The Cap Arcona Case

Der Fall Cap Arcona

Overview

On May 3, 1945, with Hitler already dead and Hamburg and Berlin having surrendered, the Royal Air Force launched its last major air raid. The target was a collection of ships in the Bay of Kiel and Lübeck. The largest ships, the floating concentration camp transports Cap Arcone and Thielbeck, were targeted by the bombers and low-flying aircraft: this horrific mistake cost the lives of over 700 prisoners - the greatest maritime disaster of all time. The film returns to the sites of the events, to Neuengamme, where the prisoners were previously interned, to Lübeck, where they were embarked, to Neustadt, where they were crammed onto the Cap Arcona. The prehistory of the last great luxury liner is reconstructed, the launching, the voyage of the Queen of the South Atlantic, as the most important extra in the UFA production: The Sinking of the Titanic.

Production

NDR