Original subtitles

[MISSILE ROARS]

Narrator: FOR CENTURIES, AN EXTRAORDINARY WAR HAS RAGED

ACROSS THE WORLD'S OCEANS, ABOVE AND BELOW THE WAVES.

Man: YOU COULD KILL HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE WITH ONE BROADSIDE.

THESE WERE EXTREMELY POWERFUL WAR MACHINES.

Narrator: SHIPBUILDERS DESIGNED BIGGER AND FASTER VESSELS

TO OUTWIT AND CRUSH THEIR OPPONENTS.

Man: THAT NATION THAT HAS THE MOST POWERFUL BATTLESHIP FLEET

CAN DESTROY THE ENEMY'S BATTLESHIP FLEET

AND THEREFORE CONTROL THE SEAS,

AND IF YOU CONTROL THE SEAS, YOU CONTROL THE WORLD.

Narrator: THEY CARRIED TERRIFYING WEAPONS.

Man: THIS WAS GONNA BE THE FIRST TIME

THAT SOMEBODY HAD FIRED A TORPEDO IN ANGER

SINCE WORLD WAR II.

THEY NEEDED TO GET IT RIGHT.

Narrator: BUT SHIPS HAVE ALSO LIBERATED

AND RESCUED THOUSANDS.

Man: YOU COULD THINK OF GERDA III

AS BASICALLY A LIFEBOAT FOR PERSONS HUNTED BY THE NAZIS.

Narrator: AND INSPIRED MEN AND WOMEN

TO ACTS OF INCREDIBLE BRAVERY.

Man: I WILL TAKE YOU THERE NOW, TO YOUR CANNONS,

TO YOUR DEATH, WE WILL SINK BEFORE SURRENDER.

Narrator: THESE VESSELS AND THEIR CREWS

HAVE SHAPED WORLD HISTORY.

Man: AS THE COMMANDING OFFICER OF A MISSILE‐CARRYING SUBMARINE,

I WAS DIRECTLY RESPONSIBLE

FOR HELPING TO PREVENT WORLD WAR III.

[MISSILE ROARS]

Narrator: THIS TIME, WE VENTURE

INTO THE HEART OF NAVAL COMBAT ZONES,

NOT TO FIGHT, BUT TO RESCUE.

Man: THESE WERE HEROES SAVING LIVES,

TAKING A STAND AGAINST EVIL.

Narrator: THIS IS A STORY OF UNIQUE VESSELS

AND THEIR DEDICATED CREWS.

Man: THEY GO DOWN BELOW,

AND THEY FIND THE CARGO OF 705 CAPTIVE AFRICANS ON BOARD.

Narrator: FOR TWO CENTURIES,

THE HORRORS OF WAR HAVE BEEN REPORTED,

BUT SO, TOO, HAVE THE STORIES OF THOSE WHO RESCUED.

Woman: WHEN YOU'RE IN A WAR LIKE THAT,

EVERYBODY DOES WHAT THEY HAVE TO DO.

I WAS FORTUNATE IN BRINGING THE BOYS TO A SAFER PLACE.

♪

[EXPLOSION]

♪

Narrator: FROM THE FIRST GREAT WARSHIPS

TO THE AGE OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS...

[MISSILE ROARS]

...OUR COMBAT SHIPS TELL A STORY,

NOT JUST OF TECHNOLOGY, BUT OF HUMAN HISTORY, TOO.

AMONG THE GLITTER OF BALTIMORE'S TRENDY INNER HARBOR,

THERE IS A VESSEL.

SHE REPRESENTS THE END OF A MARITIME ERA

BUT ALSO A TIME WHEN WARSHIPS BEGAN TO SAVE LIVES‐‐

THE USS CONSTELLATION.

♪

AS THE CONSTELLATION UNFURLED HER SAILS

FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 1854,

THE WORLD WAS ALREADY TURNING TO ENGINE POWER.

SHE WAS THE LAST U. S. NAVY SHIP TO RELY TOTALLY ON WIND.

Brian Auer: IT'S AN ARMS RACE, JUST LIKE TODAY,

SO, UM, EVERYBODY'S TRYING TO MAKE SURE

THEY HAVE THE NEWEST BEST THINGS,

AND SO THAT'S WHY THE NAVY STOPPED WITH ALL‐SAIL.

Narrator: BUT DESPITE BEING OUTCLASSED

BY ALMOST EVERY WARSHIP OF HER ERA,

CONSTELLATION HAS GONE DOWN IN HISTORY AS A SHIP

THAT SAVED HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE FROM A TERRIBLE FATE.

♪

IN THE EARLY 1800s,

THE UNITED STATES WAS UNDER PRESSURE TO PUT A STOP

TO THE VAST NUMBERS OF AFRICAN SLAVES ENTERING THE COUNTRY.

FOLLOWING THE LEAD OF GREAT BRITAIN,

THE U. S. AGREED TO ABOLISH THE LUCRATIVE TRADE.

Auer: THE AMERICANS OUTLAW THE ATLANTIC SLAVE TRADE IN 1808,

AND IN 1820,

IT'S DECLARED AN ACT OF PIRACY PUNISHABLE BY DEATH,

SO BY THE 1820s, IT'S ILLEGAL

FOR AMERICAN SAILORS TO ENGAGE IN THE TRADE AS WELL.

Narrator: WHILE FOUR MILLION SLAVES REMAINED CAPTIVE

ON UNITED STATES SOIL,

THE U. S. NAVY WAS GIVEN THE JOB

OF ENSURING THAT NUMBER DIDN'T GROW.

A SMALL FLEET KNOWN AS THE AFRICA SQUADRON

WAS FORMED TO HUNT DOWN SLAVE SHIPS LEAVING AFRICA

AND BOUND FOR CUBA AND SOUTH AMERICA.

Auer: WHEN YOU HAVE A PROFIT MARGIN OF 1,000 PERCENT,

EVEN IF IT'S ILLEGAL, PEOPLE ARE GONNA DO IT.

Narrator: IN SEPTEMBER 1860,

THE CONSTELLATION WAS PATROLLING

CLOSE TO THE CONGO RIVER DELTA.

FOR WEEKS, THERE HAD BEEN NO SIGN OF SLAVE SHIPS.

THEN ON THE AFTERNOON OF THE 25th,

ONE OF CONSTELLATION'S LOOKOUTS SPOTTED A SAIL ON THE HORIZON.

Auer: SHE'S IN A SUSPICIOUS AREA

WHERE WE KNOW THERE'S SOME TROUBLE GOING ON.

CONSTELLATION'S A VERY FAST SHIP.

WE FIRE A WARNING SHOT THAT SAYS, "STOP YOUR SHIP"...

[CANNON FIRES]

...AND THE SHIP DOESN'T STOP, KEEPS ON GOING,

PUTS UP MORE SAIL AND STARTS TO RUN,

SO NOW WE KNOW SOMETHING'S UP.

Narrator: THE CONSTELLATION GAINS ON THE FLEEING VESSEL.

AS IT DOES, IT BECOMES CLEAR WHAT CARGO THE SHIP IS CARRYING.

Auer: SHE STARTS BY THROWING OVER JETSAM AND FLOTSAM

INTO THE WATER,

TRYING TO LIGHTEN THE SHIP TO MAKE IT GO A LITTLE FASTER.

