 | 
| 
| 
|
|  | |||
A Tribute to the Swedish American Line | ||||||||
| . | ||||||||
| . | ||||||||
| . | ||||||||
Voyage of Mercy, page 2
by
©FLOYD RANDALL RIEBLING, RN & MA
NEW YORK TO NORTHERN IRELAND "My tour of duty was to be from 4 pm to midnight. On this hot day, I reluctantly left the afterdeck of the "Gripsholm" where, from her berth at the American Export lines in Jersey City, I had been surveying the opposite New York skyline. I went below to the section reserved for the "disturbed" passengers. It was 23 Aug 1944, and I was aboard the vessel in the capacity as a registered nurse [1]. The "Gripsholm" had been taking on passengers, since early morning, preparatory to sailing for Goteborg, Sweden, where she was to exchange over 1,000 German POWs detained in the United States and Canada by both of those countries and England. Approximately 20% of these exchange men were confined to the "disturbed" section. This space had been renovated from peace-time usage to compact and escape-proof quarters, which circumstances required. The "disturbed" passengers were no longer prisoners after they boarded this neutral vessel. They were resting, lolling in their bunks, showering, or participating in games which had been provided for their entertainment. A long rumbling of metal upon metal, soon followed by swaying motions of the deck beneath us, indicated that the voyage had begun. Little did I know of the adventure before me. The clatter of the ascending anchor and chain sent our patients to the port-holes where they clamored and took turns gazing at the passing sights of New York harbor and the skylines of New York City and Jersey City. They gazed at the Statue of Liberty, too, and all the while they were engaged in a subdued excited discussion in their native tongue. I became angry at myself for not having studied the German language in my school days. I soon overcame my remorse by questioning some of the patients and received an affirmative response to my, "Do you speak English?" One man told me that the Germans were amazed to see how quickly New York City had been rebuilt again. No amount of reassurances, on my part, would convince him that New York had not been bombed. He said the message had reached the Germans secretly in their prison camps here and in Canada when New York had been bombed and destroyed. I think now that this visual affirmation alone penetrated the hard capsules of their superior egos and proved to them what liars their own leaders were. The sumptuous meals served them, too, shattered their morale, and when they arrived home to their meager rations, nostalgia no doubt satiated their hunger on many occasions. On the long circuitous voyage, life became a rather routine affair. I spent my days sunning and exercising on deck. The morning's leisure was broken by a trip to the ships-store where personnel were able to purchase cigarettes, chocolate, soap, etc. at a reduced cost. These ordinary items were of great value for use in bartering with the Germans, and we made full use of them to obtain souvenirs [2]. Fraternizing with our enemy's soldiers was not permissible or desirable [it was wartime]. However, being in such close contact with these men, as our positions required, demanded a certain amount of formal rapport, and I was determined to discover the nature of the beast. I soon found that beneath their stoic exteriors there was a great loyalty to their homes, wives, sweethearts, and friends. An inquiry to one of these [German] men usually brought forth a wallet and a proud display of photos of happier days. There was a longing to return to their once peaceful pursuits as merchants, tradesmen, and farmers, but only in a victorious Germany. That point was conclusive. Several young Nazis expressed a determination to emigrate to South America where great things were to in store for the "Conquerors." German hospital corpsmen were assigned to short tours of duty, and they worked under our supervision. They carefully re-rolled and reused bandages when changing dressings - we learned the reason for this later. The mental cases had previously been classified at the institutions where they had been detained in this country, and we were constantly alert to homicidal and suicidal tendencies. Several attacks upon our men did occur, but the attackers were soon subdued by their saner countrymen. One exceptionally depressed case almost succeeded in suicide. He slashed his wrists with a razor-blade. How and where he obtained it was not determined. A medical corpsman [American], who had been a civilian chemist, told me of an incident which had taken place during his first hour aboard the vessel [in New York]. The corpsman, needing orders [for some job], went to an officer's stateroom, knocked and [innocently] entered. The officer was being entertained, and the absence of wearing apparel and decorum caused the corpsman to make a hasty retreat. It seems that several female ship employees were entertaining eager guests for a remuneration of ten dollars per visit. He rationalized his own lack of funds by lamenting dissolutely about the leadership qualities of his superior officers. In the early evening, musical therapy was an effective soporific. Several harmonicas, a banjo, and a guitar appeared, and small groups joined to sing songs of the homeland, and many of our own American songs were popular. I spent one evening helping a [German] lad translate "You Are My Sunshine" into German language. It was to be presented to his girl friend on his arrival home [in Germany]. << Previous page <
|
Back to Exchange and Repatriation Voyages During WW2
Back to the SAL News Page
More than 100 web pages developed and maintained by Lars Hemingstam ©1998-2010
Email us
Regardless of which ship we sailed on or which year - the memories we share are the same!
|
|
||
| . | ||||||||
| . | ||||||||
| . |
Recommended Books |
|||||||
|
|||||||
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. |
||||||
| Recommended Books | |||
|
|
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.
|
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.
|
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 | ||
