The ill-fated ship had the dubious honor of being named after the leader of the Nazi party in Switzerland, who was assassinated by David Frankfurter, a Jewish medical student, in January 1936.  It was officially christened by Gustloff’s widow on May 5, 1937 in a flurry of Fascist cheers, flags, and salutes as Hitler and other party members watched from above.  This was the grandest ship of the Kdf “strength through joy” fleet of luxury cruise liners created for loyal Nazi followers to enjoy.  There was no class division among the passengers; all cabins had a view and were of equal size.

From its maiden voyage on March 24, 1938, to just before WWII, carefree vacationers from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland mingled freely with each other and the crew on cruises to the Mediterranean and the North Sea.  Cruise fares were reasonable and within the budget of most of the working class in keeping with Hitler’s false promises of a perfect world.  Free entertainment was provided; daily activities were structured, and Hitler’s propaganda circulated freely among the passengers who seldom went ashore.

Prior to the annexation of Austria by the Nazis, it was also used as a floating voting station for citizens of Austria and Germany, who were then living in England.  They were ferried 3 miles offshore to the ship, many unaware they were casting their vote in approval.  Other than transporting German troops from Spain after Franco’s victory in 1939, the Gustloff remained a pleasure ship carrying over 65,000 passengers on at least 50 different excursions.  The pleasure ended, however, with the final cruise in August 1939, when she was converted to a hospital ship in September 1939.  Serving a less humanitarian purpose during the war, it was camouflaged to house U-boat sailors in training.

At the end of WWII, on January 30, 1945, the Gustloff was put into service this time as a part of Operation Hannibal, a massive wartime relief effort.  Over 10,000 refugees, navy personnel, and the wounded, including an estimated 4,000 women and children, sought refuge on the ship from the advancing Soviet Red Army.  Although the Operation itself evacuated over two million people, the most successful wartime evacuation in history, the ones who made it to the Danzig port and the Wilhelm Gustloff were not so lucky.  Leaving many behind, the ship left port without ceremony heading for Kiel on the mainland of Germany.  Although thousands had escaped the atrocities of the Russian troops, none could know what lay ahead.

The ship and its crew were ill prepared for the mass of people that overflowed the decks and cabins below.  As the Gustloff made its way through sleet and snow, there was little protection from the weather or the enemy.  The ship was virtually alone on the Baltic Sea with only one small escort boat.  However, the U-boat detection equipment on the Lowe had frozen, and the boat was relying primarily on lookouts.  While anti-aircraft guns and the few lifeboats also remained frozen and inoperable on the deck of the Gustloff, the people suffered terribly in the packed quarters of a ship built to accommodate about 1800 passengers.

Some 9 hours later, disaster struck, as three torpedoes labeled For Leningrad, the Soviet people, and the Motherland were fired from an undetected Russian submarine.  After a direct hit on the ship‘s bow, the forward part of the ship was sealed off, and many of the crew were then unable to get to the lifeboats or carry out emergency procedures.  The lavish swimming pool amidships was now filled with floating bodies, broken metal, and flying tile.  After the 3rd and final torpedo destroyed the engine room, the Wilhelm Gustloff lost all power and communications.  The scene was one of total chaos, resembling the panic of the Titanic on a much larger scale.  Only a very few were rescued, as over 9,000 lives were lost in the sinking of the Gustloff, by far the greatest number in a single disaster at sea.  A journey that promised safety had ended in indescribable tragedy.

A second refugee ship, the General Steuben, was also hit on the same mission carried out by the Russian submarine commander Marinesko and his crew, raising the total lives lost to over 10,000.  Ironically, Marinesko was awarded Hero of the Soviet Union by Gorbachev in 1990, officially giving him credit for supposedly destroying German armed forces, but neglecting to mention the loss of innocent refugees and their families.

Unlike the Titanic, the shipwreck’s position in relatively shallow water was accurately recorded, so there is little mystery involved.  The Polish government retains control over this designated area, but there are few visitors or memorials to such a burial site.  A team of Polish divers, headed by Mike Boring, explored the shipwreck in May 2003 on a salvage expedition.  No evidence was found of a so-called Amber Room, or a secret treasure worth over $350 million stolen during the war years.  It is possible that some, if not all, the loot was recovered by the Russians soon after their deadly mission was accomplished.