THEN THEY EMPLOY A TACTIC WHERE THEY START TO UNLOAD

SOME OF THEIR MORE IMPORTANT CARGO,

THE HUMAN CARGO.

THE HOPE IS THAT THE CONSTELLATION,

GIVEN THAT ITS MISSION IS TO SAVE THOSE PEOPLE,

WILL STOP TO RESCUE PEOPLE OUT OF THE WATER.

Narrator: FACED WITH A HORRENDOUS DECISION,

THE CONSTELLATION PURSUES THE SLAVE SHIP.

IT FIRES SHOTS THROUGH ITS RIGGING TO FORCE A SURRENDER.

THE SHIP IS IDENTIFIED AS AN AMERICAN VESSEL NAMED THE CORA.

A BOARDING PARTY FROM THE CONSTELLATION IS SENT ACROSS.

Auer: THEY GO DOWN BELOW, AND YOU OPEN THE HATCH,

AND YOU'RE IMMEDIATELY HIT

WITH THE STENCH AND THE MISERY OF HUMAN SQUALOR,

AND THEY FIND THE CARGO OF 705 CAPTIVE AFRICANS ON BOARD.

[RIGGING CREAKING]

Narrator: CREW MEMBERS OF THE CONSTELLATION

WERE HORRIFIED BY WHAT THEY SAW.

ONE MAN WROTE:

THE CAPTAIN AND CREW OF THE CORA WERE ARRESTED,

TRANSFERRED TO THE CONSTELLATION,

AND TAKEN BACK TO THE UNITED STATES TO BE TRIED,

BUT JUSTICE WAS NOT DONE.

Auer: ALL OF THEM ARE ACQUITTED.

NO CONSEQUENCES ARE EVER, AS FAR AS WE KNOW, GIVEN TO THAT CREW.

THEY ALL GOT OFF.

Narrator: NO LONGER DESTINED FOR A LIFE OF SLAVERY,

705 AFRICANS WERE TAKEN TO THE U. S. PROTECTORATE OF LIBERIA

AND WERE SET FREE.

♪

CONSTELLATION'S SLAVE RESCUE EARNED HER A MOMENT OF GLORY,

AND WITHIN A FEW YEARS,

THE BARBARIC TRADE OF THE SLAVE SHIPS ENDED.

BUT THE ROLE OF RESCUE SHIPS BECAME INCREASINGLY VITAL.

THE IDEA WAS NOTHING NEW.

HMS VICTORY'S GUN DECKS

HAD BEEN USED TO CARE FOR THE SICK AND WOUNDED.

BUT AS BATTLES BECAME BLOODIER

AND WEAPONS EVEN MORE TERRIFYING,

THERE WAS A NEED FOR DEDICATED VESSELS TO RESCUE,

CARE FOR, AND TRANSPORT THE INJURED.

THE 20th CENTURY WAS THE AGE OF THE HOSPITAL SHIP.

[ARTILLERY FIRE]

WITH THOUSANDS OF TROOPS FIGHTING ON THE WESTERN FRONT

DURING THE FIRST WORLD WAR,

IT WAS THE BRITISH WHO DEVELOPED A NEW CATEGORY OF COMBAT SHIP.

THE WOUNDED WOULD BE RUSHED AWAY FROM THE TRENCHES

BY LIGHT RAILWAY,

THEN BY AMBULANCE TRAIN,

AND FINALLY, FERRIED ACROSS THE ENGLISH CHANNEL

ABOARD DEDICATED HOSPITAL SHIPS.

Emily Mayhew: WE'RE CROSSING HERE TO SOUTHAMPTON,

AND OF COURSE THIS WAS THE BUSIEST ROUTE FOR HOSPITAL SHIPS

FROM THE WESTERN FRONT.

IT WASN'T A PARTICULARLY LONG JOURNEY,

BUT IT COULD BE ROUGH, AND IT COULD BE DANGEROUS.

WE KNOW THAT 1.2 MILLION PATIENTS

WERE RECEIVED AT SOUTHAMPTON.

THAT'S 1.2 MILLION PATIENTS

IN WARDS THAT NEEDED TO BE KEPT CLEAN,

THAT NEEDED TO BE OFFLOADED

AS EASILY AND AS PAINLESSLY AS POSSIBLE

AND THEN SENT ON TO THE RIGHT HOSPITALS.

Narrator: THE BRITISH PUBLIC,

WEARY FROM DEFEATS ON THE WESTERN FRONT,

PREFERRED TO HEAR ABOUT THOSE WHO HAD SAVED SOLDIERS

AND BROUGHT THEM HOME SAFELY.

IN 1917, KING GEORGE V PAID TRIBUTE TO THE MEDICAL STAFF

ON THE FORMER P&O LINER PLASSIG.

Mayhew: LIKE ALL THE MEDICAL INSTITUTIONS IN FRANCE

AND COMING BACK TO BRITAIN,

NONE OF IT COULD HAVE BEEN DONE

WITHOUT HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF NURSES

WHO VOLUNTEERED TO GO OUT AND SERVE.

NURSES PREPARED REALLY WELL

AND PARTICULARLY NURSES WHO WERE GONNA BE ON HOSPITAL SHIPS.

THEY TOOK EXTENSIVE LIFESAVING COURSES,

AND MOST OF THEM LEARNED HOW TO ROW,

PARTICULARLY ROW A VERY LARGE, HEAVY BOAT

THAT WOULD BE FULL OF THEIR PATIENTS.

Narrator: IN THEORY, THE NURSES AND THEIR PATIENTS

WERE PROTECTED BY INTERNATIONAL LAW.

THE GENEVA CONVENTION STIPULATED

THAT HOSPITAL SHIPS WOULD BE IMMUNE FROM ATTACK

IF THEY FOLLOWED CERTAIN RULES.

Andrew Gordon: ONE WAS THAT THEY SHOULD NOT

BE CARRYING MUNITIONS.

THEY SHOULD NOT BE OBSTRUCTING THE ACTIONS OF AN ENEMY AT ALL,

AND THEY SHOULD BE CLEARLY MARKED,

AND THE CLEAR MARKING INVOLVED BEING PAINTED WHITE,

HAVING A BROAD GREEN STRIPE ALONG THE HULL

AND HAVING CLEAR RED CROSSES MARKED ON THEM

AND BEING LIT AT NIGHT.

AND IF HOSPITAL SHIPS CONFORMED TO THOSE RULES,

THEY WERE MEANT TO BE IMMUNE FROM ATTACK.

Narrator: BUT GERMAN U‐BOAT CAPTAINS HAD OTHER IDEAS.

Gordon: ABOUT 24 HOSPITAL SHIPS

WERE SUNK IN THE FIRST WORLD WAR.

QUITE A LOT OF THEM WERE SUNK BY HITTING MINES,

WHICH ISN'T PROOF OF DELIBERATE TARGET SELECTION,

BUT ALSO QUITE A LOT OF THEM, ABOUT HALF, WERE TORPEDOED,

AND ONE CAN ONLY ASSUME IT TO BE DELIBERATE.

THE GERMANS GOT IT INTO THEIR HEADS

THAT THE BRITISH WERE USING HOSPITAL SHIPS

FOR WARLIKE PURPOSES.

