Crabwalk

About “Crabwalk”

A 1945 attack on a German cruise ship, which had been converted into a refugee carrier, resulted in the deaths of approximately 9,000 people in the Baltic Sea, making it the deadliest maritime disaster in history. The novel, published in 2002 by Günter Grass, follows Paul Pokriefke, a middle-aged journalist born on a lifeboat the night of the attack. His mother sees her life defined by the tragedy, while Paul longs to move beyond the past. His teenage son, influenced by far-right online content, views the event as a symbol of Germany's overlooked wartime suffering. The story explores the lasting impact of the disaster on individuals and families.