Gustav Schröder occupation sailor
Career
Schröder began his seafaring career in 1902 at the age of 16 aboard the training ship Großherzogin Elisabeth. After completing his training, he served first on sailing ships, and then was an able seaman on SS Deutschland of the Hamburg America Line, at the time one of the fastest ships in the world and holder of the Blue Riband. Schröder reached the position of captain after 24 years of service. In 1913, he was posted at Calcutta, India, but was interned there as an enemy alien throughout World War I. He began studying languages as a hobby and eventually became fluent in seven. When Schröder returned to Germany in 1919, he found himself without a job following forced demilitarisation and the limit placed on the number of warships in the German Navy by the Treaty of Versailles. In 1921, he was hired by the shipping company HAPAG (Hamburg-Amerikanische Paketfahrt-Aktiengesellschaft), and in 1935, was promoted to first officer on Hansa. In August 1936, he became master of MS Ozeana.
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