THEY ALLEGED THE BRITISH WERE USING THEM AS TROOPSHIPS,

WHICH THEY WEREN'T,

AND SO THEY CONDUCTED A U‐BOAT CAMPAIGN.

Narrator: NURSES ON BOARD THE SHIPS

MAKING THE RUN ACROSS THE CHANNEL,

ADAPTED TO THE U‐BOAT THREAT.

Mayhew: IT WAS EASIER TO KEEP YOUR LIFE JACKET ON

ALL THE TIME,

SO ON TOP OF THEIR PROPER NURSES UNIFORM,

STARCHED NURSES UNIFORM‐‐

THE LONG SKIRT AND THE BOOTS AND THE APRON‐‐

THEY PUT A LIFE JACKET

AND PROBABLY A COAT BECAUSE IT WAS COLD.

THEY DID ALL THEIR NURSING, AND THEY DID IT IN LIFE JACKETS.

Narrator: ONE NURSE IN PARTICULAR

KNEW ALL ABOUT THE DANGERS AT SEA.

SHE'D SURVIVED THE MOST NOTORIOUS

OF ALL MARITIME DISASTERS.

NOW HISTORY WAS REPEATING ITSELF

ON THE LARGEST HOSPITAL SHIP OF THE GREAT WAR.

Actor as Violet Jessop: I TURNED AROUND

AND, TO MY HORROR, SAW BRITANNIC'S HUGE PROPELLERS

CHURNING AND MINCING EVERYTHING NEAR THEM.

MEN, BOATS, EVERYTHING WERE JUST ONE GHASTLY WHIRL.

Narrator: APRIL 15, 1912, IS A DATE

THAT STANDS ALONE IN MARITIME HISTORY.

JUST FIVE DAYS EARLIER,

THE MIGHTY RMS TITANIC HAD SET SAIL ON HER MAIDEN VOYAGE,

A VOYAGE SHE WOULD NEVER COMPLETE.

AT TITANIC'S SHIPYARD IN BELFAST,

CONSTRUCTION OF A NEW SHIP STOPPED ABRUPTLY.

THIS WAS TO BE TITANIC'S SISTER SHIP‐‐THE BRITANNIC.

♪

Philip Cauley: WHAT WE'RE ACTUALLY LOOKING DOWN AT

IS THE SLIPWAYS OF TITANIC AND BRITANNIC.

BRITANNIC WAS BUILT OVER ON THE LEFT‐HAND SIDE.

Narrator: BRITANNIC'S OWNERS, THE WHITE STAR LINE,

BELIEVED THEIR SHIP TO BE

"AS PERFECT A SPECIMEN OF MAN'S CREATIVE POWER

AS IT IS POSSIBLE TO CONCEIVE."

Cauley: THE HEIGHT OF THIS BUILDING IS THE SAME HEIGHT

AS BRITANNIC FROM KEEL TO BOAT DECK.

HOW DID BRITANNIC GET INTO BELFAST LOUGH?

THEY USED 23 TONS OF OIL, GREASE AND SOAP,

AND THEY SHOVED THEM IN.

EMPTY SHELLS WEIGHING OVER 23,000 TONS.

AS THE SHIPYARD WORKERS USED TO CALL IT,

"WE BUILD THEM UP AND SHOVE THEM OUT."

♪

Narrator: BUT FIVE MONTHS AFTER BRITANNIC'S LAUNCH,

THE FIRST WORLD WAR BROKE OUT.

THE LUXURY WORLD OF OCEAN LINERS WAS QUICKLY FORGOTTEN.

BRITANNIC WAS ABANDONED

AND LEFT UNFINISHED AT HARLAND AND WOLFF SHIPYARD.

BUT THEN, IN APRIL 1915,

THE ALLIES ATTACKED TURKEY'S GALLIPOLI PENINSULA.

THEY HOPED IT WOULD FORCE THE TURKS OUT OF THE WAR,

BUT THEY'D UNDERESTIMATED THE VAST AMOUNT OF MEN AND SUPPLIES

THAT WOULD BE NEEDED.

THE SOLUTION WAS TO CONVERT PREWAR OCEAN LINERS.

CUNARD'S MAURETANIA AND THE WHITE STAR LINE'S OLYMPIC

BECAME TROOPSHIPS.

BUT TO BRING THE CASUALTIES HOME,

THEY WOULD NEED A MASSIVE HOSPITAL SHIP.

ONE VESSEL SEEMED TO FIT THE BILL‐‐

THE HALF‐FINISHED BRITANNIC.

♪

Simon Mills: MUCH OF THE SHIP WAS COMPLETE.

THERE IS DOCUMENTED EVIDENCE OF A LOT OF NICE CABINS,

A LOT OF, UM, VERY, VERY PLUSH DINING ROOMS

ALL COMPLETED AND READY FOR SERVICE.

BECAUSE SOME OF THESE CABINS HADN'T BEEN PUT IN,

THERE WERE LARGE OPEN SPACES ON THE SHIP,

WHICH ODDLY ENOUGH,

MADE HER IDEAL AS A HOSPITAL SHIP

BECAUSE THEY GAVE HER MUCH LARGER WARDS,

MUCH EASIER TO OVERSEE.

Narrator: ON DECEMBER 22, 1915,

HIS MAJESTY'S HOSPITAL SHIP BRITANNIC, NOW PAINTED WHITE,

SAILED FROM LIVERPOOL.

IT WAS THE FIRST OF MANY TRIPS

TO RESCUE THE SICK AND WOUNDED OF THE GALLIPOLI CAMPAIGN.

THE NEW SHIP HAD TWICE AS MANY LIFEBOATS

AS THE ILL‐FATED TITANIC.

Mills: INTERNALLY THEY WERE QUITE DIFFERENT.

BRITANNIC HAD A DOUBLE SKIN

ALONGSIDE THE BOILER ROOMS AND THE ENGINE ROOM.

THEY HAD HIGHER AND STRONGER BULKHEADS.

THE WHOLE IDEA WAS THAT HAD BRITANNIC

HIT THE ICEBERG WHICH SANK THE TITANIC,

SHE WOULD HAVE SURVIVED THE DISASTER.

Narrator: ON NOVEMBER 21, 1916,

NINE MONTHS AFTER HER FIRST VOYAGE,

BRITANNIC WAS SAILING EASTWARD OFF THE COAST OF GREECE.

NEARLY 400 MEDICAL STAFF WERE ON BOARD.

BRITANNIC ENTERED THE KEA CHANNEL,

BUT THREE WEEKS EARLIER,

GERMAN U‐BOAT U‐73 HAD MADE THE SAME JOURNEY.

THE U‐BOAT'S COMMANDER, GUSTAV SIESS,

HAD LEFT BEHIND A TRAIL OF DEADLY MINES.

Mills: KAPITANLEUTNANT SIESS

HAD A VERY SORT OF WILY PLOY OF LAYING HIS MINES DEEP.

THAT WAY HE GOT A LARGER VESSEL.

HE DIDN'T GO FOR SMALL DESTROYERS

OR SMALL LITTLE FISHING BOATS.

HE WANTED TO GET A BIG SHIP.

THAT COULD HAVE BEEN A BATTLESHIP.

IT COULD HAVE BEEN A TROOPER.

