on the evening of august 30th 1939 the german super liner ss bremen one of the fastest liners in
the world left new york harbor for the last time her course was kept secret captain adolph irons
sailed south for havana but as night fell and the super liner slipped out of view the great ship's
name plates were painted over and she went into a total blackout her course was abruptly shifted
north mattresses and cans of fuel were brought to her promenade deck so she could be scuttled at a
moment's notice the hms berwick and hms york were waiting in halifax ready to intercept the liner
bremen's radio operators silently listened for any signs of them as they sailed dangerously close
if she was spotted the cruisers would surely tell her for the rest of her covert voyage
then on september 1st 1939 the bremen's crew got the news they feared
the german army had marched on poland soon the world would once again be at war
and they were far from safety their giant ship the pride of germany's merchant fleet
was a valuable target and great britain was eager to prevent her from ever reaching home again
after the carnage of the first world war germany's merchant fleet was decimated
the three largest ships in the world albert bonds imperator botherland and bismarck all survived the
war but were turned over to great britain and the united states as war reparations to make up
for tonnage lost including the lusitania and the britannic immediately following the war none of
the european powers were in the economic position to resume the feverish building that characterized
the pre-war decade and great britain's mauritania comfortably maintained her speed record for
several years germany was eager to overcome the economic devastation they suffered after the war
and in the fall of 1926 north german lloyd ordered a pair of super liners that would re-establish a
premier german transatlantic passenger service the two almost identical ships were constructed
simultaneously at the a.g wester yard in bremen and blom and voss in hamburg the ships were
designed to prioritize speed over size with the ultimate goal of recapturing the blue ribbon for
germany the twin ships the bremen and the europa incorporated a radical new streamline designed
to achieve that goal they had a low silhouette with raked boughs and short stubby funnels that
resembled destroyers more than contemporary luxury liners their designers were obsessed with creating
holes that produced as little drag as possible their whole plate edges faced forward rather than
aft and they incorporated a streamlined rudder meant to produce better maneuverability at high
speeds finally the bremen and the europa were the first merchant ships to incorporate the taylor
bulbus bow an innovation developed and used only by the united states navy at the time though it's
standard today the two ship's interiors were luxurious examples of the popular late 1920s
german new objectivity design movement the style similar to bauhaus but less extreme prioritized
function and marked a sharp turn toward modernism the bremen was launched by president paul von
hindenburg on august 16 1928 only one day after her sister europa though the europa was originally
intended to sail first a fire occurred during her fitting out process that delayed her maiden
voyage by several months and so bremen would take the lead she was powered by four geared
steam turbine engines that could generate 135 000 shaft horsepower and powered four propellers
she had a cruising speed of 27.5 knots and it was said that during her sea trials she briefly
reached an astonishing 32 knots she was 51 656 gross registered tons 938.6 feet long and had a
beam of 101.9 feet she could carry 2139 passengers and 966 crew her builders were obsessed with speed
and modernity and even fitted a seaplane launch between her funnels that could deliver mail to
her destination a day earlier her maiden voyage took place on july 1929 and though it got off
to a rough start due to fog she was soon able to come up to speed and reach the ambrose light ship
in four days 17 hours and 42 minutes a full eight hours faster than the mauritania's previous feed
record she sailed into new york to much fanfare in celebration the bremen in her career had a fond
relationship with new york and the ship proved popular passengers europa would join her sister
the following march and the older and smaller ss columbus rounded out germany's transatlantic
service by 1932 the three ships captured more than 12 percent of the north atlantic passenger service
but the rise of national socialism in germany soon put a strain on bremen's american popularity
and we are determined to continue our efforts to remove
possible sources of difference and thus to contribute to assure the peace of europe
the bremen's popularity with international travelers began to drop after adolf hitler rose
to power in 1933. her decline in popularity was hastened when the nazi party began
introducing cadres of essay stormtroopers on all german passenger ships as was the case with the
