German origins. Most of those who stayed past 1944 were children of mixed ethnic marriages or themselves married to ethnic Estonians, Latvians or Russians and their descendants no longer consider themselves German. "Second resettlement" 1945 The Soviet Union's advance into Poland and Germany in late 1944 and early 1945 resulted in the Baltic Germans being evacuated by the German authorities (or simply fleeing) from their "new homes" to areas even further in the west to escape the advancing Red Army. Most of them settled in West Germany, with some ending up in East Germany. In stark contrast to the resettlements in 1939–1941, this time around the evacuation in most of the areas was delayed until the last moment, when it was too late to conduct it in an orderly fashion, and practically all of them had to leave most of their belongings behind. Seeing as they had only been living in these "new" homes for about five years, this was almost seen as a second forced resettlement for them, albeit under different circumstances. Many Baltic Germans were on board the KdF Ship Wilhelm Gustloff when it was sunk by a Soviet submarine on January 30, 1945. By one estimate, about 9,400 people on board died, which would make it the largest loss of life in a single ship sinking in history. Additionally, many Baltic Germans died during the sinking of the SS General von Steuben on February 10, 1945. Two books listing the names and personal data of all Baltic Germans who died as a result of the resettlements and wartime conditions between 1939 and 1947 have been published by the Baltic German genealogical society: Deutsch-baltisches Gedenkbuch. Unsere Toten der Jahre 1939–1947 by Karin von Borbély, Darmstadt, 1991; and Nachtrag zum Deutsch-baltisches Gedenkbuch by Karin von Borbély, Darmstadt, 1995. With Estonia and Latvia falling under Soviet rule after 1944, most Baltic Germans did not return to the Soviet occupied Baltics. Canada Many thousands of Baltic Germans emigrated to Canada starting in 1948 with the support of Canadian Governor General The Earl Alexander of Tunis, who had known many Baltic Germans when he had commanded the Baltic German Landeswehr for a short time in 1919. Initially, only 12 Germans were allowed to settle in 1948. Based on the good behavior of this group, many thousands of Baltic Germans were soon allowed to immigrate during the following years. A small group of