IT COULD HAVE BEEN A HOSPITAL SHIP.

HE GOT A HOSPITAL SHIP.

Narrator: NOVEMBER 21st WAS A TYPICAL SUNDAY MORNING

ON BOARD THE BRITANNIC.

Mills: UP IN THE LOUNGE,

THE MEDICAL STAFF ARE SITTING DOWN, HAVING THEIR BREAKFAST.

DOWN BELOW, THE FIREMEN AND THE STOKERS, THE TRIMMERS,

THEY WERE ALL CHANGING THEIR POSTS.

EVERYTHING WAS COMPLETELY AND UTTERLY NORMAL.

THEN SUDDENLY, 12 MINUTES PAST 8:00,

A HUGE BANG ON THE STARBOARD SIDE,

FOLLOWED BY A VIOLENT SHUDDER.

Narrator: ON BOARD WAS A 28‐YEAR‐OLD NURSE

NAMED VIOLET JESSOP.

FOR HER, THE SCENARIO WAS PAINFULLY FAMILIAR.

FOUR YEARS EARLIER, SHE HAD BEEN A STEWARDESS ON THE TITANIC

WHEN IT STRUCK THE INFAMOUS ICEBERG.

Jessop: AS ONE MAN, THE WHOLE SALOON ROSE FROM THEIR SEATS.

DOCTORS AND NURSES VANISHED TO THEIR POSTS IN A TRICE.

THE PANTRY, WHERE I STOOD,

HOLDING A TEAPOT IN ONE HAND

AND A PAT OF BUTTER IN THE OTHER,

WAS CLEARED, TOO, AS MEN DROPPED WHAT THEY WERE DOING.

IN SECONDS, NOT A SOUL WAS TO BE SEEN.

Mills: DOWN BELOW IN THE BOILER ROOMS,

PARTICULARLY FIVE AND SIX, WHERE THE WATER WAS RUSHING IN,

THE STOKERS AND THE TRIMMERS

WERE FIGHTING FOR THEIR LIVES ALREADY,

TRYING TO GET UP THE STAIRWAYS

BEFORE THEY WERE COMPLETELY OVERWHELMED BY THE WATER.

Narrator: THE MINE RIPPED INTO TWO WATERTIGHT COMPARTMENTS.

THE BRITANNIC SHOULD HAVE CONTAINED IT,

BUT SOME OF THE WATERTIGHT DOORS FAILED.

SEAWATER WAS NOW FLOODING THROUGH THE SHIP.

THE BRITANNIC WAS SINKING FASTER THAN THE TITANIC.

NURSES, MEDICS, AND CREW ALIKE SCRAMBLED INTO THE LIFEBOATS.

BUT AS VIOLET JESSOP'S BOAT REACHED THE SEA,

HER COMPANIONS ALMOST IMMEDIATELY JUMPED OVERBOARD.

SHE SOON FOUND OUT WHY.

Jessop: I TURNED AROUND TO SEE THE REASON FOR THIS EXODUS,

AND, TO MY HORROR, SAW BRITANNIC'S HUGE PROPELLERS

CHURNING AND MINCING EVERYTHING NEAR THEM.

MEN, BOATS, EVERYTHING WERE JUST ONE GHASTLY WHIRL.

Mills: AS THE LIFEBOAT HIT THE WATER,

IT COULDN'T GET AWAY

FROM THE SIDE OF THE SHIP MOVING THROUGH THE WATER.

IT BUMPED ALONG THE SIDE OF THE SHIP,

PRACTICALLY TWO‐THIRDS OF THE LENGTH OF THE SHIP

AND WAS DRAGGED INTO THIS HUGE TURNING PROPELLER,

23‐FOOT DIAMETER.

Jessop: IN ANOTHER MOMENT,

I WOULD BE UNDER THOSE GLITTERING,

RELENTLESS BLADES, UNLESS...

I LOOKED AT THE EQUALLY INEXORABLE SEA,

AND, FOR A FRACTION OF A SECOND, HESITATED,

FOR I HAVE ALWAYS BEEN AFRAID OF WATER.

Mills: SHE JUMPED. SHE DIDN'T MANAGE TO GET CLEAR.

SHE WAS PULLED DOWN BY THE FORCE OF THE PROPELLER.

Jessop: I FELT MYSELF RISING,

AND MY HEAD CAME INTO VIOLENT CONTACT WITH SOMETHING SOLID,

SOMETHING THAT PREVENTED ME FROM REACHING THE SURFACE.

THEN AGAIN, THERE WAS ANOTHER TERRIFIC CRASH ABOVE ME,

AND SOMETHING VERY SOLID STRUCK THE BACK OF MY HEAD,

A RESOUNDING BLOW,

BUT HAPPILY ON THAT PART WHERE MY PLENTIFUL HAIR WAS THICKEST.

Narrator: VIOLET FOUGHT HER WAY TO THE SURFACE

ONLY TO FACE A HORRIFIC SCENE.

30 PEOPLE HAD BEEN KILLED BY THE PROPELLERS.

JUST AFTER 9:00 A. M.,

THE BRITANNIC ROLLED ONTO ITS STARBOARD SIDE,

BEFORE PLUNGING BOW‐FIRST TO THE SEABED.

THE LARGEST SHIP LOST IN THE FIRST WORLD WAR

HAD SUNK IN JUST 55 MINUTES.

VIOLET AND THE OTHER SURVIVORS WERE RESCUED BY THE ROYAL NAVY.

THE WRECK OF BRITANNIC LIES 400 FEET DOWN,

AT THE BOTTOM OF THE KEA CHANNEL,

AND WHILE THE TITANIC CRUMBLES ON THE ATLANTIC SEABED,

HER SISTER SHIP IS STILL IN GOOD CONDITION.

Mills: IF YOU COMPARE THE WRECK OF THE TITANIC

WITH THE WRECK OF THE BRITANNIC,

THEY ARE JUST COMPLETELY AND UTTERLY DIFFERENT.

THE TITANIC IS IN TWO MAIN SECTIONS,

WITH THE WHOLE MIDDLE THIRD OF THE SHIP JUST GONE

IN FRAGMENTS ON THE SEABED.

BRITANNIC IS ALMOST COMPLETELY INTACT.

Narrator: THE MASSIVE PROPELLERS THAT CAUSED THE CARNAGE

ARE STILL IN PLACE.

EVEN THE CAPTAIN'S BATH, WITH ITS FOUR TAPS, IS VISIBLE.

Mills: I'VE BEEN WATCHING THAT WRECK NOW

FOR SOMETHING LIKE 20 YEARS.

I DON'T THINK IT'S CHANGED IN ALL THAT TIME.

SHE'S INCREDIBLY STABLE,

AND I THINK WILL BE AROUND FOR A GOOD WHILE YET.

♪

Narrator: DESPITE THE LOSS OF MANY HOSPITAL SHIPS

DURING THE FIRST WORLD WAR,

THESE VESSELS BECAME A VITAL PART OF THE EFFORT.

BY ITS END, THERE WERE 77 IN SERVICE.

BUT IN 1939, THE WORLD WAS AT WAR AGAIN.

