{|    |} the thielbek was a 2,815 grt freighter that was sunk along with the  and the  during british air raids on may 3, 1945 while anchored in the bay of lÃ¼beck with the loss of 2,750 lives. the ship was a passenger ship flying a white flag and had been commandeered along with the cap arcona to take on board prisoners from the neuengamme, stutthof, and mittelbau-dora concentration camps. it was later revealed by the head of the hamburg gestapo that the prisoners were to be killed,vaughan, pp. 154-156 and it has been suggested that it was planned to do this by scuttling the ships with the prisoners aboard. ==background== on 17 april 1945 the thielbek was informed that they were to prepare for a "special operation", and the following day john jacobsen, the captain of the thielbek, was summoned to a conference by the ss along with captain bertram of the cap arcona at which they were ordered to take on board concentration camp prisoners. both the c
1940_ships 1945_in_Germany Maritime_incidents_in_1945 Merchant_ships_of_West_Germany Military_scandals Nazi_war_crimes Ships_sunk_by_aircraft Steamships_of_Germany Steamships_of_West_Germany World_War_II_massacres World_War_II_merchant_ships_of_Germany World_War_II_shipwrecks_in_the_Baltic_Sea