On board the Wilhelm Gustloff, each day brought a new speisekarten. These were combination agendas / menus made onboard with the Gustloff's printing press. Each one measures 5" x 7.5" and shows the agenda on the left and the menu on the right.
     There are often items printed on the backs as well during special voyages. On the back covers of the first and last speisekarten for the voyage is usually a summary of the trip and destinations. On a few menus are features of the ship, songs to be sung, and other information for that trip.
Photo galleries will offer close-ups of each cover and its contents for the menus in our collection.
Speisekarten / Menus for the
Wilhelm Gustloff - 1939
Speisekarten for February 15th, 1938 - February 25th, 1939
Voyage #28 - Cruise to Italy  
Speisekarten for March 11th, 1939 - March 30th, 1939
Voyage #30 - Genoa, Naples, Tripoli, Madeira

Dates Below: Saturday: March 11th, 1939 - Sunday: March 12th, 1939 - Monday: March 13th, 1939 - Tuesday: March 14th, 1939 - Wednesday: March 15th, 1939 - Thursday: March 16th, 1939 - Friday: March 17th, 1939 - Saturday: March 18th, 1939 - Sunday: March 19th, 1939 - Monday: March 20th, 1939 - Tuesday: March 21st, 1939 - Wednesday: March 22nd, 1939 - Thursday: March 23rd, 1939 - Friday: March 24th, 1939 - Saturday: March 25th, 1939 - Sunday: March 26th, 1939 - Monday: March 27th, 1939 - Tuesday: March 28th, 1939 - Wednesday: March 29th, 1939 - Thursday: March 30th, 1939.
Speisekarten for July 1st, 1939 - July 7th, 1939                                                                                                                                                                                                 Missing July 4th, 1939
Voyage #42 - Business Trip of the Firm Bernward Leineweber of the Dockyards.

Dates Below: Saturday: July 1st, 1939 - Sunday: July 2nd, 1939 - Monday: July 3rd, 1939 - Wednesday: July 5th, 1939 - Thursday: July 6th, 1939 - Friday: July 7th, 1939


Speisekarten for July 8th, 1939 - July 14th, 1939
Voyage #43 - Cruise to the Norwegian Fjords

Dates Below: Sunday: July 8th, 1939 - Monday: July 9th, 1939 - Tuesday: July 10th, 1939 - Wednesday: July 11th, 1939 - Thursday: July 12th, 1939 - Friday: July 13th, 1939 - Saturday: July 14th, 1939.



Speisekarten for August 19th, 1939 - August 25th, 1939
Voyage #50 - Norwegian Cruise
​August 19th, 1939 - August 25th, 1939
This is the Wilhelm Gustloff's final voyage before World War II breaks out. ​
Dates Below:Saturday, February 18th, 1939 - Sunday, February 19th, 1939 - Monday, February 20th, 1939 - Tuesday, February 21st, 1939 - Wednesday, February 22nd, 1939 - Thursday, February 23rd, 1939 - Friday, February 24th, 1939 - Saturday, February 25th, 1939. Recently added: Wednesday, February 15th, 1939 - Thursday, February 16th, 1939 - Friday, February 17th, 1939.





Speisekarten for February 3rd, 1939, February 6th, 1939, & February 12th, 1939
Voyage #27 - Cruise to Italy
February 3rd, 1939 to February 12th, 1939.​


Speisekarten for May 13th, 1939 - May 19th, 1939
Voyage #36: Cruise to the Norwegian Fjords

Dates Below: Saturday, May 13th, 1939 -  Sunday, May 14th, 1939 - Wednesday, May 17th, 1939 - Thursday, May 18th, 1939.






Speisekarten for January 25th, 1939, January 31st, 1939 & February 1st, 1939
Voyage #26 - Cruise to Italy
January 22nd, 1939 to February 1st, 1939.​
















Speisekarten for June 11th, 1939 & June 16th, 1939
Norwegian Cruise & Reichsjugendführung (Reich Youth Leadership) Cruise.
Voyage #39 - June 10th - June 16th, 1939

     According to the back cover of this voyage, the Youth Leadership Cruise was not a part of the planned voyage. The ship docked in Hamburg on the 15th and apparently this special part of the trip took place over the 15th and 16th, though nothing is mentioned. The three sets of photographs previously came from www.wilhelmgustloff.com. 


Speisekarte for June 29th, 1939
Voyage #41 - Norwegian Cruise
​June 23rd, 1939 to June 30th, 1939




Speisekarte for August 8th, 1939
Voyage #48 - August 5th, 1939 to August 11th, 1939


Speisekarten for April 29th, 1939 to May 4th, 1939
Special Voyage - Norway Trip of Joint Business - The Rune / German Property Insurance - Hamburg

Dates Below:Saturday: April 29th, 1939, Sunday: April 30th, 1939, Monday: May 1st, 1939 (x2), Tuesday: May 2nd, 1939, Wednesday: May 3rd, 1939, Thursday: May 4th, 1939.




Speisekarten for May 20th, 1939 - June 2nd, 1939
Voyage #37: Legion Condor 
Listed under the Legion Condor page
Speisekarten for June 17th, 22nd, 23rd, 1939
Voyage #40 - Norwegian Cruise
June 17th, 1939 to June 23rd, 1939​​

June 22nd is incorrectly dated as June 23rd. ​​

Speisekarten for July 17th, 1939 - July 25th, 1939
Voyage #45 - Stockholm, Sweden​
Listed under the Lingiad - Stockholm page


Speisekarten for June 3rd, 1939 - June 9th, 1939.
*Missing June 6th, 1939.
Voyage #38: Cruise to the Norwegian Fjords

Dates Below:
Saturday: June 3rd, 1939 - Sunday: June 4th, 1939 - Monday: June 5th, 1939 - Wednesday: June 7th, 1939 - Thursday: June 8th, 1939 - Friday: June 9th, 1939.​​​​

Speisekarten for January 10th, 1938 - January 20th, 1939
Voyage #25 - Cruise to Italy  

Dates Below:
Tuesday: January 10th 1939 - Wednesday: January 11th, 1939 - Thursday: January 12th, 1939 - Friday: January 13th, 1939 - Saturday: January 14th, 1939 - Sunday: January 15th, 1939 - Monday: January 16th, 1939 - Tuesday: January 17th, 1939 - Wednesday: January 18th, 1939 - Thursday: January 19th, 1939 - Friday: January 20th, 1939.​​
Speisekarten for May 6th, 1939 - May 12th, 1939
Voyage #35 - Cruise to the Norwegian Fjords

Dates Below:
(As part of a photo album from the voyage). Sunday: May 6th, 1939 - Monday: May 7th, 1939 - Tuesday: May 8th, 1939 - Wednesday: May 9th, 1939 - Thursday: May 10th, 1939 - Friday: May 11th, 1939 - Saturday: May 12th, 1939.​​


One of the things that surprises me the most is that after almost 15 years of collecting and researching, I have never found any documentation existing for the Gustloff's 31st, 32nd, 33rd, and 34th voyage!
She returns to Hamburg from Italy on March 30th, 1939 after her 30th voyage. From March 31st to April 27th, nothing is known about her whereabouts or what happened to the ship. The only thing known is that she was in drydock at some point to have one or both propellers removed / cleaned / replaced. The color still shown was taken from the deck of the newly built Robert Ley during one of her April trips. This would put the date of these images around April 4th, 7th, or 18th. 
The Wilhelm Gustloff Voyage Mystery