Mayhew: I THINK IF YOU TOOK A CREW

FROM A FIRST WORLD WAR HOSPITAL SHIP

AND PUT THEM ON A SECOND WORLD WAR HOSPITAL SHIP,

THEY'D REALLY RECOGNIZE EVERYTHING

THAT THEY FOUND THERE.

THEY'D BE JEALOUS OF THE SPEED.

BUT THE SPACES ARE THE SAME.

AND WHAT BOTH OF THEM WOULD RECOGNIZE

IS THIS UNSEEN THREAT FROM SUBMARINES.

LIVING WITH THAT FEAR

IS SOMETHING THAT ONLY HOSPITAL SHIP CREWS REALLY UNDERSTOOD.

HOW YOU DID THAT DAY AFTER DAY AND VOYAGE AFTER VOYAGE

IS SOMETHING THAT WE MUST NEVER UNDERESTIMATE.

IT'S A TRULY REMARKABLE PART OF THEIR SERVICE.

Narrator: IN 1945, LOIS LANGHANS WAS JUST 21

WHEN SHE SERVED AS A NURSE ON AN AMERICAN HOSPITAL SHIP.

SHE AND HER COLLEAGUES ROUNDED UP INJURED SOLDIERS

FROM THE PORTS OF CHERBOURG AND LIVERPOOL

AND ATTENDED TO THEM

WHILE CROSSING THE ATLANTIC TO THE UNITED STATES.

Lois Langhans: IT WAS TOWARD THE END OF THE WAR,

SO THEY WERE ALL THROUGH GOING BACK INTO BATTLE,

AND WHEN THEY FINALLY GOT ON BOARD A HOSPITAL SHIP,

IT WAS LIKE A REAL... [EXHALES]

TAKE A BIG BREATH.

I'M OFF THE LAND. I'M HEADED HOME.

Narrator: 20 YEARS AFTER THE FIRST WORLD WAR,

THERE WAS NOW GREATER AWARENESS OF INJURIES,

BOTH SEEN AND UNSEEN.

Langhans: FOR US NURSES,

PART OF IT WAS TRYING TO UNDERSTAND

SOME OF THE BOYS DIDN'T WANT TO TALK ABOUT ANYTHING.

SOME WANTED TO TALK AND GET IT OFF THEIR MIND,

AND OUR AIM WAS TO DO THE BEST WE COULD TO KEEP THEM MOBILE,

INTERESTED IN GOING HOME,

AND NOT GOING BACK OVER ALL OF THE BAD EXPERIENCES.

IT REALLY MADE YOU FEEL LIKE

YOU NEEDED TO PAY ATTENTION TO THESE KIDS,

AND THEY NEEDED HELP.

IT WAS A TIME, A PERIOD IN MY LIFE, THAT'S VERY SPECIAL.

WHEN YOU'RE IN A WAR LIKE THAT,

EVERYBODY DOES WHAT THEY HAVE TO DO.

YOU DON'T SIT HOME AND WONDER. YOU DO IT.

I WAS FORTUNATE IN BRINGING THE BOYS TO A SAFER PLACE.

Narrator: ALONG WITH THE COUNTLESS ACTS

OF BARBARISM AND INHUMANITY DURING WORLD WAR II,

THERE WERE FEATS OF BRAVERY AND HEROISM.

ONE IS KNOWN AS THE MIRACLE OF DUNKIRK.

IT INVOLVED THE MASS EVACUATION OF BRITISH AND FRENCH TROOPS

WHILE UNDER ATTACK FROM THE GERMANS IN 1940.

BY CONTRAST, A FEW WEEKS LATER,

ANOTHER EVACUATION TOOK PLACE OFF THE FRENCH COAST.

AND THOUGH IT'S RARELY DISCUSSED,

IT LED TO THE GREATEST MARITIME LOSS OF LIFE

THE WORLD HAD EVER KNOWN.

♪

AFTER DUNKIRK, 150,000 BRITISH TROOPS AND CIVILIANS

WERE STILL TRAPPED IN FRANCE.

THEY WERE TOLD TO MAKE THEIR WAY TO A STRING OF PORTS

FROM CHERBOURG IN THE NORTH, TO ST. JEAN DE LUZ IN THE SOUTH.

MEANWHILE, THE BRITISH ASSEMBLED ANOTHER ARMADA OF RESCUE SHIPS,

CODE‐NAMED OPERATION AERIAL.

AMONG THOSE STRANDED WAS

26‐YEAR‐OLD ROYAL ENGINEER WALTER HIRST.

HIS UNIT HAD BEEN BUILDING AN AIRFIELD NEAR NANTES.

Mark Hirst: MY GRANDFATHER VOLUNTEERED

BECAUSE HE WANTED TO GO BACK TO FRANCE

TO FINISH THE JOB THAT HIS FATHER HAD BEGUN

IN WORLD WAR I.

AND ALL OF A SUDDEN,

HE'S NOW BEING BASICALLY CHASED OUT OF FRANCE.

IN JUNE, THEY STARTED TO REALIZE THERE WAS SOMETHING GOING ON.

THE RAF GROUND CREW SUDDENLY DISAPPEARED.

THEY, THEY'D LEFT BY TRUCKS.

THERE WAS NO COMMUNICATION

BETWEEN THE DIFFERENT ELEMENTS OF THE BRITISH FORCES,

AND IT WAS A REAL SHOCK.

Narrator: WALTER AND THOUSANDS OF OTHER TROOPS

MADE THEIR WAY BY TRUCK TO THE PORT OF SAINT NAZAIRE.

THEY ARRIVED ON JUNE 16, 1940.

Hirst: WHEN THE COMPANY, MY GRANDFATHER'S COMPANY,

ARRIVED IN SAINT NAZAIRE, THEY DISCOVERED

THAT THERE WAS TENS OF THOUSANDS OF TROOPS

WAITING FOR EMBARKATION,

SO THEY WAITED OVERNIGHT IN GANGWAYS.

THERE WASN'T ANY ACCOMMODATION, THEY JUST SLEPT ROUGH,

AND THERE WAS A VERY HEAVY AIR RAID

THAT NIGHT BY THE GERMANS,

AND THAT WAS THEIR FIRST SENSE OF PANIC,

FIRST SENSE THAT THERE WAS SOMETHING GOING WRONG

WITH THE ENTIRE OPERATION.

Narrator: ABOUT 30 RESCUE SHIPS WAITED OFFSHORE.

ONE OF THEM WAS A FORMER LUXURY LINER

WHICH HAD BEEN CONVERTED INTO A TROOPSHIP‐‐

THE HMT LANCASTRIA.

♪

Hirst: THE LANCASTRIA WAS A CUNARD SHIP,

AND HER MAIN TRADE WAS WITH AMERICAN TOURISTS.

INITIALLY, THE LANCASTRIA WAS NAMED THE TYRRHENIA,

BUT IN 1924, THE COMPANY DECIDED TO CHANGE THE NAME

BECAUSE THE AMERICAN PASSENGERS

HAD DIFFICULTY PRONOUNCING THE NAME TYRRHENIA.

AND IT'S ALWAYS SAID BY MARINERS

THAT CHANGING THE NAME OF A SHIP BRINGS BAD LUCK,

AND SO IT WAS TO PROVE FOR, FOR THE LANCASTRIA.

