MS Burgenland: Murder on board

During the Second World War, atrocities that are barely comprehensible today also took place on a ship off the South American coast. The story of the MS Burgenland shows the brutality of the Nazi era.

"Under attack from several heavy units. My location is approximately 7° South 26° West. Must sink ship, classified information has been destroyed." - This was the last message from the blockade runner MS Burgenland, which was received by the naval command of the Kriegsmarine on the evening of 5 January 1944. What was understood to be classified information was to be the subject of a court case against the former naval attaché in Tokyo and head of the Naval Special Service East Asia, retired Admiral Paul Wenneker, in the mid-1960s. The ship, which was confronted by the American cruiser USS Omaha and the destroyer Jouett east of the Brazilian city of Maceió during an attempt to break through to Europe,