Steamship Albatros - a memorial and its history

In the course of her long life, she had many functions: excursion steamer and cattle transporter, naval tender and refugee ship - the Albatross. Today one of the few attractions of the ageing Baltic seaside resort of Damp, she was launched in 1912 by the Meyer shipyard in Papenburg for the "Vereinigte Flensburg-Ekensunder & Sonderburger Dampfschiffs-Gesellschaft" and travelled the Flensburg Fjord as a passenger steamer until 1969. After being decommissioned and transferred to Damp, a new role had to be found for the old lady. There were plans to convert her into a discotheque, but it was not until 1980 that the German Naval Association and its president at the time, Friedrich Rohlfing (1910-1992), gave her a worthy rededication.
The foundation of the "Memorial Site" board of trustees Albatross" and refurbishing the veteran as a museum and memorial, he ensured that the steamer's role in Operation "Rescue by Sea" and the fate of the inhabitants of the former German eastern territories in 1945 were not forgotten. As already mentioned, its use as a refugee ship was not the first wartime utilisation of the Albatross. During the First World War, she initially served in the outpost half-flotilla and harbour protection flotilla / 3rd half-flotilla Kiel, and from 1916 as a tender in the Bay of Gdansk. During the Second World War, she travelled between Gotenhafen and the Hexengrund torpedo boat base. At the beginning of 1945, she was finally used as a refugee transporter. The commander managed to transport 500 female naval personnel from Pillau to Stralsund and reach Kiel unharmed with 200 refugees on board in the final days of the war.
The museum of the naval association on the Albatross documented the events of the time with exhibits and interviews with contemporary witnesses, but had to close its doors in 2000 due to low visitor numbers and excessive maintenance costs. There were plans by the Flensburg Maritime Museum's Friends' Association to transfer the aged fjord steamer to Flensburg, but these never materialised. Today, after interim use as a geological natural history museum, the Albatross as a DLRG viewing platform and stage for a live escape game by Key Zone.
The ravages of time are visibly gnawing away at her. Perhaps there will be an opportunity to return to its former use and restore the historic ship for museum purposes. It will be celebrating its 110th birthday in 2022, a good opportunity to think about its future once again.

Text & Photo: Andreas von Klewitz