Gordon: LANCASTRIA WAS REALLY ORDERED BY THE ADMIRALTY

TO EVACUATE FROM SAINT NAZAIRE

AS MANY BRITISH PEOPLE AS SHE COULD,

WITHOUT REGARD TO HER FORMAL PASSENGER‐CARRYING CAPACITY.

Narrator: THE GERMAN ARMY WAS TOO FAR AWAY TO ATTACK BY LAND.

INSTEAD, THE STRIKE ON SAINT NAZAIRE

CAME FROM THE SKIES.

ON THE MORNING OF JUNE 17th,

HUNDREDS OF SOLDIERS AND CIVILIANS BROKE THEIR COVER

AND BOARDED THE SMALL BOATS

THAT FERRIED THEM TO THE RESCUE SHIPS.

WALTER HIRST AND HIS UNIT WERE TAKEN TO THE MIGHTY LANCASTRIA,

COMMANDED BY CAPTAIN RUDOLPH SHARP.

Hirst: AND WHEN SHE ARRIVED, THE FRENCH PILOT CAME OUT

AND ADDRESSED THE CAPTAIN, CAPTAIN SHARP,

AND SAID, "DO YOU REALIZE, SIR,

YOU'RE PUTTING YOUR NECK IN THE NOOSE BY BEING HERE?"

BUT THEY HAD NO OTHER ALTERNATIVE.

Narrator: WALTER HIRST WAS SHOCKED

BY THE MOB ALREADY ON BOARD THE LINER.

Hirst: MY GRANDFATHER'S BEST FRIEND

HAPPENED TO SEE THE CHIEF PURSER, AND HE STOPPED HIM.

HE SAID, "YOU'RE LOOKING REALLY WORRIED,"

AND HE SAYS, "WELL, YOU WOULD BE REALLY WORRIED

WITH UPWARDS OF 6,000, PROBABLY 7 OR 8,000 ABOARD,

AND WE DON'T HAVE ENOUGH LIFESAVING EQUIPMENT FOR THEM

IF SOMETHING GOES WRONG.

Narrator: THE EXHAUSTED TROOPS MADE THEMSELVES AT HOME.

THEY ATE BREAKFAST SERVED BY WHITE‐JACKETED STEWARDS

IN THE LANCASTRIA'S DINING SALOON.

THERE WAS A CHANCE TO TAKE A BATH OR A NAP

IN ONE OF THE CABINS.

800 RAF MEN WERE LED DOWN INTO A LARGE HOLD,

WHERE MATTRESSES HAD BEEN LAID OUT FOR THEM.

[AIRPLANE APPROACHING]

BUT THE QUIET WAS SOON INTERRUPTED.

[ROARING]

Hirst: THE KLAXONS ON THE LANCASTRIA SOUNDED.

GERMAN AIRCRAFT BEGAN AN ATTACK

AND INITIALLY CONCENTRATED THEIR ATTACK

ON THE SS ORONSAY, WHICH WAS LYING

ROUGHLY A MILE FROM THE LANCASTRIA'S POSITION.

Narrator: THE ORONSAY'S BRIDGE TOOK A DIRECT HIT.

SEVERAL MEN WERE KILLED, BUT SHE REMAINED AFLOAT.

BUT THE GERMAN PLANES WEREN'T FINISHED.

Hirst: THE SIRENS ON THE LANCASTRIA SOUNDED AGAIN,

SIGNALING A SECOND ATTACK, AND QUICKLY AFTER THAT,

A GERMAN BOMBER, A JUNKERS 88, APPEARED LOW,

AND HEADING FROM BOW TO STERN ACROSS THE LANCASTRIA

AND DROPPED FOUR 500‐KILOGRAM BOMBS,

WHICH STRUCK THE SHIP IN RAPID SUCCESSION.

[EXPLOSIONS]

Narrator: THE 800 RAF MEN IN THE HOLD WERE KILLED INSTANTLY.

THE LANCASTRIA STARTED TO SHUDDER,

MAKING A NOISE THAT SOUNDED TO CAPTAIN SHARP

"LIKE A WOUNDED ANIMAL."

Gordon: IT WOULD HAVE BEEN AN INDESCRIBABLE HORROR

BEING INSIDE THAT SHIP.

THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN FIRES. THERE WOULD BE SMOKE.

VERY FEW PEOPLE WOULD HAVE KNOWN THE WAY OUT.

IT REALLY DOESN'T BEAR THINKING ABOUT

THE SHEER PANIC AND CHAOS

OF WHAT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED INSIDE THAT SHIP.

Hirst: ONE OF THE SURVIVORS WHO I SPOKE TO

SAID THAT WHEN HE WAS IN THE WATER,

HE COULD SEE MEN DESPERATELY, WHO WERE TRAPPED BELOW DECKS,

DESPERATELY TRYING TO GET OUT THROUGH THE PORTHOLE WINDOWS,

AND HE SAID IT WAS JUST,

YOU COULD SEE TWO OR THREE MEN IN FRONT OF EACH OTHER,

AND THEN BEHIND THEM, FIRE,

AND THAT IMAGE STAYED WITH HIM, AND THEY WEREN'T GETTING OUT.

THESE MEN WERE TRAPPED. THEY WERE GOING TO THE BOTTOM.

Narrator: AS THE LANCASTRIA BEGAN TO CAPSIZE,

MEN, WOMEN, AND CHILDREN SCRAMBLED ONTO THE ROLLING HULL.

SOME BEGAN SINGING "ROLL OUT THE BARREL"

AND "THERE'LL ALWAYS BE AN ENGLAND."

BUT THEIR SONGS WERE SOON DROWNED OUT

AS THE PLANES RETURNED.

Hirst: NOT CONTENT WITH SINKING

WHAT WAS OBVIOUSLY A VERY LARGE BRITISH TROOPSHIP,

THE LUFTWAFFE CAME BACK

AND BEGAN STRAFING THE MEN IN THE WATER

AND ALSO TRYING TO DROP INCENDIARY FLARES

TO LIGHT THE OIL WHICH WAS ESCAPING FROM THE LANCASTRIA,

AND IT WAS A KIND OF MACABRE SPECTACLE,

THESE MEN SINKING,

AND ALL THE TIME THE GERMANS WERE CONTINUING THE ATTACK.

ALL AROUND THERE WAS MEN STRUGGLING, DROWNING.

Narrator: BY THAT POINT,

WALTER HIRST WAS IN THE WATER, TOO.

HE WAS APPROACHED BY ANOTHER MAN IN A STATE OF TOTAL PANIC.

Hirst: PERHAPS HE THOUGHT MY GRANDDAD WAS DEAD

BECAUSE HE WAS TRYING TO STAY AS STILL AS POSSIBLE.

HE WAS COVERED IN OIL,

AND HE WAS TRYING TO WRESTLE THE LIFE JACKET FROM HIM,

AND A BATTLE BROKE OUT BETWEEN THE TWO OF THEM,

AND EVENTUALLY THE MADMAN‐‐ 'CAUSE THAT'S ALL HE COULD,

HE WAS OUT OF HIS MIND, AS YOU WOULD BE‐‐

DISAPPEARED BELOW MY GRANDFATHER,

AND I THINK THAT AFFECTED HIM DEEPLY.

Narrator: THE LANCASTRIA SANK IN JUST 20 MINUTES.