(Notes:  The ship’s purser, Heinz Schon, one of the few survivors, has written numerous books and is considered the leading expert as manager of the Gustloff archives in Germany.)

(David Frankfurter was later pardoned, released from exile, and managed to live out the rest of his life in Israel.)

(The wreck is a war memorial and her location is disguised by Polish navigational charts that register her only as Obstacle No 73 – 180 feet deep in the Baltic. However, she is easy to find and most of the diving clubs between Gdansk and Kolobrzeg offer trips to the wreck.)(In Germany, the Wilhelm Gustloff has become a focus for war remembrance. Germans are lobbying to build a museum or a shrine on the Polish coast to mark the 60th anniversary of the disaster, on January 30.)
Sharon Slayton

Immediately after the battle, relatives and friends on the Union side were allowed permission to search for their loved ones; yet, the invitation was not extended to the defeated South.  A few years later, in an effort to bring in tourism, the railroad was extended from nearby major cities and a casino, photography studio, and dance pavilion were built upon the sacred ground.  Overrun by pleasure-seeking tourists, out for a good time, Gettysburg soon fell prey to the prostitutes and the gamblers, the vendors and the barkeepers, each seeking to profit from the tourist trade.  The past, after all, was the past and there was money to be made.  The automobile made it just that much easier and quicker to reach Gettysburg, a chance to get out of the city for a few days.

Through the ongoing efforts of veterans, private citizens, and a few concerned public officials, the preservation of Gettysburg slowly took shape.  Today, there are over 1,600 monuments, plaques, and memorials on the battlefield, the majority of which are in honor of the Union army.  In reality, this over abundance of memorials seems to lose their significance when one considers that the entire battlefield is in itself a memorial.  In 1895, President Cleveland established Gettysburg National Military Park, which is now preserved and maintained by the U.S. Department of the Interior.  For a while, the veterans of the Civil War frequently returned to Gettysburg, to express their grief and sorrow for the tragedy, but in time, there were few, and then ultimately, no survivors remained.  The 50th anniversary, which included a reenactment of “Pickett’s Charge,” was a reunion of 40,00 veterans and by 1938, only 1,845 of the 8,000 survivors were able to attend the reunion.  Of these, only 65 had actually fought at the Battle of Gettysburg.  President Franklin D. Roosevelt honored this reunion with the lighting of the eternal flame at the National Peace Memorial on Oak Hill.  Tourism to Gettysburg was revived again in the late 1950’s and the 60’s, as families and tourists took to the road, hoping to recapture one of America’s greatest moments.

Today, Gettysburg, the site of two historic landmarks, Gettysburg National Military Park and the Gettysburg National Cemetery, draws over two million tourists a year, eager for variety and a chance to be entertained.  As we drive through the 6,000 acres of sacred ground, now alive and green, the air is filled with the sounds of music and laughter, replacing the once pungent odor and grey smoke of gunpowder and the battle cries of victory and defeat.  While children fight imaginary battles wearing Union and Confederate caps and wave tiny flags on Cemetery Ridge and Little Round Top, adults browse through the bookstore picking up a few of the numerous items for sale including audio-visual recordings, maps, books, games, and collectibles to take back home.  A few moments of reflection, perhaps, on the sacrifices and the purpose of Gettysburg, and visitors are happy to return to the comfort of their homes or nearby accommodations at the end of a hot summer day. 
 
Entrance fees to the Park are free and the grounds and roads are open from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., and 6:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., November 1st – March 31st.  The Gettysburg National Cemetery is open from dawn until sunset and the Park buildings are closed Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day.  Tourists begin their visit at the National Park Service Visitor Center, with an “Electric Map,” which provides a 30-minute orientation on the three days of the battle, including commentary on the primary participants.  Fees for the presentation are $4.00 for adults (ages 17-61), $3.00 for children (ages – 6-16), and $3.00 (seniors, 62 and over).  Children under 6 are free and group rates are $3.00 for adults.  The Museum at the Visitor Center has the George Rosensteel collection of uniforms, artifacts, and weapons from the Civil War.  The Cyclorama, a 360-foot long panoramic painting by Paul Philippoteaux depicting the famous “Pickett’s Charge” and the end of the battle, is being restored and scheduled to reopen in 2008.

