Die Gustloff (2008) (TV)

Director:

Joseph Vilsmaier

Writer:

Rainer Berg (writer)

Release Date:

2 March 2008 (Germany)

Genre:

Drama | History

Plot:

Joseph Vilsmaier's two-part TV movie focuses on the tragic events surrounding the sinking of the Wilhelm Gustloff...

Plot Keywords:

Ship | Passenger | Submarine | Harbor | Drowning

Cast

  (Credited cast)

Kai Wiesinger	...	Hellmut Kehding
Valerie Niehaus	...	Erika Galetschky
Heiner Lauterbach	...	Harald Kehding
Dana Vávrová	...	Lilli Simoneit
Michael Mendl	...	Kapitän Johannsen
Karl Markovics	...	Korvettenkapitän Petri
Francis Fulton-Smith	...	Korvettenkapitän Leonberg
Nicolas Solar Lozier	...	Heinz Schön
Detlev Buck	...	Hagen Koch
Ulrike Kriener	...	Berta Burkat
Gerald Alexander Held	...	Escher
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Monica Attard	...	Refugee
Stefan Becker	...	Fähnrich
Mirco Bergmann	...	Adjutant von Leonberg
René Böhnke	...	Unteroffizier
Ines Borkowski	...	Zu fittende Frau
Martin Bross	...	Ältester Matrose
Malina Ebert	...	Traudl
Wilma Elles	...	Blondine
Marcel Franke
Anna Marie Fuchs
Leona Sophie Fuchs
Sebastian Fuhrmann	...	Matrose
Patricia Gerschler	...	Wäschemädel
Nadine Michelle Gröger
Markus Gührs	...	Adjudant
Alban Hansen
Estoril Hansen
Daniel Härtnagel	...	Läufer
Daniel Hauer	...	Offizier
Antje Hinz	...	Marinehelferin
Carsten Kaltner	...	Matrose
Waléra Kanischtscheff	...	Russ.U-boot Kommandant A.Marinesko
Anja Knauer	...	Marianne
Karla Krüger
Andreas Kucklick	...	Funker
Katharina Lazusch
Robert Lehmann	...	Matrose
Janosch Leuffen	...	Matrose
Adam-Victor Linkowski	...	Adjudant Adam
Maria Mägdefrau	...	Alte Frau
Marco Masera	...	Unteroffizier
Nina Mölleken
Thorsten Nindel	...	Leutnant Lehmann
Florian Paetzel	...	Soldat Gerhardt
Gregor Pittke	...	Funker
Simon Reukauf	...	Funker
Konstantin Sahnjuk	...	Offizier
Daniela Saul	...	Verletzte Frau
Dietmar Schäffner	...	Wehrpflichtiger Alter
Armin Schmitt	...	Matrose
Wolfgang Schreiber	...	Einarmiger
Kerstin Schröder
Martin Schubert	...	Adjudant
Steven Sonntag	...	Matrose
Max Stapel	...	Junger Matrose
Michael Stenzel	...	Feldpolizist
Jutta Torkler-Schulz	...	Ängstliche Flüchtlingsfrau
Joachim Weinsberg	...	Flüchtling
Marco Winzer	...	Matrose
Tom Wlaschiha	...	Bootsmann
Ulrich Wohlleben	...	Offizier
Susanne Zygmunt	...	Marinehelferin

Also Known As:

Die Gustloff - Flucht über die Ostsee (Germany) (second part title)
Die Gustloff - Hafen der Hoffnung (Germany) (first part title)
Hafen der Hoffnung - Die letzte Fahrt der Wilhelm Gustloff (Germany) (working title)
Ship of no Return (International: English title) (informal short title)
Ship of no Return: The Last Voyage of the Gustloff (Australia) (DVD title)
The Last Voyage of the Gustloff (International: English title) (informal short title)
The Ship of no Return (International: English title) (informal title)

Country:

Germany

Language:

German

Color:

Color

Certification:

Australia:MA (2008) | Finland:K-18

Filming Locations:

Berlin, Germany

Company:

Ufa Film-und Fernsehproduktion

Trivia:

According to the Australian DVD sleeve notes, this film was five years in the making and was also one of the most expensive films ever made by the UFA (Ufa Film-und Fernsehproduktion [de]) and ZDF (Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen (ZDF)).

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "3satfestival: Rainald Grebe & Die Kapelle der Versöhnung - 1968 (#9.6)" (2008)

The Last Voyage of the Wilhelm Gustloff (Historical Spoilers)

The Wilhelm Gustloff was the Third Reich's classiest passenger liner when she was pressed into service evacuating German civilians from Poland as the Soviets advanced in the waning days of WWII. Loaded with 10,000 passengers (crammed into every public space available), the Wilhelm Gustloff departed from Gdansk (Danzig) sailing for the German port of Kiel. During the night she was torpedoed by a Russian submarine and sank in 45 minutes, taking 9,000 souls with her (some say closer to 6,000). It remains the worst loss of life from a single sinking in maritime history. There has been controversy with some on the German side alleging a war crime, in that refugee non-combatants were killed in large numbers. The captain of the submarine (Marinesko) lived under this cloud until his death in the 60's. His commanders recommended he not be given the highest honors because his alcoholism and history of being AWOL made him unsuitable to be a hero.