Steuben : The Life and Loss of a Forgotten Refugee Ship

In the final months of the Second World War, 2½ million people fled from East Prussia ahead of the ruthless Soviet Red Army, hoping to reach safety in Germany. More than a thousand ships were requisitioned by the Kriegsmarine to transport many of these desperate souls across the Baltic Sea in the face of air and submarine attacks.

One of these ‘ships of hope’ was the former North German Lloyd liner Steuben. She carried more than 33,000 people to safety, but her luck soon ran out. On 10 February 1945, while carrying over 4,000 refugees and wounded soldiers, she was struck by two torpedoes from a Soviet submarine and sank in thirty-three minutes. Hundreds died from exposure, drowning, and suicide in one of the worst maritime disasters in history.

In this book, the story of the ‘beautiful white Steuben’ is covered in detail from construction to sinking for the first time and brought to life through rare photos and richly detailed original illustrations by the author. In addition, gripping accounts from survivors recall with riveting detail her violent and untimely demise in the cold, cruel Baltic Sea eighty years ago.