What was the most deadly maritime disaster in recent history? I'm pretty sure most of you, including Colleen-before-she-read-this-book, thought of the Titanic. EVERYONE knows about the Titanic. The iceberg in the dark, the music playing as the ship sank, the incredibly successful film, and learning about it in elementary school. (I'm guilty too: I spent a month writing a short story about it in second grade. That's a lot of dedication for an eight year old.) But I have to break something to you. The Titanic isn't even close to being the deadliest maritime disaster. Say hello to the Wilhelm Gustloff.
I've also read Ruta Sepetys' two other books: Out of the Easy and Between Shades of Gray. They're both historical fiction (just like Salt to the Sea) and I highly recommend them. A common trend among Sepetys' books is that they shed light on an unknown part of a widely studied topic, such as the imprisoning of the Baltic people during WW2 by the Soviet Union.
I've also read Ruta Sepetys' two other books: Out of the Easy and Between Shades of Gray. They're both historical fiction (just like Salt to the Sea) and I highly recommend them. A common trend among Sepetys' books is that they shed light on an unknown part of a widely studied topic, such as the imprisoning of the Baltic people during WW2 by the Soviet Union.
Salt to the Sea focuses on four main characters, who switch point of views: Joana, a repatriated Lithuanian who is trained as a nurse. Emilia, a young pregnant Polish girl who has to hide her identity while fleeing her homeland. Florian, a Prussian who worked to restore German government art before he learned the truth about the pieces he was working on and decided to flee. And finally, Alfred, a young Nazi with a superiority complex. It's the winter of 1945, and the Soviets are close to invading Germany. "As thousands of desperate refugees flock to the coast in the midst of a Soviet advance, four paths converge, vying for passage aboard the Wilhelm Gustloff, a ship that promises safety and freedom." The chapters are all short, only a few pages at most, a few sentences at least. Joana, Florian, and Emilia all soon cross paths, each with their own secrets. They travel towards the ship together, the fear of the invading Soviet Union propelling them towards their goal. One thing that surprised me was the brutality of the Soviet Union. History is written by the victors. Germany lost and we learn about the horrifying, inhumane things they did to people, which is no doubt monstrous. But the Russians also did horrible things, and we rarely hear about them. Joana describes what happened in the region Emilia was in, "A few months ago the Russians had stored the village and reportedly committed vicious acts of brutality. Women were nailed to barn doors, children mutilated." |
One of the things that makes this book a success is not the horrific story of human suffering but the story of compassion and relationships in the face of tragedy. Joana and Florian have an amazingly sweet romance, Florian protects Emilia like a brother and Emilia adores him for it, the wandering boy loves the old man, and Joana cares for Emilia. The way Sepetys can put human emotion into words is simply beautiful.
The ironic thing is, the ship was the lifeline for so many people, but in the end it was a sinking trap. Only a short while into the journey, three Russian torpedoes strike the ship, sending it in a nosedive to the bottom of the sea. As Alfred says, "Ship's capacity: 1,463. Passengers on board: 10,573. Lifeboats: 22. But then I remembered. Ten of the lifeboats were missing." The sense of desperation is almost tangible. As the characters fight for their lives on the ship, their personalities shine through. Alfred refuses to help others and is unaffected when a young girl is crushed in front him, instead taking her life jacket. Joana and Florian help others get to the top of the ship. Emilia gives up her spot on the last lifeboat. Poet, the old man, sacrifices himself for the wandering boy. When crisis strikes, people's true self comes out.
One of my problems with the book was Alfred. Alfred was Nazi, and if there ever was a mini Hitler, it was him. Nazis did awful, monstrous things, but that doesn't make every sailor, soldier, and German who was a Nazi an evil person. I feel like Sepetys was trying to make a tangible characterization of Nazi ideals, and the product of that was Alfred. He has a superiority complex. Throughout the book, he writes letters to his "love", Hannelore. He describes himself as crucial to the ship, when in fact he is a little-respected sailor. He kept butterflies pinned to his back wall (cruelty to animals is a sign of a sociopath). While the ship was sinking, he mocked an injured woman's smudged makeup instead of helping her. And for his crush, Hannelore? He reported her for being a Jew. In the end, his uncanny evilness leads to his demise. While on a raft with Emilia, he finds out she is Polish. He tries to kill her and in the process, falls into the ocean. In reality, human nature should have prevailed. He's in shock, and just escaped from a sinking ship. Hatred that was taught to him as a child would not be relevant in this situation. In these ways, I see Alfred as unrealistically cruel, insane, and evil.
Joana has credit for one of the most eye-opening quotes. "Everyone knew the story of the big ships, Titanic and Lusitania. I looked towards the thousands of corpses floating in the water. This was so much larger. More than ten thousand people had been on board the Gustloff. The gruesome details of the sinking would be reported in every world newspaper. The tragedy would be studied for years, become legendary." She's right. Over nine thousand people died on the Gustloff. About 1500 people died on the Titanic. It took years for the Gustloff disaster to be reported. Some might say this was because the Gustloff sank during wartime, but is that a legitimate excuse? Five thousand of those who died on the Gustloff were children, and the majority of the rest were refugees, not soldiers. In all honesty, I don't know why we don't learn about the Gustloff in school. But there's no better time to start learning than now.
