SS Bremen: Germany’s Fugitive Ocean Liner

on the evening of august 30th 1939 the german  super liner ss bremen one of the fastest liners in   the world left new york harbor for the last time  her course was kept secret captain adolph irons   sailed south for havana but as night fell and the  super liner slipped out of view the great ship's   name plates were painted over and she went into  a total blackout her course was abruptly shifted   north mattresses and cans of fuel were brought to  her promenade deck so she could be scuttled at a   moment's notice the hms berwick and hms york were  waiting in halifax ready to intercept the liner   bremen's radio operators silently listened for  any signs of them as they sailed dangerously close   if she was spotted the cruisers would surely  tell her for the rest of her covert voyage   then on september 1st 1939 the  bremen's crew got the news they feared   the german army had marched on poland  soon the world would once again be at war   and they were far from safety their giant  ship the pride of germany's merchant fleet   was a valuable target and great britain was eager  to prevent her from ever reaching home again after the carnage of the first world war  germany's merchant fleet was decimated   the three largest ships in the world albert bonds  imperator botherland and bismarck all survived the   war but were turned over to great britain and  the united states as war reparations to make up   for tonnage lost including the lusitania and the  britannic immediately following the war none of   the european powers were in the economic position  to resume the feverish building that characterized   the pre-war decade and great britain's mauritania  comfortably maintained her speed record for   several years germany was eager to overcome the  economic devastation they suffered after the war   and in the fall of 1926 north german lloyd ordered  a pair of super liners that would re-establish a   premier german transatlantic passenger service  the two almost identical ships were constructed   simultaneously at the a.g wester yard in bremen  and blom and voss in hamburg the ships were   designed to prioritize speed over size with the  ultimate goal of recapturing the blue ribbon for   germany the twin ships the bremen and the europa  incorporated a radical new streamline designed   to achieve that goal they had a low silhouette  with raked boughs and short stubby funnels that   resembled destroyers more than contemporary luxury  liners their designers were obsessed with creating   holes that produced as little drag as possible  their whole plate edges faced forward rather than   aft and they incorporated a streamlined rudder  meant to produce better maneuverability at high   speeds finally the bremen and the europa were the  first merchant ships to incorporate the taylor   bulbus bow an innovation developed and used only  by the united states navy at the time though it's   standard today the two ship's interiors were  luxurious examples of the popular late 1920s   german new objectivity design movement the style  similar to bauhaus but less extreme prioritized   function and marked a sharp turn toward modernism  the bremen was launched by president paul von   hindenburg on august 16 1928 only one day after  her sister europa though the europa was originally   intended to sail first a fire occurred during  her fitting out process that delayed her maiden   voyage by several months and so bremen would  take the lead she was powered by four geared   steam turbine engines that could generate 135  000 shaft horsepower and powered four propellers   she had a cruising speed of 27.5 knots and it  was said that during her sea trials she briefly   reached an astonishing 32 knots she was 51 656  gross registered tons 938.6 feet long and had a   beam of 101.9 feet she could carry 2139 passengers  and 966 crew her builders were obsessed with speed   and modernity and even fitted a seaplane launch  between her funnels that could deliver mail to   her destination a day earlier her maiden voyage  took place on july 1929 and though it got off   to a rough start due to fog she was soon able to  come up to speed and reach the ambrose light ship   in four days 17 hours and 42 minutes a full eight  hours faster than the mauritania's previous feed   record she sailed into new york to much fanfare  in celebration the bremen in her career had a fond   relationship with new york and the ship proved  popular passengers europa would join her sister   the following march and the older and smaller  ss columbus rounded out germany's transatlantic   service by 1932 the three ships captured more than  12 percent of the north atlantic passenger service   but the rise of national socialism in germany  soon put a strain on bremen's american popularity   and we are determined to  continue our efforts to remove   possible sources of difference and thus to  contribute to assure the peace of europe the bremen's popularity with international  travelers began to drop after adolf hitler rose   to power in 1933. her decline in popularity  was hastened when the nazi party began   introducing cadres of essay stormtroopers on all  german passenger ships as was the case with the   german population back home nazi sentiments among  the bremen's crew ranged from quiet discomfort   to intense party loyalty after 1936 all german  ships were purged to foreign crew and sa staff   were deployed through various