A Titanic Love Story 

IFCJ Canada  |  April 10, 2026

In April 1912, 114 years ago, the sinking of the RMS Titanic shocked the entire world. We remember this tragic event, which shaped maritime safety as we know it, and the hundreds of lives lost that night. In particular, we remember Isidor and Ida Straus—a influential Jewish couple known for their love and selflessness during the disaster: 

We have long been fans of James Cameron’s epic movie Titanic. And perhaps no scene in Titanic is more touching than the elderly couple shown lovingly embracing one another in their cabin bunk during the doomed ocean liner’s final moments. 

But we’re even bigger fans of history, so here is the true love story of Isidor and Ida Straus, the Jewish couple on whom those characters were based. 

The Strauses’ True Love 

Isidor Straus was born to a Jewish family in Germany on February 6, 1845. He Immigrated to the United States as a boy and later became co-owner, alongside his brother Nathan, of Macy’s department store. 

Ida Blun was also born in Germany on February 6, four years later than her husband. Her Jewish family went to America as well, where she met and married Isidor in 1871. The couple had seven children and were remembered as especially affectionate throughout their marriage—writing letters to each other every day when Isidor was away on duties or business. This love and affection would be displayed right up until the end. 

Final Voyage 

Isidor and Ida spent the winter of 1912 in the south of France and were excited to return home. Booking passage on the latest and most luxurious ocean liner of the day, the Strauses boarded the Titanic for the voyage across the Atlantic. On the night of April 14, 1912, the ship hit an iceberg and quickly began to sink. And while the popular movie might have us believe that the elderly couple died holding tightly to each other in their bed, the truth is much more moving. 

As the giant vessel began to list and sink, and as the rush of passengers crowded toward the few available lifeboats, Isidor was offered a seat in one of them so that he could accompany his wife. Mr. Straus saw that there were still women and children aboard the Titanic and would not allow himself to be saved before them. Ida insisted that the couple’s maid safely board a lifeboat, thus saving her. But Ida refused to leave her beloved husband’s side, telling Isidor, “We have lived together for many years. Where you go, I go.” 

A short while later, the Titanic sank, taking Isidor and Ida Straus with it, along with more than 1,500 others. The Strauses were last seen on the ship’s deck, arm in arm. Isidor’s body was recovered and buried at Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx, while Ida was never found. On their shared monument, this loyal Jewish couple’s love is memorialized with these timeless biblical words of King Solomon: 

“Many waters cannot quench love—neither can the floods drown it.” (Song of Songs 8:7) 

There were several hundred Jews on the Titanic, some in first class and much more in third class. To this day, the sinking of the Titanic remains part of collective Jewish memory, with Yiddish songs written over the past century in memory of the victims.