The Slocum Is on Fire!

Directed by Christian Baudissin

June 1904: What had started out as a cheerful event, the annual outing of the Lutheran Church in East Village, ended in a terrible disaster. Nearly 1100 people, mainly women and children perished when the excursion boat General Slocum went on fire and sank – within sight of thousands of New Yorkers who watched helplessly on the shores of the East River. It became clear quite soon that not a single fire drill had been carried out since the ship had entered services. This was only to be the tip of the iceberg: With inter­views, photos, archival footage and visits to the actual locations we will recount the event in which an entire Manhattan neigh­bourhood was wiped out and shine light on the political scandal which rocked New York in the wake of the „Slocum Disaster“ – eight years before the Titanic sank.