Zimmermann Titanic-Chronology of a Disaster

1. Auflage 2021
ISBN: 978-3-7534-8667-3
Verlag: BoD - Books on Demand
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: 6 - ePub Watermark

E-Book, Englisch, 370 Seiten

This book tells the story of the TITANIC from its planning and finishing in Belfast, Ireland, to her departure from Southampton. The author of the book also explains the inconsistencies surrounding the collision of the TITANIC with the iceberg and describes what, according to the latest TITANIC research, happened in the last hours before the sinking. The many tragic fates of the tragedy are also dealt with in detail, as well as the later scapegoats of the disaster.

Author Norbert Zimmermann, born 1970, has been researching the history of the TITANIC for almost three decades and has published four non-fiction books about the world-famous ship. For this book he researched among other things at the original locations in Belfast. Zimmermann is a member of the British Titanic Society (BTS) and the German and Swiss Titanic Society.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Zimmermann, Norbert

Leseproben

Planning a Legend The era in which the TITANIC was planned and built fell in a time of social and political change. Since the German-French War in 1870/71, there had been no war in Europe, and the so-called second wave of the industrial revolution had brought a certain prosperity, which almost without exception, benefited the rich. It was the age of the "Belle Époque," and in the High Society there was a great deal of optimism about the cultural and political future. (The extent to which rich contemporaries were off track with their optimistic assessment was shown in August 1914 when the First World War broke out, changing the entire map of Europe forever. Many historians already call the sinking of the TITANIC the real end of the Belle Époque …) For the common people in Europe, the "Belle Époque" was not that beautiful because the richness, of course, completely missed them. It was, rather, earned on their back. The ordinary workers in the factories started to organize themselves in trade unions in order to be paid and treated by their employers at least a little more decently. Of course, this also met with bitter resistance. Women in the USA and Great Britain took to the streets for their own right to vote, which New Zealand was the first country to introduce in 1893. They did not shy away from using violence to draw attention to their demands. The so-called "suffragettes" kept the state power, which was of course firmly in male hands, in suspense from about 1903. This reacted partly with brute force against the women, and very many of the suffragettes ended up in prison. Those of the lower class who could somehow manage it tried to escape from the poverty and hopelessness by emigrating to the so-called "New World". A large part of the emigrants to the USA were from the very poor Ireland, which was shaken by huge conflicts between Catholics and Protestants, but the Scandinavian countries were also very much represented. In those days, the ship was the only transport medium to the "New World," and so there was a real rivalry between the different shipping companies for dominance on the oceans around the lucrative passages across the Atlantic. The ships were designed to transport as many emigrants as possible, as they were the most profitable. Although the ships attracted the rich passengers with a lot of luxury in First Class, the real profit was made in Third Class, the so-called "steerage". At the beginning of the last century, this highly competitive market was fought over by the rising imperial Germany with the Hamburg Amerika Linie (later HAPAG) and the Norddeutsche Lloyd, as well as the British lines Cunard Line and White Star Line, which felt increasingly threatened by German competition. The whole thing was additionally fueled by the American financier, J. P. Morgan (17th April 1837 - 31st March 1913), to whose group IMM (International Mercantile Marine) the traditional White Star Line meanwhile belonged. However, the White Star Line still retained its headquarters in Liverpool, England. But how could it be possible that J. P. Morgan was able to secure such a position in the shipping industry? As a hard-calculating businessman, Morgan saw the enormous economic opportunities that were available to him in this industry. In 1900, together with a group of 20 shareholders, he provided the sum of $20 million with which the two important American shipping companies, Atlantic Transport Line (ATL) and the International Navigation Company, were bought up. This coup gave Morgan a fleet of 40 ships at a stroke, most of which were freighters. But that was not enough for Morgan because after that, he set his sights on Great Britain. In April 1901, he paid $12 million in cash for the Leyland Line shipping company, which was the largest transatlantic freighter line with 40 ships at the time. Barely ten months later, he ventured out on a very big fish: the prestigious