Septys provides a quote that I believe describes all war: "Suffering emerged the victor, touching all sides, sparing no nation involved."
It doesn't matter who wins wars. Both sides are going to suffer, and I'm sure to the family of a dead soldier, it sure doesn't feel like a victory.
I always wonder why disaster movies like San Andreas are wildly successful. It seems almost cruel at first, as if we enjoy watching others suffer, but in reality I believe we watch because of the "what-ifs. What if it happened to us? What if an earthquake shattered California? What if terrorists bombed the White House? It's an adrenaline rush to think of ourselves saving the day, even while thousands of others die. Unfortunately, in this book, its reality. There's no Dwyane Johnson to fly a helicopter past collapsing buildings. There isn't victorious music or scrolling credits. There's just shock, grief, and horror. So while reading this book don't expect it to be like a disaster movie, an edge-of-your-seat adventure. Instead, its a feeling of helplessness and questioning. Because honestly, this tragedy didn't have to happen. It's a list of what-ifs again. What if the Russians had known who was on that ship? What if the ship hadn't been overpacked? What if there had been enough life boats? But in the end, asking these questions won't fix anything. The only way to change history is to prevent it from happening again, so for that reason I suggest everyone read this book and other historical fiction books like it. Once we understand the past, we can change the future.
Colleen
The ironic thing is, the ship was the lifeline for so many people, but in the end it was a sinking trap. Only a short while into the journey, three Russian torpedoes strike the ship, sending it in a nosedive to the bottom of the sea. As Alfred says, "Ship's capacity: 1,463. Passengers on board: 10,573. Lifeboats: 22. But then I remembered. Ten of the lifeboats were missing." The sense of desperation is almost tangible. As the characters fight for their lives on the ship, their personalities shine through. Alfred refuses to help others and is unaffected when a young girl is crushed in front him, instead taking her life jacket. Joana and Florian help others get to the top of the ship. Emilia gives up her spot on the last lifeboat. Poet, the old man, sacrifices himself for the wandering boy. When crisis strikes, people's true self comes out.
One of my problems with the book was Alfred. Alfred was Nazi, and if there ever was a mini Hitler, it was him. Nazis did awful, monstrous things, but that doesn't make every sailor, soldier, and German who was a Nazi an evil person. I feel like Sepetys was trying to make a tangible characterization of Nazi ideals, and the product of that was Alfred. He has a superiority complex. Throughout the book, he writes letters to his "love", Hannelore. He describes himself as crucial to the ship, when in fact he is a little-respected sailor. He kept butterflies pinned to his back wall (cruelty to animals is a sign of a sociopath). While the ship was sinking, he mocked an injured woman's smudged makeup instead of helping her. And for his crush, Hannelore? He reported her for being a Jew. In the end, his uncanny evilness leads to his demise. While on a raft with Emilia, he finds out she is Polish. He tries to kill her and in the process, falls into the ocean. In reality, human nature should have prevailed. He's in shock, and just escaped from a sinking ship. Hatred that was taught to him as a child would not be relevant in this situation. In these ways, I see Alfred as unrealistically cruel, insane, and evil.
Joana has credit for one of the most eye-opening quotes. "Everyone knew the story of the big ships, Titanic and Lusitania. I looked towards the thousands of corpses floating in the water. This was so much larger. More than ten thousand people had been on board the Gustloff. The gruesome details of the sinking would be reported in every world newspaper. The tragedy would be studied for years, become legendary." She's right. Over nine thousand people died on the Gustloff. About 1500 people died on the Titanic. It took years for the Gustloff disaster to be reported. Some might say this was because the Gustloff sank during wartime, but is that a legitimate excuse? Five thousand of those who died on the Gustloff were children, and the majority of the rest were refugees, not soldiers. In all honesty, I don't know why we don't learn about the Gustloff in school. But there's no better time to start learning than now.
Septys provides a quote that I believe describes all war: "Suffering emerged the victor, touching all sides, sparing no nation involved."
It doesn't matter who wins wars. Both sides are going to suffer, and I'm sure to the family of a dead soldier, it sure doesn't feel like a victory.
I always wonder why disaster movies like San Andreas are wildly successful. It seems almost cruel at first, as if we enjoy watching others suffer, but in reality I believe we watch because of the "what-ifs. What if it happened to us? What if an earthquake shattered California? What if terrorists bombed the White House? It's an adrenaline rush to think of ourselves saving the day, even while thousands of others die. Unfortunately, in this book, its reality. There's no Dwyane Johnson to fly a helicopter past collapsing buildings. There isn't victorious music or scrolling credits. There's just shock, grief, and horror. So while reading this book don't expect it to be like a disaster movie, an edge-of-your-seat adventure. Instead, its a feeling of helplessness and questioning. Because honestly, this tragedy didn't have to happen. It's a list of what-ifs again. What if the Russians had known who was on that ship? What if the ship hadn't been overpacked? What if there had been enough life boats? But in the end, asking these questions won't fix anything. The only way to change history is to prevent it from happening again, so for that reason I suggest everyone read this book and other historical fiction books like it. Once we understand the past, we can change the future.
Colleen