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4 crossing dangerous seas The last trip of the Copiapó The famous last trip of the chilean ship Copiapó ended at valparaíso, chile, on september 29, 1939, just after the start of the war, bringing refugees to a haven and numerous chileans back from Europe. The families of the latter in chile had suffered a scare due to a false alarm that the ship had been bombarded and sunk, but soon it was clear that the report was erroneous. it was the last ship to get out of the port of Hamburg before the war began, and thanks to the kindness and good heart of its captain, roberto muñoz Hörz, it carried over two hundred passengers desperate to leave germany and Europe , many more than the vessel was built for.1 The Copiapó was not bombarded or sunk, but when it was sailing close to puerto rico, the captain changed course because he wanted to get more drinking water, which was becoming scarce. suddenly a submarine appeared, aiming its torpedoes at the Copiapó. When the captain clarified the reason for his change of route, the submarine submerged and the ship left as fast as it could, without the drinking water. one of my interviewees who immigrated to chile on this trip of the Copiap ó, manfred Klein, tells a story also included in víctor Farías’s book. Farías called it an “exemplary case of human solidarity” by the chilean captain, muñoz Hörz.2 according to muñoz, his ship established a real record, taking only twenty-seven days to sail from antwerp to valparaíso. it had set out only twenty-four hours before the war started and had gone near where four British vessels had been either torpedoed or sunk shortly before.3 The Royal Sceptre and the Mansar went down on september 7, 1939.4 The following tells the story of this trip on the Copiapó. The port of Hamburg was preparing for imminent war. There were only two ships that would cross the ocean from Hamburg to valparaíso, chile: the german transatlantic Patria, of the Hapag line, and the Copiapó, a freighter 66 / chapter 4 with passenger accommodations. The Patria was not allowed to sail, so its refugees and travelers wanted to embark in the chilean ship, whose cabins were already all sold and occupied. panic ensued. The south american tourists wanted to return home immediately; for the refugees, the last chance to leave seemed to be slipping beyond their grasp. to get to the Copiapó’s dock one had to pass by the gestapo, the german secret police, and at the other end was the freighter, which now became a symbol of freedom. manfred Klein had to go by the gestapo so they could check his documents and inspect his small suitcase. He was the last passenger to go aboard. The motors of the Copiapó were running—but they soon stopped. people became distressed: Why were the motors stopping? The captain asked the passengers to calm down; he had to wait for orders to be able to sail. The refugees were worried, knowing that the gestapo could come and all of them would have to debark. some wanted to commit suicide, others to jump into the ocean. They didn’t want to get off a foreign ship in germany, when they were so close to freedom. captain muñoz was prepared to double or triple the number of passengers , but they would have to build some emergency lodging and obtain more mattresses, rescue boats, jackets, and food, which would be loaded later in antwerp, Belgium. The refugees already on board were ready to relinquish their cabins to older people, the sick, children, and authorities going back to chile. The Copiapó finally took off on august 30. The war started the next night. in antwerp more passengers got on; there were three hundred in all. The crew had much more work—more tables and chairs had to be brought in for meals, and at night these had to be taken away and mattresses and blankets put on the dining room floors. captain muñoz had shown his good heart, accepting all these passengers and refugees. according to manfred Klein,5 thanks to the captain’s courage, ninety Jews were saved, among them more than twenty children and youngsters. “The crew was great,” recalled manfred. They let the passengers use their own facilities and cabins. They had to clean more...

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