Ghosts of the Baltic Sea

According to this documentary from writer/producer Jon Goodman, the deadliest maritime disasters occurred on the Baltic Sea in 1945, when Soviet submarines torpedoed three German passenger ships (a technically questionable claim, since these were actually wartime attacks). Dr. Robert Ballard, the undersea explorer who discovered the Titanic, brings four of the German survivors back to the Baltic Sea, piloting a remote-control submarine into the murky depths to capture images of the shipwrecks. With this journey as a backdrop, Ghosts of the Baltic Sea interweaves archival footage and personal accounts to recount the situation that millions of Germans faced at the end of World War II. As the Soviet army advanced across Eastern Europe, German refugees descended upon Polish port towns seeking passage back to Germany. Recognizing that the war was lost, Gros Admiral Karl Dönitz, commander of the German U-boat fleet, planned a massive evacuation over the Baltic Sea called Operation Hannibal. When torpedoes sank one of the first ships to leave, the Nazi ocean liner Wilhelm Gustloff, nearly 9,000 perished—three times the number of people lost on the Titanic. Submarines attacked two other ships, bringing the total number of deaths to 20,000, with most of the victims being women, children, and wounded soldiers. Unfortunately, while the documentary has compelling moments—such as when the survivors vividly describe losing friends—Alan Coates' voiceover narration tends toward overblown adjectives and sentimentality, aiming for the heartstrings over a comprehensive historical account. Optional. Aud: H, C, P. (J. Wadland)