RMS Scythia Manifest and Menus

It is natural for me to reflect on Elizabeth Mann Don's journey from beginning to the end on the occasion of her Yahrzeit.

As I was going through her pile of items saved, with the intent of trashing unimportant memorabilia, I found much of historical interest to me, at least.

First, in 1938 and 1939, all the rejections to her family in Vienna --USA, Australia, England--all rejected their request for asylum.After the Nazis marched into Vienna and Eichmann declared his intention to free Austria of all Jews, those Austrians intended to flee. More support was gathering in Britain. The Save the Children Fund and the Society of Friends raised funds and petitioned to provide practical support. On the nights of 9 and 10 November 1938 Nazi stormtroopers destroyed Germany's synagogues, vandalised thousands of Jewish homes and businesses, murdered a hundred Jews and arrested thousands. This became known as Kristallnacht - 'the night of broken glass'. The Jewish situation had become desperate. The British House of Commons debated refugee policy on 21 November. It was decided to make special provision to accept Jewish young people, provided they would not 'burden the state' This would be organised by the Refugee Children's Movement. Just a week later, the plans for kindertransport were taking shape. It was decided the Dutch Refugees Committee would assist with the initial stages of the journeys. The main route would be by train to the Hook of Holland then by boat to Harwich and to Liverpool Street Station, London by train. The children would be sent from Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, Frankfurt, Vienna and Prague. Amongst the first children to be accepted on the kindertransport were orphans from a Jewish orphanage in Berlin. Each child was allowed to bring a small suitcase and ten Reichsmarks. Between December 1938 and 31 August 1939 (the date of the last kindertransport), just under 10,000 children were brought to Britain. Many never saw their parents again.

Then, her passport and identity papers, religion shown as Mosaisch. These are stamped--on the day of getting on the Kindertransport in Vienna, the day she reached England, and the day, 2 years later, she embarked for the USA from Liverpool Seaport.

Then, I see in her papers, an envelope and one sheet of stationery with the logo RMS Scythia,.

Also, there were three menus--breakfast, lunch, and dinner for May 25, 1940, her 15th birthday, also showing the Scythia logo. Though rationing had been invoked in Britain, Restaurants on land and on the seas were exempt, so the meals were the usual sumptious repasts.

Throughout our years of marriage, she would take one envelope and one piece of stationary from each place we stayed or visited, and sometimes the menus.

So, was she on the RMS Scythia?

Yes, researching the RMS (Royal Merchant Vessel) of Cunard's fleet, It indeed was the vessel that was refitted as a troopship in Glasgow,Scotland in 1939, and was taking evacuees, solders and sailors back to Canada, port of Halifax, then New York in 1940. The vessel was 9 days out of Liverpool, in a convoy, zigging and zagging back and forth, on Elizabeth's 15th birthday on May 25, 1940. USA was not yet in the war. The Scythia was torpedoed by a submarine a little later, but fortunately not while Elizabeth was in transit on it.

The way to confirm this was to find the RMS Scythia passenger manifest. Found it.

Link to the page of the manifest on which her name shows as a passenger is below.

It also appears that all 750 passengers were 3rd class--ship completely devoid of the fancier accommodations. 30%% of the passengers were soldiers and sailors--Canada was part of the British Empire, hence they were returning home and would disembark at Halifax. 10% were various occupations such has domestics, nurses, engineers from England, Scotland, and Ireland. 50% were refugess from Germany, Poland, and the Czech republic. 10% were children listed as from Germany, but were from Austria--Austria had been annexed by Germany in 1938 when Germany marched in, known as the Anschluss, and were received as heros.

The manifest shows your age and if you were with your parents or someone.

It shows she was alone and age 14.

She would become age 15 in the middle of the Atlantic.

allow a few more seconds to load the Breakfast Menu because scanned.

RMS Scythia-Dinner Menu-25 May 1940 Liverpool to New York