Achim’s Story: a Novel Based on the Eventful Early Life of Joachim Wedekind Zur Horst

Ever wonder how normal people fell prey to a monster? Find out by reading Achim’s Story. The book is based on the life of one of the few people who survived the sinking of the Steuben by the Russians in February 1945. 4,500 people perished in the Baltic Sea. This is believed to be the third greatest loss of life at sea after the Gustloff and the Goya. Joachim Wedekind zur Horst was interviewed and quoted in the February 2005 National Geographic article Ghost Ship about the sinking and finding of the Steuben. On February 13, 2005, Joachim was featured in an article in the New Orleans Times Picayune Dredging Up Memories by Mark Waller about his experience surrounding the Steuben.Joachim begins life with tragedy even though he is born into an upper-class family in pre-Hitler Germany. He spends his early years in a stormy relationship with his mother and a life based on a lie that he uncovers through his inquisitiveness while Germany was falling under Hitler’s spell. Joachim finds that dreams really can come true so, as the adage goes, be careful of what you wish for. Joachim dreams of going to sea from a very young age against his father’s wishes and finally accomplishes that goal only to find himself sailing on merchant ships in World War II, receiving the Iron Cross from Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, and fighting for his life on the Steuben. During the war and in the years after in a Danish refugee camp, Joachim experiences love, tragedy, fear, friendship, betrayal, joy, and luck. He discovers that his choices have a far greater impact on his life than he had anticipated and an outcome that he cannot alter.