The Hamburg-American liner SS Hansa made regular voyages between New York and Germany in the late 1930s. The ship, built in 1923, had originally been named after Albert Ballin, the director of the Hamburg-America line. But because Ballin was Jewish, the German government renamed the ship Hansa in 1935. She’s pictured here en route from New York to Germany in 1938, having departed early and without passengers when the Germans recalled their vessels at sea in preparation for war.

The back of the original wire photo of the SS Hansa, featuring the original AP caption.