I think that fate and unpredictability are synonymous words. Fate can be changeable not only in relation to people, but also to ships. From the archival photos that have recently become my companions, I highlighted the dim and image of a passenger steamer on the pier of blinding whiteness. The pronounced cheekbones of the stem undoubtedly attributed the vessel to the German traditions in the architecture of ships of the early last century.
I expanded my search and found wonderful photos telling about the happy fate of the ship. MS MILWAUKEE is a German diesel passenger ship built by Blohm & Voss and launched in February 1929 for the Hamburg-America line. She was used on transatlantic routes from Hamburg to New York and cruised to the Canary Islands, Madeira and Spain on the same route. Not only was the ship with stunning lines and characteristics happy, but also thousands of passengers, whose happy faces were preserved in photographs of archives and private collections.
But! Only until 1939! Afterwards there was a war!..
During World War II, the ship was used as a Kriegsmarine barracks ship. In 1945 the ship was handed over to the British government under the new name Empire Waveney and was used to transport troops. On 1 March 1946 she was badly damaged in a fire at Liverpool Dock.
It was scrapped in Scotland in 1947.
This was the journey of the ship, and now about its fate, which, as it turned out, is closely intertwined with the American city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, after which in 1929 the cruise line Hamburg America decided to christen its newest liner MS Milwaukee. The company brought the Milwaukee city flag to Germany for its launching ceremony.
Just as now, the war destroyed ties between multiple countries and their peoples, determining the future of humanity and the ship.
