A RARE SOUVENIR BRACELET FROM THE M.V. WILHELM GUSTLOFF, 1938

comprising 12 enamelled signal flags spelling WILH GUSTLOFF and German national emblem, with sprung securing clip -- 7¼in. (18.5cm.) long

Built by Blohm & Voss and launched in 1937, the Wilhelm Gustloff (named for a Swiss Nazi martyr) was the flagship of the Deutsche Arbeitsfront, a sort of state relaxation arm of the Nazi party - by the time War broke out, the fleet had provided over 10 million cruises. The Wilhelm Gustloff entered service in March 1938 so her intended career was very short, perhaps only eighteen months or so. Requisitioned in September 1939 she had a varied war career - hospital ship, troop transport and even doubled up as Titanic in Goebbels 1942 propaganda film of the disaster (with submariners drafted in as extras). On 30th January 1945 she departed from Danzig crammed with about 11,000 troops and refugees fleeing the Red Army's advance when she was spotted by a Soviet submarine and torpedoed with the loss of about 9,434 including some 5,000 children.