In April 1912, a man with two small children boarded the Titanic. He claimed to be a widower and a German antiquarian. In reality, however, it was not Louis Hoffman, but Michel Navratil, who, after separating from his wife at Easter, kidnapped his sons, bought tickets for a cruise and took them to England, from where he planned to escape to the United States. Four-year-old Michel and two-year-old Edmond, like their father, boarded the ship under assumed names as John and Fred Hoffman. Navratil knew that his ex-wife would be looking for the children, so he made sure that their real identities were not shown on the tickets and passenger list.
The orphans from the Titanic were the only ones to survive the disaster without the care of their parents. Who were Louis and Lola?
When the Titanic hit the iceberg, the man woke up his sons, dressed them in warm clothes, and then placed them in one of the lifeboats, leaving them in the care of the other passengers. Although Michel was less than 4 years old, he later recalled that he clearly remembered the last words he heard from his father. – My child, when yours comes to pick you up, and she certainly will, tell her that I loved her very much and still love her. Tell her I wanted her to sail with us – Navratil. A man died on board the Titanic. The boys, together with the passengers of the lifeboat marked with the letter D, found themselves on board the RMS Carpathia.
Their mother found them thanks to a photo in the newspaper. The eldest was the last living man to survive the sinking of the Titanic
The boys didn’t speak English, but they spoke French. So they were named Louis and Lola. The older boy introduced himself this way, the younger one received this name because this is what his brother called him. In New York, they were taken into the care of passenger Margaret Hays. The woman took care of them for several weeks, during which the search for the family of orphans from the Titanic continued. It was possible thanks to photos published in the press. Finally, 1.5 months after, their mother, Marcelle Navratil, saw the photo in the newspaper. She came to New York to take the children.
Michel and Edmond Navratil with their mother, late May 1912 Photo Iron County register, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
The boys didn’t remember much about the disaster itself. Edmond, who was only two years old when the Titanic sank, worked as an interior decorator and architect. He fought during World War II, became a prisoner of war, and although he escaped, his health suffered so much that he died in 1953 at the age of 43. Michel graduated from college and became a respected philosopher. He died in 2001 at the age of 92. He was the last living man to survive the Titanic disaster.
Source: Gazeta
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