MSGotenland
 Gotenland
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
| Name |
|
| Owner |
|
| Operator |
|
| Port of registry | |
| Builder | Burmeister & Wain,Copenhagen |
| Laid down | 1940 |
| Completed | November 1942 |
| Identification |
|
| Fate | scrapped 1970 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | cargo ship |
| Tonnage | 5,312GRT,3,184NRT,8,800DWT |
| Length |
|
| Beam | 56.4 ft (17.2 m) |
| Depth | 26.3 ft (8.0 m) |
| Decks | 2 |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 13+1⁄2knots (25 km/h) |
| Sensors and processing systems |
|
MSGotenlandwas acargomotor shipthat was built in Denmark during theSecond World Warand scrapped inChinain 1970. Her first operator was theGermanNorddeutscher Lloyd(NDL) line. In 1945 she passed toNorwegianownership and was renamedHopeville.In 1967 she was acquired byGreekowners, who at first renamed herOinoussian Hope,and then changed her name toEsperanza.
In 1943 Germany usedGotenlandtodeport 158 Jews from Norway to Germany.Only six or seven of the deportees survived the war.
Building
[edit]In 1940Burmeister & WaininCopenhagen,Denmarkwas building the ship forA. F. Klaveness & CoofNorway.However, in April 1940Germany invaded Denmark,and theKriegsmarinerequisitioned the uncompleted ship. In November 1942 she was completed asGotenland,and the Kriegsmarine appointed NDL tomanageher.[1]HerMasterin NDL service wasCaptainHeinz Vollmers.[2][3]
The ship's lengths were 440.0 ft (134.1 m)overalland 424.7 ft (129.4 m) registered. Herbeamwas 56.4 ft (17.2 m), and her depth was 26.3 ft (8.0 m). Hertonnageswere 5,312GRT,3,184NRT,[4]and 8,800DWT.She had fourholdsand five hatches. She had 15derricks:one of 25 tons and 14 of five tons.[1]
The ship had a singlescrew,driven by a Burmeister & Wain nine-cylinder,single-acting,two-stroke diesel engine.[4]It gave her a speed of13+1⁄2knots (25 km/h).[1]
Gotenland
[edit]In November 1942 the German authorities in occupied Norway had deported hundreds ofNorwegian Jewstoconcentration campsinoccupied Polandaboard the shipsDonauandMonte Rosa.In February 1943 they usedGotenlandto deport Norwegian Jews toGermany.
On February 24, 1943, 158 Jewish prisoners were taken fromBredtveit PrisonandGrini detention campto theport of Oslo,where they were embarked aboardGotenland.71 were adult women, 63 were adult men, and 24 were children born during or after 1924. Embarkation took all day, andGotenlandleft Oslo at 0500 hrs the next morning.TheGestapoofficer Klaus Grossmann commanded the German guards aboardGotenlandon the voyage.[2][5]
On February 27Gotenlanddocked inStettinin Germany. There the prisoners were loaded intofreight cars,in which they were taken toBerlin.In Berlin they were made to sign over all of their assets to the German state. The next day they were sent on to Auschwitz.[2]On arrival in Auschwitz, all men under 18 and over about 45–50 years, and almost all women, were selected for immediate execution in one of thegas chambers.Only 26 to 28 of the deportees were selected to be retained as forced labourers. They were put to work inMonowitz-Buna.[2]Only six or seven of the prisoners transported with Gotenland survived the war.[5]
On January 29, 1945Gotenlandwas in theBalticoffLibauduring an air raid. A bomb hit her, causing substantial damage. She returned toDanzigfor repairs to her deck andforecastle.[6]
On January 30, 1945 theS-13sankWilhelm Gustloff,killing more than 9,000 people aboard.[7]Gotenland,still damaged from the bombing off Libau, took part in rescuing some of the survivors from the sea.[8]
Hopeville
[edit]In May 1945Germany capitulated,and on August 31Gotenlandwas finally delivered to Klaveness & Co, who had ordered her at the beginning of the war.[1]Klaveness renamed herHopevilleandregisteredher in Oslo. Her Norwegiancall signwas LLNZ.[4]
By 1946Hopeville's navigation equipment included wirelessdirection finding,anecho soundingdevice, andgyrocompass.[4]In 1957Hopeville's ownership was transferred from Skibs-A/S Steinstad to Skibs-A/S Siljestad, but Klaveness & Co remained her managers.[9]By 1959 her navigation equipment includedradar.[10]In 1963 she was laid up from January 10 until March 21 inArendalin southern Norway.[1]
Oinoussian HopeandEsperanza
[edit]In 1967 Argyros Cia. SA boughtHopeville,renamed herOinoussian Hope,and registered her inPiraeus.Panagiotis A Lemos & Co Ltd of London were her managers. In 1968 her owners renamed herEsperanza,but kept the same managers.[1]
In 1970 she was sold for scrap. On April 15 that year she arrived inShanghaito bebroken up.[1]
References
[edit]- ^abcdefg"1945 MS Hopeville (2) (OSL302194501)".Skipshistorie.RetrievedJanuary 2,2024.
- ^abcdMendelsohn 1987,pp. 146–152.
- ^Wetterholm 2021[page needed]
- ^abcdLloyd's Register1946,HOO–HOR.
- ^abOttosen 1995[page needed]
- ^Kieser 2012[page needed]
- ^Uenuma 2020[page needed]
- ^Harings 2018[page needed]
- ^Lloyd's Register1957,HOOP OP ZEGEN.
- ^Lloyd's Register1959,HOOP SANG.
Bibliography
[edit]- Harings, Egon (2018).Germany and two World Wars From the German Reich to the end of the Nazi regime(1 ed.). Hamburg.ISBN978-3-7469-5499-8.OCLC1057381729.
{{cite book}}:CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - Kieser, Egbert (2012).Prussian Apocalypse: The Fall of Danzig, 1945.Pen and Sword.ISBN978-1-78346-120-2.
- Lloyd's Register of Shipping(PDF).Vol. I.–Steamers and Motorships of 300 tons gross and over. London:Lloyd's Registerof Shipping. 1945 – viaSouthampton City Council.
- Lloyd's Register of Shipping.Vol. Steamers and Motorships of 300 tons gross and over, Steamers and motorships under 300 tons, trawlers, tugs, dredgers, &c., Sailing vessels, List of ship owners, &c. London: Lloyd's Register of Shipping. 1946 – viaInternet Archive.
- Mendelsohn, Oskar (1987).The History of the Jews in Norway.Oslo: Universitetsforl.ISBN8200025241.
- Ottosen, Kristian (1995).Bak lås og slå: historen om norske kvinner og menn i Hitlers fengsler og tukthus(in Norwegian) (new ed.). Oslo: Aschehoug.ISBN82-03-26079-9.OCLC478697792.
- Register Book.Vol. I.–Register of Ships. London: Lloyd's Register of Shipping. 1957 – via Internet Archive.
- Register Book.Vol. I.–Register of Ships. London: Lloyd's Register of Shipping. 1959 – via Internet Archive.
- Uenuma, Francine (January 29, 2020)."The Deadliest Disaster at Sea Killed Thousands, Yet Its Story Is Little-Known. Why?".Smithsonian.Smithsonian Institution.RetrievedMay 18,2022.
- Wetterholm, Claes-Göran (2021).Sea of Death, The Baltic 1945.Cheltenham: The History Press.ISBN978-0-7509-9698-3.OCLC1261367624.