functions including  stewards waiters and galley staff the bremen had   150 essay staff among her crew bremen's first  captain leopold zeigenbein resisted the nazi   infestation of his ship and refused to end his  correspondence with required salutation heil   hitler he eventually elected to take an early  retirement in 1936 stating that he could not in   good conscious represent quote that party abroad  go ziganbine he was replaced by adolf irons who   captained the columbus he was experienced with the  bremen frequently subbing for seikenbein before   his retirement adolf irons was not a nazi loyalist  his allegiance were primarily to his ship his crew   and his country but while many of the party's  actions made him uncomfortable he ultimately   didn't resist and mostly followed orders though  the united states had a large german-american   population tensions rose rapidly due to the  nazi party's aggressive nationalist policies   and rhetoric it was the express policy of the  north german loyd line that in order to attract   international travelers nazism would be downplayed  as much as possible but the bremen like all other   german liners flew the nazi flag and became  a target for anti-nazi protests in july 1935   protesters rushed the ship and tore down the nazi  flag throwing it into the hudson since at the time   germany had two national flags the swastika and  the black white and red flag of the german empire   u.s authorities decided that no national symbol  of germany had been harmed in the incident   hell yeah us authorities hitler was so enraged  by the incident that he made the swastika the   national flag of germany on september 15 1935.  further demonstrations took place on board after   germany's involvement in the spanish civil war in  1936 and the nazi flag was torn down at least two   more times by 1938 by 1939 tensions were reaching  a breaking point and it was becoming clear that   war was inevitable on august 22 1939 the bremen  departed bremerhaven for her final passenger   voyage she carried 1700 passengers on board mostly  consisting of us nationals looking to escape   europe before tensions reached their breaking  point a few days into the voyage on august 26th   the cleats malina high command ordered all german  merchant ships to don camouflage paint and head   immediately to german ports not a very subtle  message but captain ahrens defied the message   choosing instead to complete the voyage as  scheduled and deliver his passengers to new york   a message was transmitted to germany defying  orders for radio silence and informed high   command that the bremen would continue to new york  and then head to havana for safety the message was   a deliberate ploy to throw the u.s and royal navy  off her trail bremen entered new york harbor at 6   pm on monday august 28th and docked at her  usual spot at pier 86 captain irons and his   crew intended to depart as soon as the ship could  be refueled the u.s authorities had direct orders   from president franklin donald roosevelt himself  to keep the liner in new york as long as possible by late august 1939 the united states was well  aware that war was all but certain in europe   from the outset the u.s was officially neutral and  the american public was fiercely isolationist with   only eight percent of the population in favor  joining the war even by july 1940. nevertheless   the government was dedicated to quietly supporting  their allies and coordinated closely with the   royal navy president franklin roosevelt who served  as assistant secretary of the navy under woodrow   wilson during world war one was keenly aware of  the very real threat germany could pose in the   atlantic he remembered germany's conversion  of the passenger liner ss kaiser wilhelm de   grosse to an auxiliary cruiser in world war one  he was genuinely concerned that powerful merchant   ships like the bremen could be quickly armed and  pose a major threat to u.s merchant shipping as   they transported vital supplies to great britain  there are also spotty intelligence reports that   suggested ships like bremen had armaments hidden  in unlikely spots like beneath the floor of her   swimming pool the concern was that once war was  declared the crew would quickly arm the bremen   at sea and wreak havoc on unprepared u.s shipping  whether these suspicions were true it was clearly   to the royal navy's advantage to reduce german  naval tonnage and better yet reserve a powerful   ship like the bremen in new york until she could  be requisitioned for the allied war effort after   all roosevelt was confident that the us would  eventually be pulled into the war sooner or later   so when the bremen docked at pier 86 u.s  authorities were ordered by roosevelt himself   to delay her departure as long as possible this  was tricky because the u.s was still bound by   their official neutrality and had no official  reason to keep the ship from leaving long term   so they got creative new york harbor was known for  efficient turnarounds but when bremen requested   refueling the process was delayed authorities  conducted extensive searches of the ship looking   for any evidence of hidden armaments they drug  out the process by taking several long coffee   and lunch breaks bremen was also required to  demonstrate her compliance with u.s safety   regulations even though the ship intended  to leave new york harbor without passengers   every life jacket was inspected