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A Tribute to the Swedish American Line | ||||||||
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A Tribute to the Swedish American Line | ||||||||
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Laurits V. Larsen
Exchange passenger on the Gripsholm in 1943
Robert N Johansen has contributed the following story about his cousin Laurits V. Larsen.
© Robert N. Johansen 2008
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Sometime during the 1930's Laurits V. Larsen traveled to Shanghai, China to manage a candy/ice cream factory for an American company, Henningsen Produce. After the Japanese captured Shanghai, my cousin, Laurits V. Larsen, was interned in Chapei Camp, a former Chinese university, in March of 1943. During Lars internment there were two Japanese Americans that had been conscripted to be interpreters. One interpreter had gone to school at Stanford University , Palo Alto, California , and the other had gone to school in Seattle, Washington . I got the impression that Lars and the interpreters got along. Lars told me of a time that he was summoned to see the officer in command of the camp, the interpreter told Lars, "don't say anything to me you don't want the officer to understand, because he understands English very well". Mr. Leck told me that the interpreters would sometimes take the belongings of the internees. In 1943 my cousin was part of an exchange program. September 19th, 1943, Lars boarded a Japanese ship, Teia Maru, in Shanghai and was taken to Goa, India where the exchange was made. When the exchange was made, he boarded the MS Gripsholm. The Japanese who transferred at Goa came from the United States and Goa. Lars told me the Japanese had suitcases loaded with consumer products. Lars said some Japanese brought refrigerators. (I'm not sure if the prior sentence is something I remembered Lars telling me, or if it's something I remembered reading in an excerpt of Mr. Greg Lecks book "Captives of the Empire"). Lars told me that the first day onboard the Gripsholm the chef fixed a gourmet meal. My cousin, who had been responsible for food at the internment camp , advised the fellow passengers to not eat very much because their stomachs couldn't handle the rich food. The next few days the ships doctor had the chef prepared light meals. The other thing that made an impression on me was that my cousin told me it took an inordinate amount of time to get to New York, because the ship had to go around South America to get to New York. Lars was on the Japanese ship Teia Maru from 19 September to 15 October 1943, and was on the MS Gripsholm beginning 22 October 1943 arriving in New York 1 December 1943. Thanks, Robert N. Johansen Note: Place names, and dates, came from Mr. Greg Leck, author of the book "Captives of Empire." Do you have a story to share about the exchange voyages? Email salship@yahoo.com |
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Regardless of which ship we sailed on or which year - the memories we share are the same!
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Recommended Books |
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Updated Sep 7, 2009 Waterline - Images from the Golden Age of Cruising John Graves
Örjan Slätte, ex Information Officer on the Gripsholm, recommends Waterline - Images from the Golden Age of Cruising by John Graves, published by the National Maritime Museum in London in 2004. It is based on photos by Marine Photo Service, which were acquired by the museum in 1996 The book features many photos from SAL cruises.
Please note that the book's edition at Amazon.co.uk may not have the Kungsholm on the cover. Örjan Slätte, Informationsofficer på Gripsholm, rekommenderar boken Waterline - Images from the Golden Ages of Cruising. Boken är utgiven år 2004 av National Maritime Museum i London som 1996 förvärvat Marine Photo Service (MPS) samlingar. Redan omslagsbilden föreställer Kungsholm 1953 med två vattenskidåkande ynglingar i fronten. MPS fanns i många rederier och där finns många mycket bra foton från SAL:s kryssningar. Våra fotografer var mycket yrkesskickliga med konstnärlig talang. Man kan förmoda att de tidvis kände för att fotografera annat än leende, välklädda pax med cocktailglas i hand. Fina miljöer från fartygens "omvärld". |
Updated July7, 2008 MERCY SHIPS
During World War 2 the Drottningholm and the Gripsholm were used as repatriation ships and made 33 voyages to exchange prisoners of war, diplomats, women and children, between the warfaring nations. David Miller has written a book about the exchange and repatriation voyages,with an emphasis on the British experience. It is loaded with facts about these voyages of mercy. Read more about all the exchange and repatriation sailings during WWII here. |
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M/S Kungsholms inredning Första M/S Kungsholm, Amerikalinjens stora passagerarfartyg, byggdes på 1920-talet. Det gick mellan Göteborg och New York. Arkitekten Carl Bergsten fick uppdraget att hålla i den påkostade inredningen som skulle visa för världen vad svenska konstnärer kunde åstadkomma. Under andra världskriget togs fartyget i beslag av amerikanarna för att användas i trupptransporten till Europa. Inredningen revs då ner och förstördes. Anne-Marie Ericsson har letat i arkiv och museer efter beskrivningar, ritningar och gamla fotografier för att försöka rekonstruera denna makalösa uppvisning i svensk inredningskonst. |
Amerikabåtarna Christer Winberg, professor i historia vid Göteborgs universitet, har skrivit en bok om SAL som bygger på bevarat samtida material från Svenska Amerika Linien på Landsarkivet och Sjöfartsmuseet i Göteborg. Det omfattar exempelvis reserapporter, minnesberättelser och personligt färgade reseskildringar. Författaren har också samlat in eget material genom intervjuer med f.d. anställda.
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Andrea Dorias undergång I Andrea Dorias undergång berättar Britt-Marie Mattsson den fascinerande berättelsen om kollisionen, den heroiska räddningsaktionen och det rättsliga efterspelet till den mycket uppmärksammade olyckan - sin tids Titanic. Mattssons far var vid tiden för olyckan informationschef vid Svenska Amerika Linien. Britt-Marie Mattsson har träffat flera av de överlevande och intervjuat dem för denna bok. Hon har bland annat talat med vittnen som ger information som kan kasta nytt ljus över vad som egentligen orsakade den fruktansvärda kollisionen. Boken är rikligt illustrerad i svartvitt. |
A book about the Kungsholm of 1953. |
Journalist Per Fält has recommended |
"Såna" på Amerikabåtarna SAL har skildrats i böcker, dokumentär-filmer, journalfilmer och tidningsartiklar. Oftast är det glamouren som uppmärk-sammats men en grupp har alltid saknats i beskrivningarna: homosexuella män. Såna på Amerikabåtarna är en välskriven, lättläst och underhållande studie av en värld som gått i glömska. | |
De Flytande Palatsen From the very inception of the line in 1915, the ships of the Line attracted much attention on both sidesof the Atlantic. Not only did they represent the bonds between the old country and the new, they also represented new concepts in service, decor, and furnishings as well as in art and handicraft. Published in 1987. This book can be found on Amazon.
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Huset Broström Huset Broström för tankarna till Forsythesagan och Onedinlinjen. Inget svenskt företag har upplevt så stor dramatik som just Broströms. Detta är den dramtiska berättelsen "inifrån Huset", om det som skedde i det som syntes ske. Utgiven 1980. | ||
Out of the Fog is an American edition of a Swedish book by Algot Mattsson, who was the information officer for SAL, the owner of Stockholm, the ship that collided with Andrea Doria in 1956. The book describes the collision from the perspectives of both ships as well as the heroic rescue of hundreds. Testimony given at the hearing is also included as is a legal opinion by the American editors, one of whom was directly involved with the case. |
Detta är en berättelse om den dramatiska färden över Atlanten, från de hårda och riskfyllda överfarten med små lastskutor i mitten av 1800-talet, till lyxresorna med Amerikalinjens sista skepp. Utgiven 1982 | ||