german population back home nazi sentiments among the bremen's crew ranged from quiet discomfort
to intense party loyalty after 1936 all german ships were purged to foreign crew and sa staff
were deployed through various functions including stewards waiters and galley staff the bremen had
150 essay staff among her crew bremen's first captain leopold zeigenbein resisted the nazi
infestation of his ship and refused to end his correspondence with required salutation heil
hitler he eventually elected to take an early retirement in 1936 stating that he could not in
good conscious represent quote that party abroad go ziganbine he was replaced by adolf irons who
captained the columbus he was experienced with the bremen frequently subbing for seikenbein before
his retirement adolf irons was not a nazi loyalist his allegiance were primarily to his ship his crew
and his country but while many of the party's actions made him uncomfortable he ultimately
didn't resist and mostly followed orders though the united states had a large german-american
population tensions rose rapidly due to the nazi party's aggressive nationalist policies
and rhetoric it was the express policy of the north german loyd line that in order to attract
international travelers nazism would be downplayed as much as possible but the bremen like all other
german liners flew the nazi flag and became a target for anti-nazi protests in july 1935
protesters rushed the ship and tore down the nazi flag throwing it into the hudson since at the time
germany had two national flags the swastika and the black white and red flag of the german empire
u.s authorities decided that no national symbol of germany had been harmed in the incident
hell yeah us authorities hitler was so enraged by the incident that he made the swastika the
national flag of germany on september 15 1935. further demonstrations took place on board after
germany's involvement in the spanish civil war in 1936 and the nazi flag was torn down at least two
more times by 1938 by 1939 tensions were reaching a breaking point and it was becoming clear that
war was inevitable on august 22 1939 the bremen departed bremerhaven for her final passenger
voyage she carried 1700 passengers on board mostly consisting of us nationals looking to escape
europe before tensions reached their breaking point a few days into the voyage on august 26th
the cleats malina high command ordered all german merchant ships to don camouflage paint and head
immediately to german ports not a very subtle message but captain ahrens defied the message
choosing instead to complete the voyage as scheduled and deliver his passengers to new york
a message was transmitted to germany defying orders for radio silence and informed high
command that the bremen would continue to new york and then head to havana for safety the message was
a deliberate ploy to throw the u.s and royal navy off her trail bremen entered new york harbor at 6
pm on monday august 28th and docked at her usual spot at pier 86 captain irons and his
crew intended to depart as soon as the ship could be refueled the u.s authorities had direct orders
from president franklin delano roosevelt himself to keep the liner in new york as long as possible
by late august 1939 the united states was well aware that war was all but certain in europe
from the outset the u.s was officially neutral and the american public was fiercely isolationist with
only eight percent of the population in favor joining the war even by july 1940. nevertheless
the government was dedicated to quietly supporting their allies and coordinated closely with the
royal navy president franklin roosevelt who served as assistant secretary of the navy under woodrow
wilson during world war one was keenly aware of the very real threat germany could pose in the
atlantic he remembered germany's conversion of the passenger liner ss kaiser wilhelm de
grosse to an auxiliary cruiser in world war one he was genuinely concerned that powerful merchant
ships like the bremen could be quickly armed and pose a major threat to u.s merchant shipping as
they transported vital supplies to great britain there are also spotty intelligence reports that
suggested ships like bremen had armaments hidden in unlikely spots like beneath the floor of her
swimming pool the concern was that once war was declared the crew would quickly arm the bremen
at sea and wreak havoc on unprepared u.s shipping whether these suspicions were true it was clearly
to the royal navy's advantage to reduce german naval tonnage and better yet reserve a powerful
ship like the bremen in new york until she could be requisitioned for the allied war effort after
all roosevelt was confident that the us would eventually be pulled into the war sooner or later
so when the bremen docked at pier 86 u.s authorities were ordered by roosevelt himself
to delay her departure as long as possible this was tricky because the u.s was still bound by
