Hitler's Lost State: The Fall of Prussia and the Wilhelm Gustloff Tragedy

Description

Seen as an agricultural utopia within Hitler's Germany, it is often the view that both East and West Prussia had remained relatively untouched during the Second World War. Yet the violence, prejudice and murder associated with the National Socialist regime that brought most of Europe to ruin were widespread throughout Prussia during its brief existence. When the MV _Wilhelm Gustloff_ was sunk by a Russian submarine just after 9pm on 30 January 1945, 9,343 passengers - 5,000 of them children - would perish. It was the worst loss of life in maritime history, six times greater than the one of the RMS Titanic. Launched by Adolf Hitler on 5 May 1937 and the KdF (Kraft durch Freude = Strength through Joy) as a recreational and propaganda tool, the MV _Wilhelm Gustloff_ would suffer the same fate as the nation it once represented. Yet 75 years later, her tragic story is still unknown to many. Combining existing material and new findings, this book tells the story of Prussia's rise and fall as a military power, the attempts by brave civilians as well as military personnel determined to overturn the evil regime they had made an oath to serve and the desperate evacuation of refugees to the West in one of the greatest exodus ever seen, told by those who were there. Cover Book Title Copyright Table of Contents Introduction Chapter 1 Prussia: Birth of a European Power Chapter 2 The First World War Chapter 3 1918–1933: The Descent into Madness Chapter 4 Black Aurora Chapter 5 By a Cursed Hand Chapter 6 The Minority Nightmare Plate section Chapter 7 Resisting Evil Chapter 8 Blood and Fire Chapter 9 Harbour of Hope Chapter 10 The Cruellest Night Chapter 11 A Tale of Two Lost Cities Chapter 12 Nemesis at Potsdam Afterword Acknowledgements Bibliography Back Cover