The History Club Presents : The Sinking of the Lusitania

The Lusitania, sailing from New York to Liverpool was sunk by a German U-boat on May 7, 1915, 11 miles off the coast of Ireland. Nearly 2,000 passengers died, most of them by drowning in the aftermath of the torpedo attack. At the time, Lusitania was the largest passenger ship afloat, Europe was engaged in an extraordinarily destructive war, and the U.S., led by President Woodrow Wilson, was steadfastly neutral.

Our speaker, Lionel Olmer, is a retired naval officer with a specialty in cryptology, a former senior U.S. government official and an international lawyer. In explaining what happened and why, he will offer his opinion as to those who share culpability for this terrible event.