Die Gustloff (TV 2008)

Joseph Vilsmaier's two-part TV movie focuses on the tragic events surrounding the sinking of the Wilhelm Gustloff, a German passenger ship, at the end of World War II. On 30 January 1945, ... See full summary »

Director:

Joseph Vilsmaier

Writer:

Rainer Berg

Stars:

Kai Wiesinger, Valerie Niehaus, Heiner Lauterbach

1 nomination.

Cast

Credited cast:
Kai Wiesinger	...	Hellmut Kehding
Valerie Niehaus	...	Erika Galetschky
Heiner Lauterbach	...	Harald Kehding
Dana Vávrová	...	Lilli Simoneit
Michael Mendl	...	Kapitän Johannsen
Karl Markovics	...	Korvettenkapitän Petri
Francis Fulton-Smith	...	Korvettenkapitän Leonberg
Nicolas Solar Lozier	...	Heinz Schön
Detlev Buck	...	Hagen Koch
Ulrike Kriener	...	Berta Burkat
Gerald Alexander Held	...	Escher
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Monica Attard	...	Refugee
Stefan Becker	...	Fähnrich
Mirco Bergmann	...	Adjutant von Leonberg
Ines Borkowski	...	Zu fittende Frau

Storyline

Joseph Vilsmaier's two-part TV movie focuses on the tragic events surrounding the sinking of the Wilhelm Gustloff, a German passenger ship, at the end of World War II. On 30 January 1945, Captain Hellmuth Kehding was in charge of the ship, evacuating wounded soldiers and civilians trapped by the Red Army. Soon after leaving the harbor of Danzig, it was hit by three torpedoes from the Soviet submarine and sank in less than an hour...

---

Plot Keywords:

ship | submarine | harbor | passenger | voyage | 

---

Genres:

Drama | History | War

---

Details

Official Sites:

Official site at UFA.de

Country:

Germany

Language:

German

Release Date:

2 March 2008 (Germany)

Also Known As:

Gustloffin viimeinen matka

Filming Locations:

Berlin, Germany

Company Credits

Production Co:

Ufa Film-und Fernsehproduktion

Technical Specs

Runtime:

188 min 188 min (2 parts)

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

This film's closing epilogue states: "Over 9000 people lost their lives that night [the Gustloff ship sank]. Most were women and children. There has never been a formal investigation."

---

Connections

Referenced in 3satfestival: Rainald Grebe & Die Kapelle der Versöhnung - 1968 (2008)

User Reviews

The Last Voyage of the Wilhelm Gustloff (Historical Spoilers)

The Wilhelm Gustloff was the Third Reich's classiest passenger liner when she was pressed into service evacuating German civilians from Poland as the Soviets advanced in the waning days of WWII. Loaded with 10,000 passengers (crammed into every public space available), the Wilhelm Gustloff departed from Gdansk (Danzig) sailing for the German port of Kiel. During the night she was torpedoed by a Russian submarine and sank in 45 minutes, taking 9,000 souls with her (some say closer to 6,000). It remains the worst loss of life from a single sinking in maritime history. There has been controversy with some on the German side alleging a war crime, in that refugee non-combatants were killed in large numbers. The captain of the submarine (Marinesko) lived under this cloud until his death in the 60's. His commanders recommended he not be given the highest honors because his alcoholism and history of being AWOL made him unsuitable to be a hero.