and all 26 of her  motorized lifeboats had to be fully lowered to   demonstrate that they were all in proper working  condition the mood on board was tense captain   irons even considered the possibility that they  would have to make an unauthorized break for it   but an unguided departure from the busy new york  harbor would have been incredibly dangerous even   if the ship could manage to clear the port without  the aid of tugs the us coast guard would almost   certainly intercept them before they could clear  the harbor so captain arens and his crew humored   authorities as they slowly ran out of reasons to  hold the ship he also ordered sunscreen and other   provisions for his crew to prepare them for a trip  to havana he had reams of black paper purchased   from an art supply store that could be used to  black out the windows finally in the evening of   august 30th authorities had run out of reasons to  delay this ship and the bremen was authorized for   departure at 6 30 pm she left new york harbor  for the last time her crew dipped her colors   in salute and waved a fond goodbye to the crew of  the normandy they probably didn't know then that   the two ships would soon meet similar fates the  normandy would never leave new york and the bremen   would not survive the war as bremen sailed past  the statue of liberty her band played the nazi   party anthem while her crews sang along their arms  extended in the nazi salute they sailed out of new   york harbor into a dense fog her destination  a complete mystery to the rest of the world   we shall defend our island  whatever the grass may be   we shall fight on the beaches we  shall fight on the landing grounds   we shall fight in the fields and in the streets we  shall fight in the hills we shall never surrender   after dropping off the new york harbor pilot  bremen continued steaming southeast into the foggy   mist of the atlantic when she reached the outer  limits of u.s territorial waters captain irons   commanded all topside lighting extinguished even  navigational running lights the ship plunged into   blackness as the lights of the united states coast  disappeared into the dark fog lookouts on the   ship were increased to 26 and after a few moments  captain ahrens ordered a new course zero four zero   degrees havana was a decoy bremen took a sharp  turn northeast bound for home as the covert voyage   began crews were ordered to bring all mattresses  from tourist class to the promenade deck and place   petrol every 20 meters if the ship was intercepted  by a british warship captain irons was prepared to   immediately scuttle the ship once a majority of  the crew evacuated in the lifeboats a designated   group of firemen would set the ship ablaze while  another designated engineering party would open   the seacocks and flood the ship the captain chief  engineer and first officer would be the last to   leave as they sailed off the coast of nantucket  the weather grew worse the poor visibility was   actually an asset making her harder to spot by  nearby ships and grounding patrolling seaplanes   crews quartered in the forward sections of the  ship removed aft considering the danger of sailing   at full speed with low visibility in full blackout  soon bremen received word that germany and the   soviet union had signed a non-aggression pact on  august 23rd they then received a coded message   from high command instructing them to sail for the  russian port of murmansk despite her speed of over   27 knots the crew went to work painting the entire  ship a ghostly grey to reduce her visibility   crew used ropes to lift themselves up her bright  yellow funnels quickly painting them with sloppy   grey they lowered themselves in lifeboats to  paint her sides her radio operators listened   carefully for any signs of nearby ships when other  ships were detected captain irons would abruptly   alter courts to avoid coming within visual range  as they passed by halifax they came dangerously   close to the hms berwick the hms york and the u.s  coast guard ship george w campbell bremen's radio   operators took careful steps to track these ships  as they silently passed then on september 1st 1939   bremen got the news they were dreading german  troops had marched on poland captain arends   remembering the devastation of the last great  war reacted with deep sadness fearing another war   would once again bring destruction to his country  but his primary concern was getting his crew and   his ship to safety war was declared by britain  and france on nazi germany on september 3rd 1939.   the crew of the bremen had good reason to  fear an encounter with a british warship   only hours after war was declared the german  u-boat u-30 having just received word that a   state of war existed with britain spotted the  14 000 ton british flag passenger ship athenia   she was bound for montreal and carried 410  passengers u-30 fired two torpedoes at the   athenia in the first action of the war at sea one  struck her at her port beam the second misfired   passengers of athenia thought the second torpedo's  explosion was the yupa opening fire from her deck   guns on the stricken liner as she began listing  dangerously to port she would take 14 hours to   sink 118 people lost their lives including 16  children and 22 americans though the crew of   the u-boat thought they were firing on a commerce  raider the action was interpreted by the allies   is a sign that