Nazi Titanic

During a peculiar episode of World War II, Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels initiated a film project based on the sinking of the Titanic. The ambitious production required significant resources, prompting the Nazis to divert personnel, materials, and ships from the ongoing war effort. Filming took place aboard the cruise ship SS Cap Arcona in the Baltic Sea. The film's director, Herbert Selpin, was arrested by the Gestapo following remarks he made about the ship’s crew and was interrogated by Goebbels. Selpin was discovered dead in his cell the following day, with the Gestapo ruling the death a suicide. The film did not receive the grand premiere Goebbels had envisioned; it was first screened in Nazi-occupied Paris in 1943. This obscure yet intriguing story is explored through an examination of the film's production and the subsequent fate of the German ship Cap Arcona.