Speed, Elegance and Luxury : 351 



States to the effect that the EngUsh had themselves sunk the Athe- 

 nia by torpedo or by bomb in a dehberate attempt to arouse in 

 America a hostiUty to Hitler's Germany and to involve the United 

 States in war. 



It w^as not until the time of the War Guilt trials in Nuremberg 

 that the whole story was pieced together. At the trial of Grand 

 Admiral Raeder, Admiral Karl Doenitz testified that the Athenia 

 had in fact been sunk by the German submarine U-30 which was 

 then in command of First Lieutenant Lempe. It was claimed at the 

 time of the trial that this was not an official act and that Lieutenant 

 Lempe acted without authority in firing the torpedo. Testimony also 

 revealed that on her return to a German port the log and other rec- 

 ords of the U-30 had been altered and falsified in an endeavor to con- 

 ceal Nazi responsibility for the Athenia sinking. 



Wherever the ultimate responsibility rested, it seemed clear that 

 the doctrine of ruthless warfare and the individual action of "trigger 

 happy commanders" produced the same kind of sea atrocity in one 

 generation as in another. Furthermore, the disaster, though its cause 

 remained unproved, also produced some sharp reactions in the Amer- 

 ican people. 



Up to this time. Hitler's depredations on the continent seemed to 

 many Americans to be, from an American point of view, both re- 

 mote and incredible. The sinking of the Athenia both warned and 

 aroused them. It soon became apparent that the Athenia was only 

 the first of a long series of sinkings due to Nazi submarine activity 

 and that American lives and interests were in fact being lost and 

 destroyed in Hitler's drive for power. 



The Lusitania and the Athenia were victims of war but the 

 Titanic went down in an unparalleled period of peace and prosperity. 

 This was in April of 1912, when the Titanic was on her maiden voy- 

 age. She was not only the latest ship launched but also the largest, 

 running to 46,000 tons. She had already been hailed as the biggest 

 and safest vessel afloat, having been built with a double bottom and 

 with many watertight compartments. She was supposed to be 

 equipped with the very latest in devices for the detection and con- 

 trol of fire, leakage, etc., and also the latest navigation devices, radio, 

 communication, davits, lifeboats and other devices for the protection 

 of life at sea. 



Nonetheless, on the night of April 14, amid calm seas, still airs 

 and apparently good general visibility, obscured only be a light mist 

 near the water, she struck a low-lying iceberg. The blow was not 