their official neutrality and had no official reason to keep the ship from leaving long term
so they got creative new york harbor was known for efficient turnarounds but when bremen requested
refueling the process was delayed authorities conducted extensive searches of the ship looking
for any evidence of hidden armaments they drug out the process by taking several long coffee
and lunch breaks bremen was also required to demonstrate her compliance with u.s safety
regulations even though the ship intended to leave new york harbor without passengers
every life jacket was inspected and all 26 of her motorized lifeboats had to be fully lowered to
demonstrate that they were all in proper working condition the mood on board was tense captain
irons even considered the possibility that they would have to make an unauthorized break for it
but an unguided departure from the busy new york harbor would have been incredibly dangerous even
if the ship could manage to clear the port without the aid of tugs the us coast guard would almost
certainly intercept them before they could clear the harbor so captain arens and his crew humored
authorities as they slowly ran out of reasons to hold the ship he also ordered sunscreen and other
provisions for his crew to prepare them for a trip to havana he had reams of black paper purchased
from an art supply store that could be used to black out the windows finally in the evening of
august 30th authorities had run out of reasons to delay this ship and the bremen was authorized for
departure at 6 30 pm she left new york harbor for the last time her crew dipped her colors
in salute and waved a fond goodbye to the crew of the normandy they probably didn't know then that
the two ships would soon meet similar fates the normandy would never leave new york and the bremen
would not survive the war as bremen sailed past the statue of liberty her band played the nazi
party anthem while her crews sang along their arms extended in the nazi salute they sailed out of new
york harbor into a dense fog her destination a complete mystery to the rest of the world
we shall defend our island whatever the grass may be
we shall fight on the beaches we shall fight on the landing grounds
we shall fight in the fields and in the streets we shall fight in the hills we shall never surrender
after dropping off the new york harbor pilot bremen continued steaming southeast into the foggy
mist of the atlantic when she reached the outer limits of u.s territorial waters captain irons
commanded all topside lighting extinguished even navigational running lights the ship plunged into
blackness as the lights of the united states coast disappeared into the dark fog lookouts on the
ship were increased to 26 and after a few moments captain ahrens ordered a new course zero four zero
degrees havana was a decoy bremen took a sharp turn northeast bound for home as the covert voyage
began crews were ordered to bring all mattresses from tourist class to the promenade deck and place
petrol every 20 meters if the ship was intercepted by a british warship captain irons was prepared to
immediately scuttle the ship once a majority of the crew evacuated in the lifeboats a designated
group of firemen would set the ship ablaze while another designated engineering party would open
the seacocks and flood the ship the captain chief engineer and first officer would be the last to
leave as they sailed off the coast of nantucket the weather grew worse the poor visibility was
actually an asset making her harder to spot by nearby ships and grounding patrolling seaplanes
crews quartered in the forward sections of the ship removed aft considering the danger of sailing
at full speed with low visibility in full blackout soon bremen received word that germany and the
soviet union had signed a non-aggression pact on august 23rd they then received a coded message
from high command instructing them to sail for the russian port of murmansk despite her speed of over
27 knots the crew went to work painting the entire ship a ghostly grey to reduce her visibility
crew used ropes to lift themselves up her bright yellow funnels quickly painting them with sloppy
grey they lowered themselves in lifeboats to paint her sides her radio operators listened
carefully for any signs of nearby ships when other ships were detected captain irons would abruptly
alter courts to avoid coming within visual range as they passed by halifax they came dangerously
close to the hms berwick the hms york and the u.s coast guard ship george w campbell bremen's radio
operators took careful steps to track these ships as they silently passed then on september 1st 1939
bremen got the news they were dreading german troops had marched on poland captain arends
remembering the devastation of the last great war reacted with deep sadness fearing another war
would once again bring destruction to his country but his primary concern was getting his crew and
his ship to safety war was declared by britain and france on nazi germany on september 3rd 1939.
