Last will and return on Gustloff

Listen to this article Heinz Schön was one of the lucky survivors of the disaster of the German liner Wilhelm Gustloff. The events of January 1945, however, were so deeply engraved in the psyche of the 19-year-old mayor that in his last will he asked for his ashes to be placed in an urn on

ByTomasz Andrukajtis

Published: July 3, 2013 - 20:22

Updated: July 22, 2023 - 03:58

Listen to this article

Heinz Schön was one of the lucky survivors of the disaster of the German liner Wilhelm Gustloff. The events of January 1945, however, were so deeply engraved in the psyche of the 19-year-old mayor that in his last will he asked for his ashes to be placed in an urn on the wreck of the Nazi liner.

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His wish was granted and Heinz fulfilled his destiny. He rested among the other passengers of the ship, whose lives were ended on 30 January 1945 by the Soviet submarine Captain Alexander Marineska.

Fulfilling the request of the former crew member of MS Wilhelm Gustloff would not have been possible without the positive opinion and consent of the Maritime Office in Gdynia. Andrzej Królikowski, director of the aforementioned institution, did not conceal that he could not imagine issuing a different decision.

“The civil servant is not only there to police the rules, but first and foremost to serve the people. I consulted with the ministry, we decided that in this case it would be inhumane to refuse,” Królikowski said

The shipwreck of the Wilhelm Gustloff is a war grave and diving on it is forbidden. A group of experienced divers from Poland, therefore, had the unique opportunity to visit the wreck accompanying Heinz Schön on his last journey and to collect photo and video documentation.

About author

Tomasz Andrukajtis

Editor-in-chief of the DIVERS24 portal and magazine. Responsible for obtaining, translating and developing content. He also supervises all publications. Achived his first diving certification – P1 CMAS, in 2000. Has a degree in journalism and social communication. In the diving industry since 2008.