More than 1200 survived while most others estimated between 6,600 and 10,600 died from explosions, equipment faults, rescue mistakes, freezing, drowning, or the icy waters. Of these, more than 4,000 were probably children. The Germans made no announcement then to help maintain civilian morale. The Soviets were embarrassed and hid the event. Post-war Germany has kept a code of silence around any German civilians suffering as a result of the war, seeming to reflect the national guilt for starting the war.
But even the history of this ship does not stand alone. It is linked with another event in the history of Germans. The ship is named after a German "a celebrated martyr " (at least from Germans' perspective) Wilhelm Gustloff. Wilhelm Gustloff was an activist who was involved in anti Semitic movement by promoting a book titled. He joined the Nazi party, and by early '36 had recruited about five thousand new members among Germans and Austrian citizens living in Switzerland. He was murdered by a Jew David Frankfurter in his study. David Frankfurter was born in 1909 in the West Slavonian town of Daruvar. After killing Gustloff, he made confession in a nearby Police station saying "I fired the shots because I am a Jew. I am fully aware of what I have done and have no regrets ". Significantly, Konny, Paul's son in the end murders a boy saying "I fired because I am a German " thus asserting the cyclical progression of history.
Like in "Tin Drum", Grass inserts thematic objectification in "Crabwalk". He posits Wilhelm Gustloff, the ship as a metaphor to describe the history of war and hatred, the Germans went through. The ship started its voyage with "strength through joy " trips depicting the pre war condition of Germany, then turned into a hospital ship reflecting state of war and finally sank into Baltic after being hit by Russian torpedoes portraying the defeat of Germany in WWII. So through objectzwang, Grass as well as his characters revisit the harsh memories of wartime past of Germans.