Recently I came to realize that there has been a most glaring void here on my website. Having already thoroughly covered Adolf Hitler’s extensive journeys and exponential travels across Europe on Planes, Trains and Automobiles… somehow I totally skipped ships!!! So here it is! It’s certainly well past time we see Hitler at sea – and trust me it was well worth the wait! Here is a large photo album showing Hitler on board a bountiful bevy of boats, ferries, and battleships, where he certainly appears to be just as at home and in his element as on any other mode of transportation. These photographs range from his most fundamental leisure excursions to much more formal diplomatic functions, such as launching of the famous battleship Bismarck.

Hitler in Norway

Adolf Hitler took a two day trip to Norway in April of 1934 on the Panzerschiff Deutschland. Hitler boarded the ship on the 12th of April with army leaders Reichskriegsminister Werner von Blomberg, Commander-in-Chief Werner Freiherr von Fritsch and Admiral Erich Raeder. On this excursion Hitler managed to reassure the army leaders that he would deal with Ernst Röhm if he ever made any attempt to take over the army. Below are twelve photographs of Hitler sailing the Norwegian waters and viewing the fjords without ever having left the ship. On 13 April he sailed the Hardangerfjord and passed the Marstein fyr, Austevoll, Tysnes, Odda, Ulvik, and Varaldsøy. The next day on 14 April he sailed the Sognefjord to Balestrand, again never leaving the ship. The Deutschland returned to Deutschland on the 15th without Hitler ever having set foot on Norwegian soil.

Kiel Naval Review 1933

For two days in May of 1933 a grand festival was organized to honor Chancellor Hitler in Kiel with parades and flottenmanöver (fleet maneuvers) on a scale not seen since the days of the Kaiser. The port city of Kiel had become a major center for ship building as the Kreigsmarine renounced the limitations that had been imposed by the Treaty of Versailles. The opening of the Kiel Canal in 1895 by German Emperor Wilhelm II also marked an important stage in the growth of Germany as a maritime power. The canal made Kiel one of the greatest naval bases in Europe by linking the North Sea with the Baltic Sea. As Germany became naval-minded the port grew rapidly, evolving into one of the great naval bases of the world. 

Hitler’s Battleships

The first battleships constructed under Hitler’s regime in Germany were the two Scharnhorst-class ships the Scharnhorst and Gneisenau in 1936. The two Bismarck-class battleships followed with the Bismarck being completed in early 1939 and her sister ship Tirpitz shortly after. The Bismarck was the most feared battleship in the German Kriegsmarine (War Navy) at over 250 metres in length. Yet it would only sink one ship in her one and only battle on 27 May 1941. It was the Bismarck’s destruction that solidified U-boats as Hitler’s weapon of choice.

The visit to the von Bismarck family in Friedrichsruh in the Sachsenwald on the occasion of the launch of the ‘Bismarck’ included a visit to a display model of the old armored cruiser ‘SMS Fürst Bismarck’. Hitler’s entourage included Legation Counselor Walther Hewel, General Admiral Erich Raeder, Otto von Bismarck (grandson of the Reich Chancellor); Princess Ann-Marie, Gauleiter Hinrich Lohse, Wehrmacht adjutant Major Rudolf Schmundt, Minister of State Dr. Otto Meissner, Head of the Presidential Chancellery, Gauleiter Hinrich Lohse, State Secretary Ernst Freiherr von Weizsäcker, and Reich Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop.

Adolf Hitler welcomed Miklós Horthy (Regent of the Kingdom of Hungary, official title “Knight Miklós Horthy of Nagybánya”) during a State Visit of Horthy to the harbor in Kiel to view naval maneuvers on 22 August 1938. Hitler greeted the Sailor Regent of Hungary Horthy with pomp and parades, a sea pageant displaying 110 modern war vessels and 37 submarines. A heavy cruiser was launched and Admiral Horthy’s wife Magdolna Purgly joined Hitler to inaugurate the ship as the Prince Eugen. She was named after Prince Eugene of Savoy, a distinguished 18th-century general in the service of the Holy Roman Empire. The cruiser’s task was to support Nazi Germany’s effort to sink American merchant ships. Many Hungarian-Americans were in disbelief on 12 December 1941 when Horthy declared war on the United States.

Benito Mussolini and King Victor Emanuel III of Italy welcomed Adolf Hitler aboard the Italian battleship Cavour in the Bay of Naples on 5 May 1938. A seven-hour extravaganza unfolded just to impress Hitler with a “series of naval impressions unique in naval history” and what was considered one of the greatest naval demonstration anywhere in the world since the end of the Great War. There were 190 ships involved, 48 sea-planes launched from the decks of warships, and another 72 were sent aloft from land stations. There were also 14 passenger liners in the bay carrying leading persons in Italian society, and thousands of cheering spectators watched from the shore.

