{"product_id":"9781137279194","title":"Death in the Baltic : The World War II Sinking of the Wilhelm Gustloff","description":"\u003cstrong\u003eDeath in the Baltic\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor(s): Cathryn J. Prince\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eJanuary 1945: the outcome of World War II has been determined. The Third Reich is in free fall as the Russians close in from the east. Berlin plans an eleventh-hour exodus for the German civilians trapped in the Red Army's way. More than 10,000 women, children, sick, and elderly pack aboard the \u003ci\u003eWilhelm Gustloff, \u003c\/i\u003ea former cruise ship. Soon after the ship leaves port, three Soviet torpedoes strike it, inflicting catastrophic damage and throwing passengers into the frozen waters of the Baltic. More than 9,400 perished in the night—six times the number lost on the \u003ci\u003eTitanic\u003c\/i\u003e. Yet as the Cold War started no one wanted to acknowledge the sinking. In \u003ci\u003eDeath in the Baltic\u003c\/i\u003e, by drawing on interviews with survivors, as well as the letters and diaries of those who perished, award-wining author Cathryn Prince reconstructs this forgotten moment in history. She weaves these personal narratives into a broader story, finally giving this WWII tragedy its rightful remembrance.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eReview(s):\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Based on German and Russian records, as well as material gained from interviews with survivors, author Prince has written a gripping account of one of the least-known human disasters of World War II.” —\u003ci\u003eMilitary History Magazine\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“In describing the experiences of survivors, whom she has been adept in tracing, the journalist Cathryn Prince gives voices to ‘ordinary people who suffered during extraordinary times' -- and does so with scrupulous empathy.” —\u003ci\u003eThe Spectator\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“A must-read for anyone wanting to examine the effects of the War on both sides.” —\u003ci\u003eWarfare magazine\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“The story of the worst maritime disaster in history…Prince has scoured the planet for survivors, treating their harrowing stories with gentle empathy, from the first sickening bolts of the torpedoes to the chaos and terror of the ship's swift sinking as passengers fell into the freezing water, clambered for lifeboats and watched loved ones disappear in the tumult… An engaging study of a shocking tragedy.” —\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“If you think that the sinking of the \u003ci\u003eTitanic\u003c\/i\u003e was the worst maritime disaster ever, then you're wrong….Amazing and harrowing story, well written and documented.” —\u003ci\u003eJean-Paul Adriaansen, Water Street Bookstore\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“The sinking of the cruise liner that was once the pride of Hitler's Strength Through Joy program has long been overlooked by maritime historians.  Yet when the \u003ci\u003eWilhelm Gustloff\u003c\/i\u003e disappeared beneath the freezing waters of the Baltic in January of 1945, she took with her more than six times the number of people lost on the \u003ci\u003eTitanic\u003c\/i\u003e. Through careful research and interviews with the few remaining survivors. Cathryn J. Prince vividly recreates the chaos and terror of this epic maritime disaster.” —\u003ci\u003eHugh Brewster, author of Gilded Lives, Fatal Voyage: The Titanic's First-Class Passengers And Their World\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“\u003ci\u003eDeath in the Baltic\u003c\/i\u003e is the engrossing story of a tragedy that should never have been forgotten. With the grace of a writer who truly feels the loss of thousands in the cold waters of the Baltic Sea, Cathryn J. Prince has preserved their memory and improved our sense of history.” —\u003ci\u003eGregory A. Freeman, author of The Forgotten 500\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Cathryn Prince reaches into the dark corners of history, and draws attention to this unreported tragedy through the experiences of the people who lived it.” —\u003ci\u003eStacy Perman, author of A Grand Complication\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“With \u003ci\u003eDeath in the Baltic\u003c\/i\u003e author Cathryn J. Prince recounts an important but little known aspect of World War II. Rich in detail, drama, and tragedy, Prince's gripping narrative skillfully interweaves the traumatic events of the final weeks of the war with moving stories of survivors of a maritime disaster which claimed more lives than the sinking of the \u003ci\u003eTitanic\u003c\/i\u003e.” —\u003ci\u003eDwight Jon Zimmerman, award-winning author of Uncommon Valor\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“\u003ci\u003eDeath in the Baltic\u003c\/i\u003e tells a gripping, invaluable story. Out of a desire for vengeance and recognition, one Soviet submarine commander caused the deaths of thousands of refugees, deaths that the victors of World War II chose to ignore. Cathryn Prince breaks the silence around the devastation many German civilians suffered at the end of the war.  Parting the curtain on the \"collateral damage\" the Allied Forces accepted as a necessary strategy for defeating Hitler, Death in the Baltic reveals that war's trauma spares no one.” —\u003ci\u003eLeila Levinson, award-winning author of Gated Grief\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“The story of the sinking of the \u003ci\u003eWillhelm Gustloff\u003c\/i\u003e is still unkown to a majority of non-Germans…It is certainly a grimly fascinating story, not least because of the wealth of human interest that it contains…Cathryn Prince tells the story of the Gustloff briskly and engagingly…making good use of the eyewitness accounts of the survivors.” —\u003ci\u003eHistory Today\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eISBN:  9781137279194\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e ","brand":"St. Martin's Griffin","offers":[{"title":"Paperback \/ softback","offer_id":40626131173582,"sku":"9781137279194","price":18.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0600\/7029\/7806\/products\/getimage_61f2bc7b-e933-454f-9090-325f2938d4c6.jpg?v=1638668491","url":"https:\/\/pickwickbookshop.com\/products\/9781137279194","provider":"Pickwick Bookshop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}