the crew of the bremen had good reason to fear an encounter with a british warship
only hours after war was declared the german u-boat u-30 having just received word that a
state of war existed with britain spotted the 14 000 ton british flag passenger ship athenia
she was bound for montreal and carried 410 passengers u-30 fired two torpedoes at the
athenia in the first action of the war at sea one struck her at her port beam the second misfired
passengers of athenia thought the second torpedo's explosion was the yupa opening fire from her deck
guns on the stricken liner as she began listing dangerously to port she would take 14 hours to
sink 118 people lost their lives including 16 children and 22 americans though the crew of
the u-boat thought they were firing on a commerce raider the action was interpreted by the allies
is a sign that germany had adopted a policy of unrestricted war at sea the bremen would
now be an even greater prize for any captain of the royal navy bremen raced for the denmark
strait the crew was unprepared for the cold temperatures and took clothing that would normally
be sold to passengers in the ship's store to keep themselves warm on september 6 as bremen entered
russian waters her crew's anxieties boiled over when they spotted a ship low on the waterline she
reversed direction and quickly outran the oncoming warship but when they realized it was actually
a russian torpedo boat they resumed course and rendezvoused with the soviet warship a group of
soviet officers boarded the bremen and after some awkward attempts to communicate in broken english
a russian-speaking steward was brought to the bridge to translate bremen finally dropped anchor
in myrmansk later that day having traveled 4045 nautical miles since leaving new york 6 days and
13 hours earlier it was an unfamiliar port with an unlikely ally but for now the bremen was safe
in romance the bremen's crew had little to do but wait the port city though busy with german
shipping was mostly unfinished on september 18th 850 of bremen's crew were sent home to germany
by rail leaving a skeleton crew of 70 to maintain the ship by the end of september a german tanker
arrived to replenish bremen's fuel the mood in the port city continued to deteriorate when war
broke out between the soviet union and finland on november 30th finnish air raids struck dangerously
close and soviets ordered all ships in the harbor to darken their lights captain irons waited
patiently for an opportunity to escape the soviet port before dawn on the morning of december 7th
the bremen's skeleton crew pulled the liner out of merman under the cover of a heavy snowstorm on
december 12th she was intercepted by the british submarine salmon off the norwegian coast in a
tense exchange the submarine surfaced and issued repeated warnings to the bremen to surrender
but before any action could be taken the salmon was forced to crash dive when a german dornier
flying boat appeared on the horizon sent by the creek's marina to escort the bremen finally on
december 13th the bremen made it to her home port in bremerhaven receiving a hero's welcome captain
adolf irons was promoted to commodore and widely celebrated by the german press the covert voyage
was an unlikely success after numerous near-misses lucky breaks and truly impressive evasive actions
from her entire crew the bremen was safe in germany but the efforts of so many ultimately
proved fruitless over the next several months the bremen was refitted as troop ship number 802
in preparation for operation sea lion the german invasion of great britain that ultimately never
came to fruition then on march 16 1941 a fire broke out in her wood panel dining room which
was being used to store mattresses brilliant idea guys fire spread rapidly through the ship despite
her crew's best efforts to bring the blaze under control the ship began lifting dangerously and
to prevent her from capsizing she was flooded and came to rest in the shallow water of the western
river the charred hull was a total loss it was initially speculated that the fire was set by
british separators but upon further investigation it was found that the fire was set by a 15
year old deckhand named walter schmidt the boy confessed that he set the fire after being beaten
by his supervisor he was brutally executed soon after portions of the hull were scrapped for war
munitions over the next couple of years and the hole was towed upriver to be further dismantled
between 1952 and 1956 though portions of her hull are apparently still visible to this day
the whole ordeal was a pathetic and shameful end for one of the greatest ocean liners ever built
the bremen and the europa were revolutionary and widely beloved ships
overnight they reignited the race to dominate the atlantic passenger trade and rekindled the
building frenzy that had been stalled since world war one they were immensely popular and
offered a glimmer of hope for a germany eager to rebuild before the nazi party dimmed their success
bremen to me perfectly represents germany in the interwar era she was built by the weimar republic
by a country with something to prove an endless potential for a peaceful and prosperous future
a country that would be overrun by extremists and ultimately burn itself to the ground
ocean liners carry the spirit of their nation bremen set out with something to
prove and she was truly revolutionary but her potential was cut short by the fire that her
country unleashed upon the world a fire that ultimately consumed the great liner
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