Remembering the Cap Arcona: Nazi ship sunk with concentration camp prisoners on board
The Cap Arcona, a Nazi ship, was attacked by British Royal Air Force planes near the end of World War II. Thousands of prisoners died as the ship sank in the horrific and little-known disaster.
This is a somber story of the Cap Arcona, a once luxurious German cruise ship transformed into a death camp during World War II. The ship, anchored in Lübeck Bay in the Baltic Sea, was attacked just hours before liberation in 1945, resulting in the deaths of nearly everyone on board - an estimated 7,000 people. Among the victims were prisoners from various nationalities, including Americans, Greeks, Italians, and Jews.
The ship, known as the "Queen of the Atlantic" in its prime, had been a symbol of comfort and opulence before its horrific fate. Today, the beachside marker at Lübeck Bay serves as a haunting reminder of the tragedy, etched with the German words for fear, panic, and grief. Survivors, like Bruno Neurath-Wilson who lost his father on the ship, and Manfred Goldberg who lost his brother and mother, continue to bear the weight of this dark history.
Written by urgent.news from CBS News's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
