Joseph Vilsmaier Two-part TV movie focuses on the tragic events surrounding the sinking of the Wilhelm Gustloff, a German passenger ship, at the end of World War II. On 30 January 1945, Captain Hellmuth Kehding was in charge of the ship, evacuating wounded soldiers and civilians trapped by the Red Army. Soon after leaving the harbor of Danzig, it was hit by three torpedoes from the Soviet submarine and sank in less than an hour.
CreatorsJoseph Vilsmaier, Rainer Berg
Harbor of Hope
Feb 3, 2008
The first shots are fired in Danzig and the war returns to this area in January 1945. The Red Army attacks Hitler's Reich on the 12th of January with 20 times as many soldiers. A million and a half people flees from the oncoming front line in snow storms without any protection from the cold. Soon there is only one way out, over the Baltic sea. Masses arrive at the luxury liner from the 30's. Wilhelm Gustloff symbolizes hope.
Escape over Baltic Sea
Feb 10, 2008
Wilhelm Gustloff leaves the harbor in Danzig with 10,000 refugees. In the cold water awaits a Soviet submarine.
