Zwi Hersch Zaks

- On April 25, 1945, I was evacuated and taken to Neustadt-Holstein, where I was liberated by the British on May 3, 1945. -

Source: Affidavit Zwi Zaks, 1954, Staatsarchiv Hamburg, Sig.  213-13_3575

We stayed there until April 25 and were evacuated by boat to Neustadt-Holstein, where we were liberated on May 3, 1945.

Source: Testimony David Jakobsohn, born 13.6.1913 in Riga,  1954, Staatsarchiv Hamburg, Sig.  213-13_35754

The liberation in Neustadt was preceded by a gruesome tragedy. Dr. Goldschläger's report contains only the few words "was then taken by ship via Stutthof and Danzig to Neustadt in Holstein, where he was liberated by the British on May 3, 1945".
These few, harmless-sounding words were enough to show me that client was one of the relatively few survivors of one of the most appalling misdeeds committed by the Nazis in the last days of their collapsing rule. I knew this gruesome story very well, as I had heard it from three or perhaps four people, all women, who had been assessed for damage to their health in the course of my work as an expert witness over the course of several years, and always in almost the same words. Of course, I had to strictly avoid suggesting to the client the story I already knew; I therefore told him that I had already heard about this evacuation by sea from other assessors, but that I would like to hear it again from him. Kl, who until then had been psychologically very inhibited, now became emotional, his emotional state broke through his inhibitions, and he spoke vividly and with great excitement about this "sea voyage", and something else surprised me: his wife, who had probably not yet been his wife at the time, had also taken part in this transport. She, too, who had been sitting there quietly until then, became animated and became very emotional. The story of this "sea voyage", as I had heard earlier from three or four people I had examined, and now heard again from Mr. and Mrs. Zaks, is as follows: When the Russian army approached, the prisoners were evacuated from Stutthof to Danzig and there "packed" into 6 barges, in which they sat or stood squeezed together like sardines; the deck of the barges was closed off, but it seems that the inmates got some daylight through the narrow hatches and also some fresh air when the sea was calm. The tug and tow was towed from Danzig to Neustadt (Holstein) in about six to seven days. There was nothing to eat or drink. The thirst became unbearable, so that the unfortunates drank their own urine until the urine secretion dried up. It seems that some managed to draw seawater through the hatches, but in the western part of the Baltic Sea - between Rügen and the Holstein coast - the water already had a salt content that made it undrinkable. A large number of the prisoners died of thirst, hunger and suffocation during the journey in the insufficiently ventilated room, which was filled with the fumes of the prisoners and their excrement, as well as the corpse odor of the deceased. After six or seven days of travel, the train approached the port of Neustadt, unfortunately just as the British vanguard reached Neustadt. The British suspected a German landing attempt and opened fire on the tug. The German crew of the tugboat threw off the tow rope and the steamer made off, while the barges were driven onto the beach by the wind and waves. The prisoners managed to open the deck hatches of the barges and all those who were still able to do so jumped overboard and waded or swam to the shore. The British realized their mistake and stopped firing, but the crew of the tugboat opened fire on those wading and swimming. Many of the prisoners fell victim to the fire of the British and then the Germans. The British took the completely exhausted survivors to the Neustadt country hospital, which they had confiscated for this purpose.

Source: Expert opinion by Dr. Kauffmann, 1969