On 22 March 1939 Adolf Hitler traveled from Berlin up to Świnoujście in order to board the ironclad “Deutschland” for a two night journey to Memel. The ship was accompanied by a large fleet that traveled across the Baltic Sea up towards the Lithuanian coast. In Memel (later Klaipeda) he transferred over to the torpedo boat “Leopard” to arrive at the port and deliver a speech from the balcony of the city theater on Theaterplatz to the members of the new “Greater German Reich”. Hitler headed back to Świnoujście with an overnight stay on the “Deutschland” after the successful occupation of the Memel area took place by the German Wehrmacht. On his departure from the ship in Świnoujście on the morning of 24 March 1939 he was greeted with fanfare and gun salutes from the assembled warships. An entry by Joseph Goebbels into his diary later that evening stated: “The Führer ponders the solution to the question of Danzig”.

On 5 May 1941 Hitler travelled from Danzig by car ride to Gotenhafen (Gdingen/Generalgouvernement) and to the port in Gotenhafen. He boarded the cutter “Hela” to head for inspections of the Bismarck followed by her newly commissioned sister ship the Tirpitz, which was docked alongside in the harbor. A reception party, headed by Admiral Gunther Lutjens and Captain Lindemann, greeted their commander-in-chief as he boarded. As the battleship’s entire crew stood to attention, the now infamous photograph of Lutjens greeting Hitler with a naval salute, rather than the traditional Nazi one, was taken before the tour commenced. After Hitler toured the battleship, the visiting party joined the Bismarck’s senior officers for a one course vegetarian lunch, Hitler’s well-known preference, in the wardroom. 

The KDF ship “Robert Ley”

Adolf Hitler took a 3 day cruise aboard the Kraft durch Freude (Strength Through Joy) ship “Robert Ley” in early April of 1939. He arrived the morning of 1 April 1939 at the Wilhelmshaven train station in his Special Train. After the official launch of the battleship “Tirpitz” and a speech to his admirals and commanders, he boarded the cruise ship “Robert Ley” for a trip to the island of Heligoland. The ship arrived in Heligoland on 2 April and then continued to journey across the North Sea on a multi-day excursion. Hitler arrived at the port of Hamburg the morning of 4 April and returned to Berlin to begin discussions about the impending invasion of Poland.

Hitler observes the parade of ships of the flotilla of the “KdF” society. The Department of Travel, Hiking and Vacation organized tourist trips around the country, as well as sea cruises. Strength Through Joy owned two first-class ocean liners, specially built for its needs. A cruise to the island of Madeira cost only 25 dollars. The entire cultural program on the ship, from morning gymnastics to nightly singing of folk songs, served the idea of strengthening national unity. Hitler himself took two cruises on the North Sea in peacetime on one of the ships belonging to the KdF. He visited the islands of Heligoland and Borkum, where he had fun on an equal basis with the other passengers of the ship.

Sailing in Horumersiel

On 20 May of 1932 Adolf Hitler traveled north to Horumersiel from the city of Idar-Oberstein after giving a campaign speech to 40,000 people at the Fußballplatz Klotzberg. As he was progressing along on his whirlwind schedule of campaign rallies, he stayed for six nights at a campaign headquarters set up at the Strandhotel zur schönen Aussicht in the small coastal town of Horumersiel-Schillig on the North Sea. This hotel played host to his large campaign entourage that included his adjutants Julius Schaub and Wilhelm Bruckner. Schaub had even been given the nickname Reisemarschal (“Travel Marshal”) by Hermann Göring as he typically took care of all of Hitler’s travel arrangements and always accompanied him on his campaign journey. He later became Hitler’s chief aide and adjutant (Chefadjutant des Führers) in October 1940, replacing Wilhelm Brückner.

Leni Riefenstahl had initiated contact with Hitler after attending his campaign rally at the packed Berlin Sports Palace on 27 February 1932 when he officially announced his presidential candidacy. So enraptured and enamored by his performance she immediately wrote to Hitler and he responded by formally inviting her to meet him at the Oldenburg rally being held near the North Sea coast on 22 May 1932, just before her scheduled departure for Greenland to film S.O.S. Eisberg.

When the NSDAP won the absolute majority in the Free State of Oldenburg in May 1932, the city became the location for Adolf Hitler’s celebration for his election success on May 22nd at the Rennplatz horse track. With 35,000 people watching his appearance, it was the largest political event that the Oldenburg region had seen up to that point. With the beginning of Nazi rule in the district capital of Oldenburg, the state horse racing tournaments came to a standstill for several years before they resumed in 1937, and the Rennplatz Ohmstede horse racing arena served as a stage for propaganda events by the SA, SS and Wehrmacht.

Hitler took a break from his campaigning that evening to walk with Riefenstahl from his hotel in Horumersiel up to the beach in Schillig, overjoyed to be in the company of a fellow artist. They talked extensively about films, one of Hitler’s favorite subjects, along with him sharing his mission to save Germany. Having been so impressed by his charisma and the way that he could hold the audience’s attention, Leni’s first reaction to meeting him face to face was how normal he was, “no ranting orator, no future dictator, but just a normal person.”

