This was a terrible tragedy, but the article neglected to mention that the ship was named after Wilhelm Gustloff, the assassinated German leader of the Swiss Nazi party and it was leaving German occupied Poland in January, 1945. The refugees were German occupiers who helped in Hitler's campaign against Russia the winter before, in 1944. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MV_Wilhelm_Gustloff
In January, 1944, the siege of Leningrad by Hitler had just ended. "The 872 days of the siege caused unparalleled famine in the Leningrad region through disruption of utilities, water, energy and food supplies. This resulted in the deaths of up to 1,500,000[44] soldiers and civilians and the evacuation of 1,400,000 more, mainly women and children, many of whom died during evacuation due to starvation and bombardment."
great story. never heard of it before. especially interesting since i just toured pearl harbor and the uss bowfin submarine in hawaii last week. the technology was so primitive back then but still deadly.
