Extraordinary story of why Hitler’s yacht rests just off the coast of Miami

A yacht that was once owned by Adolf Hitler now lies just five miles off the coast of Miami Beach.

Hitler originally commissioned the 80ft Ostwind in 1938 as an Olympic racing boat after Germany’s poor showing in the 1936 Olympics. 

However, the Ostwind was never entered in competition and was used instead by Nazi officials, including Hitler. 

Florida historian, Mike Miller, who has researched the boat, said the Nazi leader even planned to sail the Ostwind to Britain if German won the war. 

No definitive record exists of how much time Hitler spent on the boat, however a picture exists of him with mistress Eva Braun onboard the ship.

Historians believe he may have only visited the boat he commissioned for Olympic glory a handful of times. 

However, what is known is that after World War II ended in 1945, the U.S. took control of the Ostwind as a war prize and used it for training craft at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. 

The navy sold the Ostwind off in the 1950s, and for the next 20 years was sold between various owners. 

In the mid-1970s, a Nazi memorabilia collector bought the vessel and took it to marine wrecker in Jacksonville with the intention of restoring to it to its former glory. 

But he failed to pay for the mooring space and the boat was repossessed by the yard’s owner, J.J Nelson, in 1981. 

As word spread that the vessel belonged to Hitler, it was repeatedly vandalized. 

Mr Nelson then rejected a offer by the Chicago-based American Nazi Party wanted to buy the boat and use it as a place to worship Hitler. 

Instead, he gave the vessel to a Jewish group in 1988.

The Israeli Consulate in Miami then approached the Miami Beach city commissioner, Abe Resnick, who suggested sinking the boat and making it into an artificial reef.

On June 4, 1989, the Ostwind was in such bad condition that the boat was rolled off a barge and sunk into the ocean to commemorate the 50th anniversary of what has come to be known as the ‘Voyage of the Damned,’ according to state records. 

Hitler (pictured) originally commissioned the Ostwind in 1938 as a racing yacht, but it was never entered in competition and was used instead by Nazi officials.

During this voyage, a group of German-Jewish refugees aboard the boat, lined as the S.S. St. Louis, were sent to Havana, Cuba by the Nazis in 1939. 

They were denied permission by both Cuba and the United States and were forced back to Europe, where more than half its passengers died during the Holocaust.

On June 29, 1989, more than two weeks after its initial sinking, the yacht was refloated and sunk again into a deeper part of the ocean as it posed as a hazard to marine life on the coral reef as well as passing ships. 

The only way to view the Ostwind is by diving with scuba gear on the bottom of the ocean. 

The Ostwind was in such bad condition that the boat was rolled off a barge and sunk into the ocean to commemorate the 50th anniversary of what has come to be known as the ‘Voyage of the Damned’ on June 4th, 1989, according to state records .