idw – Informationsdienst Wissenschaft
Nachrichten, Termine, Experten
Nachrichten, Termine, Experten
Ships are considered majestic vessels. When the force of nature at sea brings them down, it triggers horror, but also fascination. The new research project “Disasters at sea and maritime culture of remembrance in the 20th and 21st centuries” at the German Maritime Museum (DSM) / Leibniz Institute for Maritime History in Bremerhaven is investigating how shipwrecks influence people's view of the sea and what role the memory of these events plays in this.
When the freighters VERITY and POLESIE collided on the North Sea highway in the fall of 2023, Deike Reddig followed the event with excitement. "Within 24 hours, it was reported on nationwide news portals. This was yet another indication that shipping accidents are events of interest to society as a whole," says the doctoral student, who is doing her PhD on maritime disasters.
When Reddig was researching for a publication during her scientific traineeship at the DSM, she noticed a blind spot: "Since Homer's Odyssey, shipwrecks have been part of our Western cultural history. Many people know something about the sinking of the TITANIC or the British passenger ship LUSITANIA, which sank off Ireland in 1915 after being hit by a submarine. Of course, shipwrecks have also been shown in past exhibitions at the DSM. But our research at the DSM has so far produced very little on this subject, even though archival material is available." With the sinkings of the PAMIR, the MÜNCHEN, the ESTONIA and the PALLAS, Reddig chooses four different examples that took place in dramatic fashion and sometimes have local references, but above all they serve as a window to analyze the changing cultural significance of the sea in different historical contexts. The researcher finds documents on every disaster in the DSM collection. "The mystery factor is that certain something in many accidents at sea. In contrast to accidents on land, you often don't know exactly what happened on the water. Ships sink and sometimes disappear without a trace. This naturally raises the question of what this does to our view of the sea," says the 36-year-old historian.
When the training sailing ship PAMIR sank in 1957, 80 crew members died. “Several radio stations changed the planned dance music program to classical music because the nation took part,” Reddig researched from newspaper articles.
At 261 meters, the container ship MÜNCHEN was considered one of the largest of its time in 1978. It is on its way from Bremerhaven to America. Snowstorms and hail obstruct visibility and make navigation a feat of strength for the experienced captain. On December 12, a faint SOS suddenly goes out over the radio - a short time later, the ship sinks. The exact location of the accident remains unclear to this day. Apart from an emergency radio buoy, three of the loaded barges and some life-saving equipment, there is no trace of the ocean liner. At the memorial service in Bremen Cathedral, more than 2,000 people bid farewell to the crew of 28. "At the time, the Maritime Bureau hearing took place in the Scharoun Building. Some of the expert documents from the trial are in the DSM depot."
It also contains investigation reports, expert opinions and interrogation transcripts from the ESTONIA accident, which occurred in 1994. A hurricane tore out the bow flap of the vehicle ferry and around 15,000 tons of seawater flooded the ship. It sinks within less than 30 minutes off the Finnish island of Utö. “There are many conspiracy theories surrounding the ESTONIA, partly because it is still not permitted to drive over or dive at the scene of the accident and the bodies have not been recovered,” says Reddig. And he continues: "The DSM collection includes a model of the wreck of the sunken ESTONIA. This is unusual because ship models usually only show the splendor and beauty of ships,“ adds Reddig, who is also approaching the project from a collection perspective and is looking for exhibits that can later be shown in the ”Shipwrecks" exhibition area in the renovated Scharoun Building.
"For my research, I would like to place a special focus on the culture of remembrance surrounding these events. Because the way we talk about a topic, for example how it is addressed in the media, influences how it manifests itself as our past. In the 20th century, people's perception of the sea changed. How did shipwrecks influence this change?"
The example of the PALLAS is a perfect illustration of how thinking about the sea as an inexhaustible source of resources has changed to a threatened natural environment. After the motorized cargo ship caught fire in the North Sea in 1998, all rescue attempts failed. The storm and the 2.5 tons of wood it was carrying accelerate the sea of flames. The burnt-out ghost ship runs aground off Amrum, sinks - and leaks oil.
Although Reddig finds a lot of material in the DSM collection and in the archives of the sea rescuers, she plans trips to memorials and archives in Sweden and Estonia, among other places, in order to initiate cooperative research at European level.
Deike Reddig
reddig@dsm.museum
Deike Reddig in the Ship Worlds exhibition.
Annica Müllenberg
DSM / Annica Müllenberg
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History / archaeology, Oceanology / climate, Social studies, Traffic / transport
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Deike Reddig in the Ship Worlds exhibition.
Annica Müllenberg
DSM / Annica Müllenberg
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