Titanic’s many Jewish victims coming to light

JORDAN MOSHE

This watch, which includes Hebrew letters and an engraving of Moses with the Ten Commandments, was originally recovered from Sinai’s body after it was pulled from the icy waters and joined other artefacts in a Californian museum dedicated to the memory of those who lost their lives.

Kantor was one of many Jews who died when the RMS Titanic sank.

This past Sunday, 14 April, marked the 107th anniversary of one of history’s most well-known maritime tragedies. In spite of being called unsinkable by many, the Titanic met with a disastrous end when she collided with an iceberg four days into her maiden voyage from Southampton to New York City in 1912.

As familiar as many of us may be with the narrative, the effect of this disaster on world Jewry is perhaps less well-known. This is because the stories of the Titanic’s Jews have come to light only in recent years.

Although it occurred shortly after the turn of the 20th century, 1912 was no easier a time for the Jews of Europe than the 1800s had been. Religious oppression, poverty, and the infamous pogroms in Russia were constant threats to the lives of thousands of Jews. From the 1880s to the early 1900s, many Jews fled Europe, a majority of them from Russia, in an effort to secure a more stable future. Often landing on the shores of America, these Jews hoped to find better prospects in circles which displayed none of the animosity to which they were accustomed in Europe.

One of the larger ships which promised deliverance to the new world for Europe’s Jews was the Titanic. According to Eli Moskowitz, the author of The Jews of The Titanic, the White Star Line company’s list of the 2 222 passengers indicates that there were a couple hundred Jews on board, representing Jewish sects from across the religious spectrum. Reform, Orthodox, and even offspring of some Hasidic families were on board, including names such as Gurshon Cohen, Abraham Hyman, and Jenie Drapkin. Says Moskowitz, “Some of them were in first-class cabins, but most were in the third class, which was reserved for immigrants and where men had the lowest chances of surviving. The exact number of Jews in third class is still unknown.”

In addition to these immigrating Jews, the ship also carried multi-millionaires. Among the Jews, the second wealthiest person on board the ship was mining magnate Benjamin Guggenheim, as well as New York’s famous Macy’s department store owner Isidore Strauss, who was returning with his wife, Ida, from a vacation in Europe to the United States.

While names which are clearly Jewish do appear on the list, Moskowitz suggests that there may have been more, since some Jews altered their names and registered a forged identity before boarding the ship.

“One of the only ways to leave [Russia] was by forging documents,” says Moskowitz. During that time, an estimated 2.7 million Jews fled Russia to escape increasing religious persecution, bloody Kishinev pogroms, and the dreaded Cantonist decree.”

However many Jews there were aboard the famed vessel, it is known that they formed a close-knit community while at sea. They spent a considerable amount of time together, dining and praying, and were often given the same quarters.

According to both Moskowitz and historian Charles Haas, artefacts from the Olympia, the sister ship of the Titanic, proved that there was a separate kosher menu and dishes for the Jews of the Titanic.

The two ships shared the same utensils, and some remaining artefacts discovered include plates labelled “meat” and “milk” in English and Yiddish. Even the standard menu made mention of separate kosher accommodations. According to Haas, an individual by the name of Charles Kennel was the appointed Jewish cook and supervising rabbi of the Titanic.

Whether in first-class or steerage, all passengers were forced to fight for their lives on the ill-fated evening of 14 April. Harrowing accounts of rushing for lifeboats and acts of heroism are recorded from among the Jewish passengers.

Those in third class who tried to escape their watery grave had to grope through the darkness of the lower-floor cabins towards the upper deck. The loss of life was exceptionally heavy and disproportionate among third-class passengers, and of the 710 third-class passengers on board, only one fourth escaped, with the records of the Hebrew Immigration Aid Society showing that just 27 Jews survived.

Both Guggenheim and Strauss are said to be among those who acted heroically until the end. Guggenheim was reportedly offered both a life belt and the opportunity to climb into a lifeboat but refused, saying, according to the Jewish Chronicle, “No woman shall remain unsaved because I was a coward.” The paper also added that after he “assisted the officers… in getting the women in the boats”, he died “with a jest upon his lips”.

A similar tale is told of Mr and Mrs Strauss. After seeing that their maid, Ellen Bird, had climbed safely into a lifeboat, Strauss and ship officers instructed his wife to do the same. She refused, saying that she would rather remain with her husband, come what may.

“We have been living together for many years,” she is said to have replied. “Where you go, I go.” The couple is said to have stood aside, calmly observing the deployment of lifeboats as the ship went down. Neither they nor Guggenheim are accounted for until today.

The disaster sent ripples around the world, especially among Jews. Yiddish lyricist Solomon Small composed the song Der Nasser Kever or “The Watery Grave” in honour of the victims. Cantor Yossele Rosenblatt recorded a kel malei rachamim (a prayer for the souls of the departed) in dedication to the victims, raising $150 000 (R2.1 million), from sales of his album which was given to the fund for families who lost loved ones on the Titanic. Halachic questions surrounding men presumed dead and the status of their wives abounded. The Jewish world reeled as much as broader society.

We may never know exactly how many Jews died when the ship sank and the many stories that died with them. But the next time someone mentions the Titanic, it will have a slightly different significance for us.