Dramatic Photos

SS Ancona is sinking

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cap_Arcona_burning.jpg

The burning Cap Arcona shortly after the attack. Picture taken on 3 May 1945 (1945-05-03). In April 1945, the Nazis gathered some ships in the Bay of Lübeck, among them the SS Arcona, to be used as prison ships. Those ships held alltogether more than 10.000 people held previously in Neuengamme KZ and it's subcamps. The Gauleiter of Hamburg, Karl Kaufmann, was acting on orders from Berlin. He stated later that the prisoners were destined for Sweden. However, the head of the Gestapo in Hamburg, Bassewitz-Behr, testified at the same trial that the prisoners were in fact to be killed on thise ships, on order of Heinrich Himmler. A plan was suggested to scuttle the ships with the prisoners still aboard. The SS Arcona was attacked as part of general attacks on shipping in the Baltic Sea by RAF Typhoons. The commanders ordering the attack reportedly thought the SS Arcona was used to evacuate SS personell to Norway. The pilots stated that they did not know that the ship was loaded with prisoners. Some sources suggest, that some elemnts of the British command knew the identity of the people on the ship, but failed to pass on. Most of the SS guards were able to jump overboard, equipped with life jackets. The German sent to rescue crew members and guard personnel of the SS Arcona managed to save 16 sailors, 400 SS men and 20 SS women. Most of the prisoners who tried to board the trawlers were beaten back. Those who managed to get to shore were shot. of the 4.500 former concentration camp inmates who were on the ship, only 350 survived. The overall death toll was estimated at 5.000. ------------------------------------------- Evillittlekenny