DUE TO THE CHAOS OF THE EVACUATION,

THE TRUE DEATH TOLL HAS NEVER BEEN CONFIRMED,

BUT AT LEAST 3,000 LOST THEIR LIVES.

IT MAY HAVE BEEN ALMOST TWICE AS MANY.

BUT ALMOST TWO AND A HALF THOUSAND DID SURVIVE.

WALTER HIRST WAS PICKED UP BY A FRENCH FISHING BOAT

AND WAS EVENTUALLY RETURNED TO PLYMOUTH

FOR A TRAUMATIC HOMECOMING.

Hirst: AND AS THEY WALKED OFF THE GANGPLANK,

THERE WAS A ROYAL MARINES BAND PLAYING

TO WELCOME THE MEN BACK,

AND THEY WERE PLAYING "ROLL OUT THE BARREL,"

AND FOR MY GRANDDAD, FOR MANY OF THE OTHER SURVIVORS,

THEY COULDN'T STAND,

THEY COULDN'T TOLERATE THAT SONG AFTER IT

BECAUSE THEY ASSOCIATED IT WITH,

WITH THIS HORROR ABOARD THE LANCASTRIA.

♪

Narrator: THE LINER THAT STARTED AS A VESSEL

FOR RICH AMERICAN VACATIONERS

ENDED WITH A HEART‐BREAKING RECORD‐‐

THE LARGEST SINGLE LOSS OF LIFE IN BRITISH MARITIME HISTORY.

BACK HOME, PRIME MINISTER WINSTON CHURCHILL

TURNED TO DAMAGE CONTROL.

HE KNEW NEWS OF THE DISASTER

WOULD HAVE A DEVASTATING EFFECT ON THE BRITISH PUBLIC.

WALTER HIRST AND HIS FELLOW SURVIVORS

WERE FORBIDDEN TO SPEAK OF IT.

Gordon: THE COUNTRY WAS ON A KIND OF STRANGE SORT OF HIGH

AFTER DUNKIRK,

AFTER WE'D GOT THE MAIN BRITISH ARMY BACK,

AND IT WAS FELT THAT THIS TERRIBLE TRAGEDY

WOULD HAVE SUCH AN EFFECT ON NATIONAL MORALE

THAT IT NEEDED TO BE KEPT SECRET, AND SO IT WAS.

Narrator: THE SINKING OF THE RESCUE SHIP LANCASTRIA

IS STILL RARELY DISCUSSED IN BRITAIN.

BUT IN SAINT NAZAIRE, THERE IS A SIMPLE BEACHFRONT MEMORIAL.

Hirst: FOR THE SURVIVORS, ONE OF THE HARDEST ASPECTS

WAS EVERYONE TALKS ABOUT THE TITANIC,

EVERYONE TALKS ABOUT THE LUSITANIA,

YET THE LANCASTRIA CLAIMED MORE LIVES

THAN THOSE TWO DISASTERS COMBINED.

AND THAT'S, THAT'S HURTFUL.

I MEAN, THEY FELT THAT THE SACRIFICE

THAT THEIR COLLEAGUES HAD MADE WAS NOT ACKNOWLEDGED,

IT WAS FORGOTTEN,

AND IT WAS ALMOST LIKE AN EMBARRASSMENT TO THEM.

Narrator: 1940 WAS A TUMULTUOUS YEAR IN EUROPE.

IN JUST THREE MONTHS, THE GERMAN ARMY

SWEPT THROUGH HOLLAND, BELGIUM, LUXEMBOURG, AND FRANCE.

ON APRIL 9th, HITLER TARGETED DENMARK.

THE COUNTRY SURRENDERED IN JUST SIX HOURS.

AND ALTHOUGH RESISTING THE GERMAN ARMY WAS FUTILE,

DENMARK STOOD FIRM AGAINST ONE OF HITLER'S KEY OPERATIONS.

Howard Veisz: THEY INSISTED,

WE'RE GONNA KEEP YOUR RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION OUT.

WE'RE NOT GONNA HAVE YOUR WAR AGAINST THE JEWS

ENTER DANISH SOIL.

Narrator: THE COUNTRY WAS OPERATING

AS A GERMAN PROTECTORATE,

BUT IT WAS STILL ABLE TO DEFEND AND PROTECT

ITS 8,000 JEWISH CITIZENS.

Veisz: AND SO FOR A PERIOD OF YEARS,

THEY'RE ABLE TO KEEP THEIR JEWISH POPULATION SAFE

WHILE JEWS IN EVERY OTHER OCCUPIED COUNTRY

WERE BEING ROUNDED UP.

Narrator: BUT AT THE END OF SEPTEMBER 1943,

WORD GOT OUT THAT A MASS DEPORTATION OF JEWS

WOULD OCCUR IN JUST THREE DAYS.

THE RESPONSE WAS REMARKABLE.

THE DANISH PEOPLE SPRANG INTO ACTION.

Veisz: WITHIN THAT 72‐HOUR PERIOD,

PRETTY MUCH THE ENTIRE JEWISH POPULATION OF DENMARK

WAS NOT JUST WARNED, BUT SHELTERED,

GIVEN TEMPORARY HIDING.

Narrator: HITLER WAS FURIOUS.

HE SENT ADOLF EICHMANN,

CHIEF ORGANIZER OF THE HOLOCAUST,

TO HUNT DOWN DENMARK'S JEWS AND END THE NAZI HUMILIATION.

IN A COUNTRY AS SMALL AND AS ISOLATED AS DENMARK,

IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN EASY,

BUT THERE WAS ONE PLACE

WHERE DENMARK'S JEWS MIGHT BE ABLE TO FIND A SAFE HAVEN‐‐

NEUTRAL SWEDEN.

Veisz: IT WAS THE ONLY UNOCCUPIED LAND

WITHIN ABOUT 400 OR SO MILES,

AND IT WAS SO TANTALIZINGLY CLOSE, YOU COULD SEE IT.

Narrator: BUT THE ONLY WAY TO REACH SWEDEN WAS BY BOAT.

ONCE AGAIN, THE DANISH PEOPLE RESPONDED.

Veisz: WITHIN A MATTER OF A DAY OR TWO,

A RESCUE FLEET BEGAN TO TAKE FORM,

AND ULTIMATELY ABOUT 300 BOATS PARTICIPATED.

Narrator: THE FIRST ATTEMPTS TO SMUGGLE JEWS OUT OF DENMARK

WERE A DISASTER.

BOATS WERE INTERCEPTED BY THE GESTAPO.

THEIR PASSENGERS AND CREW WERE IMPRISONED.

BUT ONE YOUNG WOMAN BELIEVED SHE COULD MAKE A DIFFERENCE.

IN 1943, HENNY SINDING WAS JUST 19.

THERE ARE NO KNOWN PHOTOS OF HER.

BUT IN JUST A FEW MONTHS,

SHE HELPED DOZENS AND DOZENS OF DANISH JEWS ESCAPE.

BASED IN COPENHAGEN, SHE TURNED HER FATHER'S SMALL WORK BOAT

INTO THE MOST UNLIKELY RESCUE SHIP OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR.

ITS UNASSUMING NAME WAS GERDA III.

