Many people mistakenly regard the sinking of the Titanic as the largest loss of life in a single ship sinking in history. With 1,500 deaths in April 1912, the Titanic is significant and has been popularized in books and movies for decades. The sinking of the Wilhelm Gustloff on Jan. 30, 1945, however, resulted in 9,400 deaths in the Baltic Sea and for years the event was concealed by the German government. Many people have never heard of this event or may know very little about the “Ghost Ship.” Author Ruta Sepetys has uncovered the true story of the Wilhelm Gustloff and shared her discoveries with Holy Innocents’ Episcopal School in a special visit with Middle School and Upper School students on Tuesday, Sept. 24. 

The daughter of a Lithuanian refugee, Ms. Sepetys was inspired to write the story of the Wilhelm Gustloff in her book “Salt to the Sea” to tell the untold story of the tragedy. While her characters are fictional, the historical account is accurate and her characters often are based on real people. A young girl in the book is based on Ms. Sepetys’ aunt Erica, who had passage on the ship from Prussia but did not make it on board due to overcrowding. 

“Behind the stories are human beings who experienced these events and we can give voice to people who were never able to tell their story,” she said. “Some of them think they have been forgotten. Through books we can care for someone we’ve never met and we can be that someone to hear their story.” 

In her research for the book, which Ms. Sepetys likened to detective work, she met people who conducted dives to the ship to photograph evidence and remove select artifacts. She was able to see some of the artifacts in person and meet people with various connections to the ship. She learned that Operation Hannibal was created to safeguard citizens from the impending Soviet movement during World War II. The ship was used to evacuate German officers and civilians as well as refugees from Prussia, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, Estonia and Croatia. The Wilhelm Gustloff was converted from a pleasure cruise ship to a wartime evacuation ship with more than 10,000 people on board. As it cruised through the Baltic Sea en route to Germany, it was torpedoed by a Soviet submarine in the middle of the night. Only 900 people survived. 

Ms. Sepetys spoke about her passion for hidden history as well as the power of storytelling and character development. 

“If we care about a character, we are going to walk with them side by side for all 300 pages,” she said. She encouraged students to ask their families about their history and record what they learn. 

“It’s so important to know our family story,” Rachel Nelli ’22 said. “It was awesome to hear her.” 

Ms. Sepetys is a No. 1 New York Times bestselling author of historical fiction published in more than 60 countries and 40 languages. Winner of the Carnegie Medal, Ruta is renowned for giving voice to underrepresented history and those who experienced it. She has been invited to present at NATO, European Parliament, the U.S. Capitol, the Library of Congress and Embassies worldwide. She was awarded The Rockefeller Foundation’s prestigious Bellagio Fellowship for her studies on human resilience. Before turning to book writing full-time, Ms. Sepetys worked in the music industry as a songwriter and on “American Idol” in its early years. 

— Christina Mimms