“We walked silently, side by side until, after a long silence, he halted, looked at me, slowly put his arms around me, and drew me to him. I had certainly not wished for such a development. He stared at me in some excitement but when he noticed my lack of response he instantly let go and turned away. Then I saw him raise his hands beseechingly: “How can I love a woman until I have completed my task?” Bewildered, I made no reply and, still without exchanging a word, we walked back to the inn; there, somewhat distantly, he said, “Good night.” I felt that I had offended him and regretted that I had come in the first place.”

-Leni Riefenstahl (“Leni Riefenstahl’s Memoiren”)

At this same meeting, Hitler had requested of her, “Once we come to power, you must make my films.” Just before Leni was getting ready to depart for Greenland for the filming of S.O.S. Eisberg, Hitler sent her a bouquet of flowers and an autographed portrait of himself, which she carried with her on the duration of the trip. Despite the awkward first impressions (other versions of this event indicate Leni was making advances on Hitler) Riefenstahl would immediately resume contact with Hitler upon her return that October, and later go on to film Triumph of the Will, which is considered the most effective propaganda film ever made.

Hitler resumed his arduous election campaign schedule the very next day and headed on to give an election speech in Schützenhof. It appears that Hitler campaigned for several more days in this area of Northern Germany and also spoke at rallies in Delmenhorst, Cloppenburg, Rodenkirchen, Varel and Rüstingen, before heading on to Wilhelmshaven to pay his first official visit to the Navy and to give a campaign speech in the market hall (cattle hall) in front of 10,000 listeners on 26 May 1932.

The following two photographs were also taken in Wilhelmshaven on 26 May 1932. The first one shows Adolf Hitler leaving the Reichsmarine Garnisonkirche (Navy Garrison Church) and was featured in Heinrich Hoffmann’s “Hitler wie ihn keiner kennt” (Berlin: “Zeitgeschichte” Verlag, 1932). The caption read: “A photograph accidentally becomes a symbol. Adolf Hitler, the supposed ‘heretic,’ leaves the Marine Church in Wilhelmshaven.” The second photo, also featured in this same book covering Hitler’s 1932 campaign journey, reads “On the North Sea, the Führer observes the maneuvers of the Reichsmarine. ‘The three inseparables’, the leader, his private secretary Hess and his driver Schreck,” and shows Hitler sitting on a dike looking out over the Sea.

Hitler Cruises the Rhine

Exactly one week after the German people had voted by an overwhelming majority to approve the referendum on the merging of the two offices of President and Chancellor into Hitler’s new role as Führer, Hitler headed to the Saarland Loyalty Rally held at Koblenz’s Ehrenbreitstein Fortress on the Rhine’s east bank. This special Saar reunification rally held on 26 August 1934 was an annual event intended for reinforcing the connection and loyalty of the Saarland to the German Reich.

Adolf Hitler had spent the night in his special suite at the Hotel Dreesen in Bad Godesberg before taking a cruise on the Rhine down to Koblenz. The federated Saar societies were hosting their 14th annual convention here since it’s inhabitants had come under French control in 1919 under the League of Nations mandate. The Versailles Treaty stipulated that a popular referendum was to be held fifteen years later to determine the region’s future. The Nazi regime organized countless mass rallies to convince voters to erase the “shame of Versailles” and bring the Saarland “home to the Reich” in the lead up to the referendum scheduled for 13 January 1935.

On 10 April 1936 Adolf Hitler took another cruise on the Rhine river aboard the tour ship ‘‘Preussen”, a steam boat constructed in 1885. Here Hitler is seen passing the Pfalzgrafenstein Castle near Kaub on his tour down the Rhine from Koblenz to Mainz. The Bereisungsschiff Preussen was based in Koblenz-Ehrenbreitstein, the seat of the Rhine construction administration. In addition to its function as a tour ship, it was also used for representational purposes and there were many high-ranking personalities that had traveled on board including Kaiser Wilhelm II and Reich President Paul von Hindenburg.

1936 Olympics Sailing Regatta

A choice needed to made for the 1936 Berlin Summer Olympics between the Berliner Müggel Lake district or the Kiel area for hosting the sailing regatta. The Organizing committee made the decision in favor of the big boats and picked Kiel. As a result of the distance between Berlin to Kiel, a special committee for Yachting sprung to life to assist the Organizing Committee for the XIth Olympiad. Since Kiel was mainly a military port, this Committee had to cooperate not only with the local authorities but also with the German Fleet Command in Kiel to ensure the success of the races. One race area was created to the East of Schilksee and two in the harbor area more into the Firth of Kiel. Tribunes for spectators were placed on barges and on land near the course.

Hitler on Holiday

Adolf Hitler frequently went sailing when on holiday around the beautiful lakes of the Bavarian Alps. Be sure to visit my “Hitler on Holiday” album to see many more photographs of Hitler on boats! 🛥

MYSTERY BONUS PHOTO:

Here’s a very special photograph that I just added to my collection of Adolf Hitler on a water taxi! I don’t have any information about the location, date or event but wanted to share it with everyone since it’s so unusual and rare!