On January 30, 1945, the German ship Wilhelm Gustloff was evacuating civilians and military personnel from East Prussia as the Red Army advanced. A Soviet submarine torpedoed the ship in the freezing Baltic Sea. Overcrowded lifeboats capsized, and the majority of passengers drowned in icy waters. It remains the deadliest maritime disaster in history, yet it is largely forgotten. Entire families vanished in minutes, and the tragedy highlights the horrors of war beyond the battlefield. The Wilhelm