The Cap Arcona was a luxury liner. It was sunk and bombed in Lubeck Bay on May 3rd, 1945 by British fighter bombers. The vessel carried several thousand (exact number unknown) of concentration camp inmates evacuated from the Stutthof camp near Danzig. When RAF Command found out what kind of passengers the ship had carried, and what action had taken place, (see referred links below) they were embarrassed and tried to hush up the whole thing. In that they were successful in that it helps explain why the Cap Arcona is hardly ever mentioned in conjunction with the other three major disasters of the Steuben, Goya, and Wilhelm Gustloff.

Another ship filled with refugees was also sunk during the same attack. it was the Thielbek. The ships carried some 15,000 prisoners and only 1,600 among them survived.

A most vivid and descriptive account of the sinking of the Cap Arcona was made by a survivor and is available at the link below:

A Personal Account of the Sinking

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