♪

HENNY SINDING'S FATHER USED GERDA III

TO CARRY SUPPLIES TO A LIGHTHOUSE,

BUT FOR THREE YEARS, SHE'D ALSO BEEN USED

TO SMUGGLE RESISTANCE FIGHTERS IN AND OUT OF DENMARK.

Veisz: HENNY COULD NOT ABIDE THE NOTION

THAT THE NAZIS WOULD INTERFERE WITH PEOPLE

SHE CONSIDERED SIMPLY FELLOW DANES,

WHICH IS HOW THE COUNTRY REGARDED THE JEWISH POPULATION.

AN ATTACK ON THEM WAS AN ATTACK ON THE DANES,

AND THEY FELT THEY NEEDED TO DO ANYTHING.

Narrator: HENNY'S SYSTEM WAS STRAIGHTFORWARD‐‐

USE GERDA III's REGULAR RUNS OUT TO THE LIGHTHOUSE

AS COVER FOR TRANSPORTING JEWS TO SWEDEN.

THE CHALLENGE WAS GETTING THE PEOPLE ON BOARD.

Veisz: HENNY WOULD START EACH DAY

BEING GIVEN A LIST OF NAMES OF PEOPLE TO MEET,

PLACES TO MEET THEM,

ALL OF WHICH HAD TO BE MEMORIZED.

YOU COULDN'T HAVE ANY OF THIS IN WRITING.

AND THEN AT 1:00 A. M. EACH DAY, BEFORE THE BOAT'S NEXT SAILING,

SHE WOULD GO TO THE SAFE HOUSES,

ESCORT PEOPLE ALONG THE STREET TO THE WAREHOUSE,

WHERE NAZI SENTRIES WOULD MARCH BACK AND FORTH

AND WAIT FOR GAPS IN THEIR CROSSINGS,

DURING WHICH THEY COULD RUN PEOPLE ONE AT A TIME,

ACROSS THE QUAY, ONTO GERDA, AND DOWN INTO THE CARGO HOLD.

YOU COULD THINK OF GERDA III

AS BASICALLY A LIFEBOAT FOR PERSONS HUNTED BY THE NAZIS.

Narrator: ABOUT 20 PEOPLE WOULD BE SQUEEZED IN WITH THE CARGO.

Veisz: A SMALL SPACE, AS YOU CAN SEE,

ABOUT 10 BY 12 FEET,

NEVER MORE THAN 4 1/2 FEET HIGH TO THESE, THESE BEAMS.

THE MOST THAT THEY EVER ATTEMPTED TO FIT IN

WAS ABOUT 15 PEOPLE,

AND YOU COULD ENVISION THEM PRETTY MUCH

AS FAR OUT AS THEY COULD GET,

PROBABLY PRESSED PRETTY MUCH AGAINST THE HULL PLANKS.

Narrator: BUT BEFORE GERDA III COULD LEAVE COPENHAGEN,

SHE HAD TO BE INSPECTED BY ARMED SOLDIERS.

IT WAS A TENSE MOMENT FOR THOSE HIDING BELOW.

Veisz: RIGHT ABOVE THIS FOR SOME PERIOD OF TIME,

YOU'D HAVE THOSE NAZI SENTRIES,

THEIR BOOTS HOW MANY INCHES ABOVE THE HEADS OF THE REFUGEES?

NOT MANY.

AND THEY'D BE CHATTING WITH THE CREW,

TALKING ABOUT THE WEATHER, EXCHANGING PLEASANTRIES.

♪

IT MUST HAVE BEEN A TREMENDOUS RELIEF

WHEN THE ENGINE WAS TURNED ON.

IF YOU'RE SITTING NEXT TO IT OR NEAR IT AS WE ARE NOW,

YOU'D HEAR KIND OF A POP, POP, POP, POP, POP,

ALMOST MORE LIKE A, A RAPID HEARTBEAT

THAN THE DRONE OF A DIESEL.

AND YOU CAN JUST IMAGINE HOW EVERY ONE OF THOSE POPS,

YOU KNOW, TO THEM WOULD BE,

JUST SIGNIFY ANOTHER FOOT OR TWO FEET PERHAPS

FURTHER FROM THE NAZIS,

CLOSER TO SALVATION ON THE SWEDISH SHORE.

Narrator: THE AUTUMN SEAS WERE OFTEN ROUGH.

CONDITIONS WERE STARK.

Veisz: IF YOU THINK OF THE PEOPLE

OVER THE COURSE OF THE WAR WHO WERE SITTING

IN, IN THIS SPACE OR ALONG THIS PLANK

OR THE PLANKS OVER THERE

BRACED AGAINST THE MOVEMENT OF THE BOAT,

AND HERE THEY WOULD BE IN THE, THE DARKNESS.

NO PORTS. NO OVERHEAD LIGHTS.

THIS WAS NEVER ENVISIONED

TO BE A PLACE WHERE PEOPLE WOULD TRAVEL.

Narrator: DESPITE GERMAN PATROLS AND HOSTILE WEATHER,

IT'S BELIEVED THAT IN THE LAST MONTHS OF 1943,

HENNY SINDING AND HER CREW CARRIED 300 JEWS TO SAFETY.

Veisz: AND THEY WERE INCREDIBLY BRAVE PEOPLE,

AND THEY HAD THIS, THIS GREAT MORAL COMPASS.

AND AS A WHOLE, IT WAS PHENOMENALLY SUCCESSFUL.

ABOUT 94 PERCENT OF DENMARK'S JEWISH POPULATION

WAS BROUGHT TO SAFETY,

BY LATEST BEST COUNT, 7,742 JEWS,

ANOTHER 686 LOVED ONES OF OTHER RELIGIONS.

THERE WAS JUST NO PARALLEL TO THAT

ANYWHERE ELSE IN THE OCCUPIED WORLD.

Narrator: TODAY, GERDA III RESIDES IN NEW YORK CITY,

OWNED BY THE NEW YORK MUSEUM OF JEWISH HERITAGE.

IT'S A TRIBUTE TO THE BRAVE MEN AND WOMEN

WHO HELPED SO MANY DANISH JEWS ESCAPE THE NAZI TERROR.

Veisz: THESE WERE HEROES SAVING LIVES,

TAKING A STAND AGAINST EVIL.

AND YOU LOOK AROUND HERE, AND, YOU KNOW,

YOU CAN FEEL THE PRESENCE OF THE REFUGEES

AND THE PEOPLE WHO WERE BEING RESCUED,

BUT AS YOU SIT HERE, AND YOU GO IN THE PILOT HOUSE,

AND YOU LOOK AROUND THE ENGINE ROOM,

THERE IS ALSO THE PRESENCE OF THE, THE FOUR‐MAN CREW,

OF HENNY SINDING.

UM, THESE ARE PEOPLE WHO SHOULD NEVER BE FORGOTTEN,

AND IT'S A, IT'S A GREAT HONOR TO PRESERVE THIS VESSEL,

TO PRESERVE THEIR STORIES.

♪

Narrator: OVER THE PAST 200 YEARS,

SHIPS HAVE RESCUED THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE.

NOT ALL MISSIONS WERE SUCCESSFUL,

BUT EACH HAS LEFT A LEGACY THAT INSPIRES FUTURE GENERATIONS

TO SIMILAR ACTS OF SELFLESS BRAVERY.