RAISING OF THE JASTARNIA

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00810A004800650006-5
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 20, 2016
• Document Release Date: July 30, 2007
• Sequence Number: 6
• Publication Date: October 6, 1954
• Content Type: REPORT

Approved For Release 2007/08/04: CIA-RDP80-0081 OA004800650006-5
CENTRAIL 1 L'IGENCE AGENCY
COUNTRY F clans
SUN= Raising of the JASTARNIA
carried out.
1. Toward the end of May or beginning of June 19614, the wreck of a large German ship,
sunk at the beginning of .1945, was raised from the Bay of Gdansk by the PRO (Polish
Ship Salvage organization) and then towed into the repair shipyard at Gdansk (Danzig),
.The sunken German ship was probably named STRASSBURG, and ie, larger than the Polish
condition, having suffered little from the water. It is reported that, after under-..
going repairs, the ship will be taken by the Soviets an war reparations, although it
has a1rc cly received the Polish name JASTARNIA.
2. The ship, which was a whaling factory chip, was sung; during the German evacuation of
Gdynia. The Iialvaging of the wreck took throe yearn, during which time eight divers
lost their lives. During that time officials of the security authorities were to be
found, under various covers,. in the units employed on the salvage work.
3. When the wreck was finally rail ed1 the area was auI r. ounded by ships of the 4uliah4' Navy,
Immediately after salvaging, several iron cases were lifted from the wreck by orane
and loaded onto a warship, which then sailed to an unknown destination. The wreck
was 'then toed on to a sandbank ,,.,14here it was atill guarded by units of the Polish:.
,This is UNEVALUATED
The following rumors about the wreck are circulating among the personnel of the~PR03
thereirore the death sentence passed on him as a war criminal was not
Gdansk by the Germans. Forster is believed to have known about this, and.
Among other cargo the ship had several cases of iewclrv broutht from
some 1iussians among those who guarded the reloading of there cases,
c. The cargo taken from the wrack was transported to Ka1Anin,_,;rQ.(d. ''!41inre, tsars
Gdansk to be more beautiful than before,
have,said that if his death sentence was not carried out, he would rebuild
b. The.,wreck is connected with Forster's statement in which he in,mlle ed to
,Tilt DONRCE WALUATIONS IN THIS REPORT All OIPINITWL.
INS APPRAISAL O/ CONTENT ISTINTATIVS.
(/OR Xl? fff RSVMSI)
'W's Ndd diddtbuti n by "#".)
FBI AEC I- j -1
Approved For Release 2007/08/04: CIA-RDP80-0081 OA004800650006-5
 Approved For Release 2007/08/04: CIA-RDP80-00810A004800650006-5
SECRET--U. S. OFFICIALS ONLY
Comment: reports ` eived in the past year have mentioned the
German vessel SEEBURG (also reported as IEIBURG and cannot
be ascertained if it is identicalwjth'the JASTARNIA. the
SEEBURG was sunk near Jaate nia while evacuating high-ranking German families from
Poland. The ship was refloated in 1953 but had to be sunk again due to technical
difficulties. This report added that it was expected that the ship would again be
raised in May 1954,
SECRET----U. S. OFFICIALS ONLY
Approved For Release 2007/08/04: CIA-RDP80-00810A004800650006-5