From 4 to 18 March 1945, Kolberg was besieged by troops of the Red Army and the Polish People's Army. The German seaside resort on the Baltic coast had not seen war since 1807. Back then, the siege by Napoleon's troops had ceased after an armistice was signed between France and Prussia. The propaganda film 'Kolberg' about this siege, premiered as recently as January 1945, was supposed to encourage Germans to hold out even now. They would not succeed, but until 17 March almost the entire civilian population was evacuated from the city by fishing, merchant and naval vessels by sea. Below is an excerpt from Kevin Prenger's book ' Hitler’s Last Chance: Kolberg' about this evacuation.
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