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The Ship Italia

We arrived in New York Harbor April 10, 1952 on the ship “ITALIA”

The ship 609 feet long, 78 feet wide, was built by Blom & Voss of Hamburg in 1928 for the Swedish American Line SAL and named the Kungsholm. She was requisitioned by the US Government during World War II and renamed “John Ericsson”.

During the war she operated as a troop carrier and took part in the invasion of Normandy on D-Day in 1944.

She was sold to Home Lines in 1948, refitted and renamed “Italia”. She served until 1964, used as a floating hotel, the Imperial Bahama, by Freeport Bahama Enterprises for a year and was then sold for scrap in 1965.

When we sailed on her, she was a one-class ship. No first class, but no steerage either. I don’t think cruise ships had stabilizers like they do today. I remember one very stormy day, the crew placed wooden frame-like contraptions around each place setting at the table, so the plates, glasses and silverware wouldn’t slide off the tables. People were trying to dance in the ballroom and having a time of it keeping their footing…and I made a green faced dash for the railing that evening, and just barely made it. Felt a lot better afterwards.

It wasn’t until I became an American citizen at eighteen that I really “belonged” somewhere and had a country. Had we not been granted an American Visa in 1952, I would have emigrated to Israel and had an entirely different life. Not too many countries accepted, let alone welcomed, Jews either during or right after the war. Israel was one country that did.

That’s me “Coming to America”

Here I am with my mom and dad aboard ship

Here I am with Mark