Strength Through Joy
"Wilhelm Gustloff" was the first purpose-built cruise ship for the German Labour Front ("Deutsche Arbeitsfront", DAF) and used by subsidiary organisation Strength Through Joy ("Kraft durch Freude", KdF). Her purposes were to provide recreational and cultural activities for German functionaries and workers, including concerts, cruises, and other holiday trips, and to serve as a public relations tool that would present "a more acceptable image of the Third Reich". She was the flagship of the KdF cruise fleet, her last civilian role, until the spring of 1939.