White Star Line! After tough negotiations, Morgan bought the traditional company with its eight large passenger ships for what was then a gigantic $40 million in cash and shares, thus shocking the kingdom. Almost incidentally, Morgan also acquired the Dominion Line for the pocket money of $4.5 million. The Dominion Line brought six passenger and cargo ships into this connection. Within just one year, Morgan and its partners had thus acquired a fleet of about 100 ships, which represented about a third of the tonnage that was then sailing between Europe and North America. On Thursday, 20th February 1902, the two German shipping companies, Hamburg-Amerika Linie and Norddeutscher Lloyd, concluded a ten-year contract with Morgan. Both shipping companies had no intention of selling to Morgan but wanted to pursue a common policy with him to avoid excessive competition. On Wednesday, October 1st, 1902, J. P. Morgan announced the formation of the International Mercantile Marine Company, which he endowed with a capital of $170 million. The financier J. P. Morgan saved the USA from national bankruptcy in 1895 and 1907 as the leader of several powerful investor groups. © public domain The IMM had the following shipping lines under his rule at the time of the TITANIC: American Line Red Star Line from Belgium Dominion Line The Leyland Line White Star Line Atlantic Transport Line International Navigation Company White Star Line's largest and longtime competitor, the Cunard Line, refused to sell to IMM, and Morgan and its president kept pressure on the British Parliament until it approved a loan of GBP 2.5 million (equivalent to about GBP 243 million in 2015) for the construction of new ships and annual subsidies of GBP 150 000. In response, in 1903, White Star Line began planning for the construction of the Olympic class liners in strict secrecy with all parties involved. Shortly afterwards, contracts were signed with Harland & Wolff for the construction of a huge dock in Belfast, construction of which began in 1904. The history of the Belfast shipyard Harland & Wolff began in 1851, when the shipyard Thompson & Kirwan was founded for the construction of wooden ships as the first forerunner of the shipyard. Two years later, Robert Hickson founded a company for building iron ships. One year later, Edward James Harland from Newcastle, England, took over the management of the Hickson shipyard and became its owner in 1858. Harland received financial support from Gustav Christian Schwabe, then junior partner of John Bibby, Sons & Co., Ltd, in Liverpool. From there, Harland received the order to build three ships (VENETIAN in 1859, SICILIAN in 1860 and SYRIAN in 1860). The construction of these ships resulted in 15 follow-up orders for further sailing ships (GRECIAN, ITALIAN, EGYPTIAN, DALMATIAN etc.) for the shipyard. In order to be able to cope with the lucrative orders, the German engineer, Gustav Wolff (the nephew of Gustav Christian Schwabe) officially joined the company as a partner on Wednesday, January 1st, 1862, and the shipyard was founded as Harland & Wolff Ltd. Through Gustav Schwabe, a particularly lucrative partnership developed, as he persuaded the founder of White Star Line, Thomas Henry Ismay, to order the ships of his shipping company from Harland & Wolff. This was also the beginning of the shipyard's great rise. Through an agreement between Harland & Wolff and the White Star Line, Harland did not build for any direct White Star competitor, and the shipping company in turn had its new ships built exclusively by Harland & Wolff. The golden era of Harland & Wolff had its beginning there. For many decades, the shipyard was one of the best in the world, at times even the best. But this era finally came to an end due to the severe shipyard crisis in England in the 1960s and 1970s, and so Harland & Wolff was incorporated into the British Shipbuilders Corporation in 1977 and was privatized again six years later. Nowadays, however, their main business is no longer shipbuilding but rather the repair and overhaul of ships. The shipyard Harland & Wolff at the beginning of the last century. © Collection of the author The former Harland & Wolff headquarters in Belfast in 2017. On the right-hand side of the picture, you can still see the famous Harland & Wolff cranes. © private photo of the author The Belfast City Hall also commemorates Harland & Wolff and the TITANIC. © private photo of the author In 1907 Cunard put the two turbine steamers LUSITANIA and MAURETANIA into service. When the two ships began their service, they were the largest ships in the world with over 30,000 gross register tons. With an average speed of 26 knots, the MAURETANIA won the so-called Blue Ribbon, awarded for the fastest crossing of the Atlantic, and held this record for 22 years. Her sister ship LUSITANIA, which had previously held the Blue Ribbon for some time, achieved sad fame when she was sunk by the German submarine U-20 during the First World War on Friday, 7th May 1915. Above all, the circumstances of her sinking are...