Life as a sailor was dangerous during World War I. Many ships ran into mines or were attacked by U-boats. About 2000 sailors on Norwegian merchant ships perished at sea during the war. The exhibit is based on the real event of the sinking of the SS Gurre from Bergen who was torpedoed by a German U-boat on 1 March 1917. Twenty people lost their lives.
8 May 2017 the Norwegian Maritime Museum opens an exhibit on World War I in commemoration of the hundred-year anniversary of the start of the war.
The museum has joined in partnership with the award-winning Norwegian cartoonist Kristian Krogh-Sørensen, who has produced the illustrations for the exhibit as well as graphic novel.
The exhibit lets you get to know the sailors who went to sea as well as the ship-owners who mad the decisions back home. It explores artefacts and photographs from World War I, and asks the question “Would you have gone to sea during such a dangerous time?”
Parts of the exhibit also illuminate the efforts of war sailors during other wars, especially World War II. It discusses the merchant navy’s importance in securing supplies, the maritime sectors ability to make money on the situation, and the personal risk to the sailors.
The target group for the exhibition is adolescents and adults.