Port of Pillau
On 11 April 1945, the 40-year-old steamer Karlsruhe offered one of the last opportunities for refugees and wounded people to leave the Königsberg area through the port of Pillau.
Dramatic scenes accompanied the ship’s departure as desperate refugees tried to secure places on board.
The vessel, only 66 metres long, became heavily overcrowded with more than 1,000 refugees and wounded people.
On 13 April, off Stolpmünde, three torpedo bombers attacked the Karlsruhe and one hit the ship near the bridge.
The vessel broke in two and sank rapidly.
About 970 people went down with the ship in the ice-cold waters of the Baltic Sea.