When the Titanic struck the iceberg in the North Atlantic on April 14th, 1912, there was no immediate panic. There was confusion and a prevailing feeling that getting into the lifeboats would be an unnecessary inconvenience. There had been so much advance press about the safety of the Titanic that it was widely believed among the passengers that the ship was unsinkable.

The first passengers to arrive on the boat deck moved calmly and with little sense of alarm, according to survivor reports. Word went around that help was on the way to remove the passengers and that it was only a precaution to put the women and children off onto the lifeboats. Many women protested very strongly that they would not leave their husbands.

Less than three hours after striking the iceberg, the Titanic sank, and took with her the lives of over 1500 people. Just 705 were rescued.

For those who are interested in analyzing the numbers of survivors in various categories, a very impressive compilation has been published on a website by John R. Henderson of the Ithica College Library. His web page is titled: Demographics of the TITANIC Passengers: 
Deaths, Survivals, and Lifeboat Occupancy. Click on the title to go through to the page from here. John has kindly provided links to many interesting source materials that Titanic enthusiasts will no doubt find fascinating and helpful.

I am always searching for interesting videos to post in this blog, and have chosen to present this one, “Titanic Survivors – What They Saw” because it is a clever re-cutting of some of the interviews that were shot in the 70s and 80s, in combination with some of the scenes from the James Cameron movie. Purists may be offended by the blend of fiction and reality, but, I do think it is interesting, especially for those who are new to Titanic research. Think of the film clips as an illustration, as it seems the unknown editor/producer may have intended.

Among the survivors in this video is Eva Hart, who was on her way to Winnipeg with her parents.

The video is in two parts and was posted on Youtube. The person who posted the video is identified as Aaron1912. He added this information to describe the video:
Interviews recorded in the 1970s and 1980s. Survivors: Frank Prentice, Eva Hart, Edith Brown, Ruth Becker, Edith Rosenbaum.

There are other interviews with Eva Hart that I will be posting this week in answer to questions from readers who are looking for more information about this outspoken woman who fought to have the wreck site remain an untouched resting place for those who perished in the Titanic disaster.