Trivia

The sinking scenes were filmed on board the former luxury liner Cap Arcona. This boat was used in 1945 to evacuate thousands of prisoners of the concentration camp Neuengamme (near Hamburg) to Denmark. The Cap Arcona was accidentally bombed by Allied forces in the bay of Luebeck. Only a few prisoners survived the sinking of the ship. Most were killed on board or shot by SS guards and Hitler Youth, who took position on the beach not far from the sinking ship. But the evacuation turned out to be a ruse. The Nazis secretly ordered all prisoners to be killed and the ship was laden with explosives so everyone would perish when the ship was hit by an Allied bomb. See more