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THE TITANIC'S ORPHANS: THE CHILDREN WHO SURVIVED HISTORY'S GREATEST TRAGEDY

Michel Jr. and Edmond Navratil were taken to the famous vessel by his father and only reunited with their families after a long journey in America.

By Mopsy MeirellesPublished 2 years ago 5 min read
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A story is full of twists but full of love

He married Marcelle Caretto, a young Italian woman, and they had two children, Michel M. and Edmond Roger. In 1912, his business began to struggle, as did his marriage. Michel allegedly sued his wife for alleged infidelity. The parents divorced, and the children remained with their mother. The father had the right to spend Easter weekend with the children, but when Marcelle went to pick them up, all three of them had vanished. Navrátil had decided to settle in America with his children.

They relocated to England, where Michel purchased second-class tickets on the Titanic to Southampton. Tickets were purchased under fictitious names. His father chose the fictitious name of his friend Louis Hoffman, who assisted him in fleeing France. During the Titanic's voyage, Michel hinted that his wife had died and that he was trying to keep their children out of sight of passengers. Meanwhile, his distraught wife in Nice alerted the French policewoman to the kidnapping. Michel and his brother ate cookies offered to them by First Class passenger Hugo Woolner during the night they stayed on the boat. Michel had no recollection of feeling sick, only of being happy and distracted.

Michel Navratil's story stood out among the thousands of other European immigrants who dreamed of a better life in America from the start. In the midst of his divorce from his wife, who had custody of their two children, Michel Jr., and Edmond, he decided it was time for a new beginning. Because not everyone survived the Titanic disaster, this entire plot was almost lost forever. The Navratil's had a pleasant trip, which Michel Jr. later remembered, despite being registered as second-class passengers and using false names to avoid being tracked by French police.

My brother and I were having a great time playing on the foredeck." The children were left in the care of a French woman named Bertha Lehmann on that fateful night so that she could keep an eye on them while Mr. Navratil played cards. On April 14, 1912, at 11:40 p.m., shortly after the ship struck the iceberg, Michel entered his cabin with another man, and the two boys were carried to the lifeboats by the two men.

Image from the movie Titanic 1997

Despite his young age, Michel Jr. recalls his father's final words. "My son, when you find your mother, I'm sure you will tell her how much I loved her and how much I still do" Mr. Navratil's body was discovered in the icy waters, and her two children were the only children rescued from the ship who did not have a parent or guardian. Michel Jr. and Edmond became media sensations following the disaster. Surprisingly, he had a loaded revolver in his pocket. He was buried in a Jewish cemetery, the Baron de Hirsch Cemetery, because he had a Jewish surname, as it appeared in his passage. Margarita Hays decided to keep the children at her New York home (304 83 West Street) until a family member could be found.

They stayed temporarily at the Upper West Side home of another survivor, Margaret Hays, while authorities tried to locate her relatives.

The children were dubbed "Titanic orphans." Identifying their relatives proved difficult due to their inability to communicate in English and the aliases used by Louis and Lola. According to a newspaper article from the time, they answered any question from the French consul with a simple "oui," as they were more interested in playing with their new toys than talking to a stranger.

The same article also included Margaret Hays' father's statement about the Titanic disaster. When asked if the boys could be identified by the tickets purchased by their father, he replied, "I've never traveled second class, I don't know anything about that." This remark demonstrated not only the class division on the ship but also the lack of importance accorded to the less fortunate. Only 201 of the 324 first-class passengers survived. Meanwhile, only 181 of the 708 lower-class hikers survived the tragedy.

Newspaper articles about the boys, which included several photographs, were crucial in revealing their true identities. Meanwhile, the boys' mother was desperately searching for her children on the other side of the Atlantic.

She had already noticed that Michel had vanished with the children, though she could never have imagined that they were on the famous Titanic. When word of the disaster reached Europe, the bereaved mother noticed a picture of her children in one of the articles. As a result, she was able to confirm the boys' identities with American authorities. She was finally reunited with the children in New York after a long but less traumatic journey.

The family returned to France, where the famous "titanic Orphans followed them. Mr. Michael Jr. lived long enough to become the disaster's oldest survivor, dying in 2001 at the age of 92. Edmond, his brother, was not so fortunate and died in 1953. Among the hundreds of sad stories left behind by the Titanic, the story of family survival and reunion became one of the few happy endings.

Michel lived in Montpellier. He was a brilliant professor of philosophy and married a fellow student. In 1987, he returned to the United States, for the first time since 1912, to participate in the 75th anniversary of the sinking.

The family returning to Europe.

Edmond worked as an architect, interior designer, and builder.

Despite escaping from the camp where he was imprisoned, his health deteriorated and he died in the early 1950s, at the age of 43.

Elisabeth, Michel's daughter, has written a book titled "Les enfants du Titanic" (Survivors in English), in which she recounts her father, grandfather, and uncle's experiences.

Historical
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About the Creator

Mopsy Meirelles

My name is Michelle a descendant of gypsy family I traveled to almost 85 countries and lived in 10 different countries.As I come from a long journey one of my new passions is to write about the behavior and emotions around the world.

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