Edward Everett’s Gettysburg Oration on November 19, 1863 carries little significance in history, but the words might well be contemplated as we visit the sacred ground ” no lapse of time, no distance of space, shall cause you to be forgotten. ”  A pilgrimage to Gettysburg seems to be a part of the American way of life, a powerful ritual that must be observed.  The fascination of Gettysburg lies not so much in its historical significance, but in its escapism and excessive commercialism.  While historians and writers examine and reconstruct the battle scene and others reenact the events in elaborate period costumes, tourists arrive by the carload for a chance to “play” at war.  In this curious compulsion and fanfare of tourism, we can only hope that this battlefield will be remembered, as it should be, as a sacred “sepulchre of illustrious men.”

Sharon L. Slayton

In 1946, the Australian soldiers, part of the occupation forces sent to Japan, were among the first to view the scene of the tragedy. In the harbor of Hiroshima lay the remains of the once seemingly invincible Imperial Japanese Navy.  As aircraft carrying Japanese soldiers from the ruins of their empire flew over capsized and shattered battleships, hundreds of starving, ragged people struggled along a road to survival. Unaware of the dangers of radiation, the soldiers hurried through a broken city, where acres and acres of wood and tile and shells of concrete buildings lay across their path. The city of Hiroshima had been reduced to shambles, and yet, even in the face of this incredible disaster, the Japanese people somehow maintained a serene composure. 

Some 60 years later, Hiroshima is once again a beautiful city with little trace of the tragedy, a tragedy the world would like to forget. The old Castle of the Emperor Tojo has been restored and Main Street looks much the same. Smiling Japanese children, wearing T-shirts with American slogans and sharing McDonald’s Happy Meals, welcome visitors and pose for photographs. Overhead, the blue and sunny skies seem to defy the ugly grey of August 6th, 1945.

The Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima covers an area of over 122,000 meters and every year on this fateful day since 1947, the mayor delivers a declaration to remind us all of the need for worldwide peace. As we listen to the tolling of the Peace Bell, we offer silent tribute for the victims and the survivors. The Peace Memorial Museum, on the grounds of the Park, contains models and panoramic scenes of a once-ruined city, recorded testimony of survivors, and fervent messages of hope for the future. In the center of the Park stands the “The A-bomb dome,” purposely designed to reflect in startling realism the catastrophe of the atomic blast. The visiting hours at the Hiroshima City Museum are from March 1 – November 30; 8:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.; December 1 – February 28, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and August 1-31 from 8:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Admission is 50 yen for adults and 30 yen for children, ages 6 to 18. Guided tours are available and group tours are free.

While visiting Hiroshima today, perhaps with some sense of guilt along with grief, we must ask a question. Was the bombing, in fact, a brilliant military maneuver in an ongoing war for democracy, or was it an unfortunate beginning to the widespread fear that remains with us today? A choice was made, a road was taken, and in the words of Robert Frost: “and that has made all the difference.” The tragedy of Hiroshima leaves us to contemplate the very real possibility of a final Armageddon, an empty planet and a lost civilization.

Sharon L. Slayton

The Memorial, spanning the amidships portion of the sunken battleship, is 184 foot long and consists of three compartments, the entry room, the assembly room for ceremonies, and the marble wall engraved with the names of the crewmen of the U.S.S. Arizona.  Contemplating this tragedy serves as a reminder, not only of those who are gone, but also as a restoration of our innermost peace and patriotism.  The Memorial commemorates our strongest beliefs in freedom, unity, and the unwavering courage it takes to defeat our enemies.  The United States flag remains attached to the severed mainmast of the U.S.S. Arizona, a silent tribute to all military personnel who made the ultimate sacrifice in the Pearl Harbor attack.

If you’re planning a visit to Honolulu, Hawaii, the visitors’ center for the U.S.S. Arizona Memorial is open 7 days a week, 7:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., closed Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years.  Admission is free, on a first-come first-served basis, and includes a brief talk by a Park Service Ranger or Pearl Harbor survivor, a 23-minute documentary, and a boat trip to the Memorial. A museum is located in the visitors center and remembrance exhibits are on display for those personnel who were not on the Arizona, but died on December 7, 1941. Film permits are available for $100 and should be requested at least four business days in advance.

Sharon L. Slayton