Interview with Marguerite Sandström

Interviewer:
Mrs. Pettersson, you might have some memories?

Marguerite Sandström:
Yes, I remember a little. Like in a dream.

Interviewer:
What exactly?

Marguerite Sandström:
When they woke us, among other things, I was looking for my socks, because I wanted them with me. I also remember that as we were leaving, I decided to wash up. Mom said we didn’t have time to wash up and that we had to get going. But I had to go turn off the faucet, but she said not to worry, because water was going to come rushing in anyway. And then we left.

And I remember on deck, getting into the lifeboat, they were going to toss me into it, and I was afraid to lose my stocking cap. I was holding it in my hand, but I was so tired by the time they grabbed me that I changed hands thinking that I would have enough time to grab it. But it ended up in the water.

From there, I remember being in the lifeboat. There was a gentleman that started screaming. Mom said they threw him off because he couldn’t fit in the boat. I, naturally, became a bit scared. I entwined my arms in the rope that was in the boat and asked Mother, "They can’t take me now that I’m tied up, can they?" And she comforted me that it wouldn’t be possible.

Then we boarded this big ship. And before pulling me aboard they put me in a sack and pulled me aboard in it. When I got on board, I began looking for Mother and I found a lady who helped me find her. When I found her, she was crying and I wondered why she was crying when we’d had so much fun. But she said, "You don’t understand, little one. You’ll understand when you’re older."

Curator's note: This English translation from the original Swedish account is based primarily on the translation used in the Criterion Collection's Blu-Ray edition of A Night to Remember, in combination with Google Translate.