger steamer of the Hamburg South America line. ...

Four days after Hitler's suicide, on May 3, 1945, the Cap Arcona, the Thielbek, and the passenger liner Deutschland (converted to a hospital ship but unmarked as such) were sunk in four separate attacks by RAF planes of 83 Group, 2nd Tactical Air Force: the first by No. 184 Squadron RAF based in Hustedt; the second by No. 198 Squadron RAF based in Plantlünne, led by Group Captain Johnny T. Baldwin; the third by No. 263 Squadron RAF based in Ahlhorn, led by Squadron Leader Martin Trevor Scott Rumbold ; and the fourth by Royal Air Force Hawker Typhoons of No. 197 Squadron RAF, led by Squadron Leader K. J. Harding based in Ahlhorn. The fighters used rockets, bombs, and machine-guns. After the first wave had attacked the ships, the Cap Arcona hoisted the white ensign without any effect. The ships were carrying from 7,000 to 8,000 prisoners from the German concentration camps in Neuengamme, Stutthof and Mittelbau-Dora, half of whom were Russian and Polish POWs, others from 24 nationalities, including French, Danish, and Dutch. Those reaching the shore after the sinkings were shot by SS troops, but about 350 managed to escape from the massacre; others were machine gunned by the British pilots while trying to get ashore.^{[citation needed]} Among the survivors was the later German actor Erwin Geschonneck, whose story was made into a film in 1982. Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (April 20, 1889 – April 30, 1945, standard German pronunciation in the IPA) was the Führer (leader) of the National Socialist German Workers Party (Nazi Party) and of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945. ... May 3 is the 123rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (124th in leap years). ... Year 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1945 calendar). ... The Thielbek was a 2,815 register ton freighter sunk with the Cap Arcona and the Deutschland on May 3, 1945 in the Bay of Lubeck with the loss of 2,750 lives. ... USNS Comfort takes on supplies at Mayport, FL enroute to Gulf Coast. ... RAF redirects here. ... No 263 Squadron was an RAF fighter squadron formed in Italy towards the end of World War I. After being disbanded in 1919 it reformed in 1939 flying mainly strike and heavy fighter aircraft until becoming No 1 Squadron in 1958. ... RAF redirects here. ... The Typhoon was a British single-seat strike fighter, produced by Hawker Aviation starting in 1941. ... The RP-3 (for Rocket Projectile 3), was a British air to ground rocket used in the Second World War. ... This article is about explosive devices. ... A . ... Stutthof (Sztutowo) was the first concentration camp built by the German Nazi regime outside of Germany, on September 2, 1939. ... Categories: Stub | Nazi concentration camps ... Geneva Convention definition A prisoner of war (POW) is a soldier, sailor, airman, or marine who is imprisoned by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict. ... The double-Sig Rune SS insignia. ... The word massacre has a number of meanings, but most commonly refers to individual events of deliberate and direct mass killing, especially of noncombatant civilians or other innocents, that would often qualify as war crimes or atrocities. ...

Photos (burning ships; listing Deutschland, and Thielbek, Cap Arcona, swimming survivors) were taken on a reconnaissance mission over Bay of Lübeck by F-6 aircraft of the USAAF's 161st Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron around 5:00 PM, shortly after the attack. The Thielbek was a 2,815 register ton freighter sunk with the Cap Arcona and the Deutschland on May 3, 1945 in the Bay of Lubeck with the loss of 2,750 lives. ... The Bay of Lübeck (German: Lübecker Bucht; Polish: Zatoka Lubecka) is a basin in the southwestern Baltic Sea, off the shores of German lands of Mecklenburg-West Pomerania and Schleswig-Holstein. ... The North American P-51 Mustang was an American long-range single-seat fighter aircraft that entered service with Allied air forces in the middle years of World War II and became one of the conflicts most successful and recognizable aircraft. ... USAAF recruitment poster. ...

For weeks after the sinking, bodies of the victims were being washed ashore, to be collected and buried in a single mass grave at Neustadt in Holstein. For nearly three decades, parts of skeletons were being washed ashore, the last find, by a twelve year old boy, was in 1971. Neustadt in Holstein is a town in the district of Ostholstein, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. ... 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1971 calendar). ...

The deportees were of 28 different nationalities : American, Belgian, Canadian, Czechoslovakian, Danish, Dutch, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Luxembourger, Norwegian, Polish, Romanian, Russian, Spanish, Swiss, Ukrainian, Yugoslavian and others. Deportee (1976) is a dramatic short film written, produced and directed by Sharron Miller. ... Warning: Value not specified for common_name Motto: Czech: Pravda vítÄ›zí (Truth prevails; 1918-1989) Latin: Veritas Vincit (Truth prevails; 1989-1992) Anthem: Kde domov můj and Nad Tatrou sa blýska Capital Prague Language(s) Czech, Slovak Government Republic President  - 1918-1935 Tomáš Masaryk  - 1989-1992 V... Yugoslavia (Jugoslavija in Latin, Југославија in Cyrillic, English: Land of the South Slavs) describes four political entities that existed one at a time on the Balkan Peninsula in Europe, during most of the 20th century. ...

The RAF has sealed the records about these attacks until 2045. [2] RAF is an three letter acronym for: Royal Air Force -- the Air Force of the United Kingdom (see also Air Ministry) Red Army Faction (Rote Armee Fraktion) -- a German terror organisation Rigas Autobusu Fabrika -- a factory making buses in Riga, Latvia Rapid Action Force in India Računarski Fakultet RAF... 2045 (MMXLV) will be a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Losses of life in the Cap Arcona and in the Soviet sinkings of the Wilhelm Gustloff and the Goya in the Baltic Sea were among the highest in history. The Wilhelm Gustloff slides into the water during launch ceremonies. ... 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 Baltic Sea is located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. ...

References

• Roy Nesbit - "Cap Arcona: atrocity or accident?" - Aeroplane Monthly, June 1984
• Benjamin Jacobs and Eugene Pool - The 100-Year Secret : Britain's Hidden World War II Massacre - The Lyons Press, October 2004. ISBN 1-59228-532-5.
• (Lawrence Bond)"Typhoons' Last Storm"- documentary film 2001

External links

• History of the tragedy
• Disaster on the Baltic Sea
• Inferno
• Appendix A
• Photo-montage with sound
• Photos of the Cap Arcona *[3]
• Scuba diving around the wreck