germany had adopted a policy  of unrestricted war at sea the bremen would   now be an even greater prize for any captain  of the royal navy bremen raced for the denmark   strait the crew was unprepared for the cold  temperatures and took clothing that would normally   be sold to passengers in the ship's store to keep  themselves warm on september 6 as bremen entered   russian waters her crew's anxieties boiled over  when they spotted a ship low on the waterline she   reversed direction and quickly outran the oncoming  warship but when they realized it was actually   a russian torpedo boat they resumed course and  rendezvoused with the soviet warship a group of   soviet officers boarded the bremen and after some  awkward attempts to communicate in broken english   a russian-speaking steward was brought to the  bridge to translate bremen finally dropped anchor   in myrmansk later that day having traveled 4045  nautical miles since leaving new york 6 days and   13 hours earlier it was an unfamiliar port with  an unlikely ally but for now the bremen was safe in romance the bremen's crew had little to do  but wait the port city though busy with german   shipping was mostly unfinished on september 18th  850 of bremen's crew were sent home to germany   by rail leaving a skeleton crew of 70 to maintain  the ship by the end of september a german tanker   arrived to replenish bremen's fuel the mood in  the port city continued to deteriorate when war   broke out between the soviet union and finland on  november 30th finnish air raids struck dangerously   close and soviets ordered all ships in the harbor  to darken their lights captain irons waited   patiently for an opportunity to escape the soviet  port before dawn on the morning of december 7th   the bremen's skeleton crew pulled the liner out  of merman under the cover of a heavy snowstorm on   december 12th she was intercepted by the british  submarine salmon off the norwegian coast in a   tense exchange the submarine surfaced and issued  repeated warnings to the bremen to surrender   but before any action could be taken the salmon  was forced to crash dive when a german dornier   flying boat appeared on the horizon sent by the  creek's marina to escort the bremen finally on   december 13th the bremen made it to her home port  in bremerhaven receiving a hero's welcome captain   adolf irons was promoted to commodore and widely  celebrated by the german press the covert voyage   was an unlikely success after numerous near-misses  lucky breaks and truly impressive evasive actions   from her entire crew the bremen was safe in  germany but the efforts of so many ultimately   proved fruitless over the next several months  the bremen was refitted as troop ship number 802   in preparation for operation sea lion the german  invasion of great britain that ultimately never   came to fruition then on march 16 1941 a fire  broke out in her wood panel dining room which   was being used to store mattresses brilliant idea  guys fire spread rapidly through the ship despite   her crew's best efforts to bring the blaze under  control the ship began lifting dangerously and   to prevent her from capsizing she was flooded and  came to rest in the shallow water of the western   river the charred hull was a total loss it was  initially speculated that the fire was set by   british separators but upon further investigation  it was found that the fire was set by a 15   year old deckhand named walter schmidt the boy  confessed that he set the fire after being beaten   by his supervisor he was brutally executed soon  after portions of the hull were scrapped for war   munitions over the next couple of years and the  hole was towed upriver to be further dismantled   between 1952 and 1956 though portions of her  hull are apparently still visible to this day   the whole ordeal was a pathetic and shameful end  for one of the greatest ocean liners ever built   the bremen and the europa were  revolutionary and widely beloved ships   overnight they reignited the race to dominate  the atlantic passenger trade and rekindled the   building frenzy that had been stalled since  world war one they were immensely popular and   offered a glimmer of hope for a germany eager to  rebuild before the nazi party dimmed their success   bremen to me perfectly represents germany in the  interwar era she was built by the weimar republic   by a country with something to prove an endless  potential for a peaceful and prosperous future   a country that would be overrun by extremists  and ultimately burn itself to the ground   ocean liners carry the spirit of their  nation bremen set out with something to   prove and she was truly revolutionary but her  potential was cut short by the fire that her   country unleashed upon the world a fire  that ultimately consumed the great liner you

Channel: Big Old Boats

Views: 132,277

Rating: 4.872829 out of 5

Keywords: SS Bremen, Bremen, SS Europa, Europa, North German Lloyd, Norddeutscher Lloyd, Nazi Ocean Liner, World War 2, Battle of the Atlantic, Blue Riband, SS Bremen Fire, SS Bremen Wreck, Ocean Liner, Great Ocean Liner, Ocean Liner History, Big Old Boats, Bremen Ship, Bremen Sinking, SS Athenia Sinking, SS Bremen (1928), SS Europa (1928), German Ocean Liner, German Ship, ss bremen incident, ss bremen sinking, german ocean liners 1930s, north german lloyd line, great ocean liners

Id: qMeFQvpAE1w

Length: 19min 58sec (1198 seconds)

Published: Mon Apr 05 2021