KdF Ship MV Wilhelm Gustloff Early Voyage Brochure and Photo- Originally constructed as a cruise ship for the Nazi Strength Through Joy (Kraft durch Freude) organization in 1937, Wilhelm Gustloff was requisitioned by the Kriegsmarine in 1939. She served as a hospital ship in 1939 and 1940. She was then assigned as a floating barracks for naval personnel in Gotenhafen before being fitted with anti-aircraft guns and put into service to transport evacuees in 1945. She was sunk on 30 January 1945 by Soviet submarine S-13 in the Baltic Sea while evacuating civilians and military personnel from East Prussia and the German-occupied Baltic states, and German military personnel from Gotenhafen (Gdynia), as the Red Army advanced. By one estimate, 9,400 people died, making it the largest loss of life in a single ship sinking in history. This lot consists of a pamphlet from her early voyage in the spring of 1938 from Hamburg to Madeira and back to Hamburg. The reverse has an “excerpt from the ships log”. This lists dates, times and distance traveled on the voyage. On the opposite side, it says “Comrades! A beautiful and impressive journey is coming to an end. We are friends and want to stay that way and hope that we will see each other once again on this beautiful ship. We wish you a safe return home and all the best at your job.”. At the top is says “Die Deutsche Arbeitsfront” and has the Kdf logo and script “Strength through joy”. The bottom of the pamphlet lists the captain and tour guide, Friedrich Petersen and SS Obersturmbannführer Karl Weberpals, respectively. This cruise was from April 14-19, 1938 and was referred to as an Easter Voyage. It was actually before her actual official maiden voyage, which was undertaken from 21 April to 6 May 1938, when she joined Der Deutsche, Oceania and Sierra Cordoba on a group cruise to the Madeira Islands. On the second day of her voyage, the 58-year-old Captain Lübbe died on the bridge from a heart attack. He was replaced by Friedrich Petersen, who commanded Wilhelm Gustloff for the remainder of the cruise. Petersen left the ship until he returned as captain on her fatal voyage. Weberpals fate was also not good, as he committed suicide on March 21, 1939. The document measures just under 9” high by 5 ¾” wide. It is a good quality paper and is folded in the middle, widthwise. The accompanying black and white, glossy photo shows the ship at sea in better times. It measures 11 ¾” by 8”. It has a few minor creases from handling but is otherwise in fine condition. A scarcely encountered grouping!