Stories of life - Heinz Lord

Heinz Lord

The Nazis had a propaganda film named "Titanic' in 1942, the awesome ocean-liner SS Cap Arcona was the set for the filming of  this film named after the tragic Titanic. As it turned out this 1920 made German Ocean Liner was destined for a even worse end. 

As the World War II was nearing its end in May 1945, all the concentration camps in the Nazi territory were evacuated and its prisoners along with the other prisoners of war were sent on a 'death march' on board three sea going ships. One of those ships was the beautiful SS Cap Arcona. 

Under the cruel and watchful eyes of the SS guards nearly 5000 persons sat huddled below the deck of the ship sailing from the coast of Baltic Sea without food or any medicine. They were from 30 different nations and included the prisoners of Nueungamme concentration camp near Hamburg.

Among them was a young medical student and a political prisoner, Heinz Lord of Swiss and German parentage. Heinz was a member of the resistance group 'Candidates of Humanity' run by doctors and students of the UKE Clinic of Hamburg which was associated with an iconic resistance group of the time, 'White Rose'. 

British Royal Air Force at the time was carrying out frequent air raids on the remaining positions of the Nazis and the Nazi ships were sitting ducks at sea. Even though, Swiss Red Cross had informed the British Intelligence one day earlier that a large number of concentration camp inmates and Prisoners of war have been loaded on to ships, the information has not been passed over to the Royal Air Force Commanders. 

The SS Cap Arcona became the target on May 3rd  and the German SS guards fled in the available life-boats while the doomed prisoners were locked below as she capsized in the shallow waters of the bay, luckily not sinking completely giving 350 of the unfortunate 5000 prisoners a chance to escape.Most of them were burned to death while some others who managed to jump into the sea froze to death in the freezing cold of the Baltic Sea. 

Capsized SS Cap Arcona lying on her sides at the shallow Bay

Latre RAF pilot Allan Wyse recollected, " We used our cannon fire at the chaps in the water...horrible thing, but we were told to do it and we did it. That's war."

The major world war II maritime disasters included the bombing of three prison ships; SS Cap Arcona, Thielbeck, and Deutschland killing nearly 7500 prisoners. 

One of the 350 fortunate prisoners from SS Cap Arcona to reach shore was our Heinz Lord. After the war he returned to Germany and passed his specialist degree in Surgery and Urology. Eventually, he migrated to America in 1954 and became a surgeon in an Ohio hospital. As it would turn out he became the Secretary-General of the world Medical Association in 1960. At the age of 43, on 4th February, 1961, Heinz Lord's heart, which had overcome many a shocks during the war, stopped while attending a conference.