The sinking of the Lusitania and the fate of its Swiss occupants
The sinking of the British passenger ship RMS "Lusitania" on 7 May 1915 by a German submarine is one of the worst maritime disasters in recent history. 1193 men, women and children lost their lives off the Irish coast. The stories of the "Lusitania's" Swiss voyagers afford unique perspectives into the Edwardian Age as it came to a conclusion.
![Cunard Line advert for the "fastest steamers in the world", 1914.](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/werbung-der-cunard-line-fur-die-schnellsten-dampfschiffe-der-welt-1914-300x200.jpg)
![The Lusitania (left) and the Mauretania (right) around 1911 were the largest, fastest and most luxurious ocean liners of their time.](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/die-lusitania-rechts-und-die-mauretania-um-1911-300x164.jpg)
Vignettes of Swiss Lives during the Edwardian Era
![The kitchen of the Lusitania, Adolf Samuel Nussbaum's workplace.](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/die-kuche-der-lusitania-arbeitsplatz-von-adolf-samuel-nussbaum-300x245.jpg)
![The popular First-class lounge and music parlour.](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/lounge-und-musiksalon-der-ersten-klasse-arbeitsplatz-von-john-frederick-deiner-300x244.jpg)
![Third class dining room.](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/speisesaal-der-dritten-klasse-300x245.jpg)
![Portrait of John Frederick Deiner.](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/portrat-von-john-frederick-deiner-222x300.jpg)
![Illustration of the first class dining room on the Lusitania, around 1906.](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/illustration-des-speisesaals-der-ersten-klasse-auf-der-lusitania-um-1906-211x300.jpg)
![Frances Stephens](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/frances-stephens-155x300.jpg)
![First class suite on the Lusitania.](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/suite-der-ersten-klasse-auf-der-lusitania-300x251.jpg)
World War One & The Lusitania’s Demise
![The Lusitania arrives in New York harbour. Photo from September 1907.](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/die-lusitania-erreicht-den-hafen-von-new-york-foto-vom-september-1907-300x205.jpg)
![Warning from the German embassy in New York newspapers. Travellers are informed that Germany is at war with Great Britain and that ships flying the British flag are liable to destruction.](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/warnung-der-deutschen-botschaft-in-den-usa-in-den-new-yorker-zeitungen-107x300.jpg)
![Map of the "war zone" declared by Germany around the British Isles. The Lusitania sank at the location marked in red on 7 May 1915.](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/karte-des-von-deutschland-deklarierten-kriegsgebiets-211x300.jpg)
![The Lusitania left the port of New York on 1 May 1915.](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/die-lusitania-verlasst-den-hafen-von-new-york-am-1-mai-1915-300x225.jpg)
![The German submarine U 20 (front row, second from left) in the harbour.](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/das-deutsche-u-boot-u-20-300x214.jpg)
![William Turner, captain of the Lusitania.](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/william-turner-kapitan-der-lusitania-206x300.jpg)
![Illustration of the torpedo impact, shortly after the hit the Lusitania sank in the Celtic Sea.](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/illustration-des-torpedo-einschlags-lusitania-300x190.jpg)
![Survivors of the disaster.](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/uberlebende-des-unglucks-300x221.jpg)
![The body of a victim is loaded from a ship, 24 May 1915.](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/die-leiche-eines-opfers-des-untergangs-wird-von-einem-schiff-geladen-24-mai-1915-300x206.jpg)
Lessons from the Lusitania
![Victims and survivors of the Lusitania in a French newspaper article, Le Miroir of 23 May, 1915.](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/opfer-und-uberlebende-der-lusitania-in-einem-zeitungsartikel-des-le-miroir-vom-23-mai-1915-300x198.jpg)
![The sinking of the Lusitania was used by the USA and Great Britain for recruitment propaganda. Poster from 1917.](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/lusitania-plakat-von-1917-215x300.jpg)