Her keel was laid on Aug. 1, 1936, and she was launched on May 5, 1938. Originally intended as a cruise ship for the Kraft durch Freude (Nazi Strength Through
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Wilhelm Gustloff, in full Motor Vessel Wilhelm Gustloff, German ocean liner that was sunk by a Soviet submarine on January 30, 1945. An estimated 9,000 passengers were killed in the sinking, making it the greatest maritime disaster in history. The MV Gustloff was the first ship built specifically for the German Labour Front’s Kraft durch Freude (“Strength Through Joy”) program, which subsidized leisure activities for German workers. It measured 684 feet (208.5 metres) in length and weighed more than 25,000 tons. The ship was named for the leader of the Swiss Nazi Party, who had been assassinated on February 4,