"The Sinking of the Wilhelm Gustloff"

[JOHN JONES]

75 years ago tomorrow.
A war grave not respected by the Russians. ?

John.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=roWKlk3ahas

[VtwinVince]

LOL John, a German grave respected by the Russians?It's OK to desecrate war graves, as long as they're German. Examples include the Gustloff and the Tirpitz.

[behblc]

No, it is not alright.
WG should have been left alone and not blown apart, Tirpitz could not be left alone.

[Seigfried]

75 years ago tomorrow.
A war grave not respected by the Russians. ?

John.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=roWKlk3ahas

Seriously - what do you expect from these 'people'?

Mind you, Gottleib and his ilk (grave robbers) are no better.

[saar]

Russians blew up the ship in the 50s. I wonder what was the reason to do that.

[Mr. Scratch]

Russians blew up the ship in the 50s. I wonder what was the reason to do that.

I've studied the Gustloff for nearly 20 years, and have never heard a satisfactory answer to this question.

From what I have read, when the Soviets went down to it in the 1950s (it was suspected that the Amber Room might have been aboard), they found it crammed full of bones. They evidently had divers down there cleaning out what bones they could find around the ship, presumably to eliminate evidence of what they'd done. My guess would be that there was little they could do though about the dead trapped in the bowels of the ship, so they collapsed the hull to keep anyone from poking about.

[ebj]

Mind you, Gottleib and his ilk (grave robbers) are no better.

These "black diggers and grave robbers" are sick excuses for collectors and dealers. This "hobby" began when WW2 veterans came home with war souvenirs and young guys like me were fascinated by them; especially when we associated them with the early movies like "Descision Before Dawn and others. I have been a collector and researcher for over 60 years but I would not touch a "dug" item.

Let all vets from and war and country rest in peace. Ed J 82nd Abn and 12th SF.

[ebj]

...all wars and countries...

[VtwinVince]

Do you know the details of what the Norwegians did to the corpses they found on the Tirpitz? And you're OK with that? Pathetic.

[behblc]

Will wait for Antonio Bonomi and Robert Gehringer's last book (in their series of five) on Tirpitz which is due out later this year for some definitive accounts of scrapping and fate of the dead found on the ship. (From what I have heard the early treatment was less than what one would have hoped for.)
The actual process of scrapping and body removal must have been grim at best.
Speaking for myself would I be "OK" with indifference or the disrespecting of the dead, no I would not.
Dug items I myself do not own nor will I ever, Tirpitz, I have a small piece of her wooden deck.