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Boat
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December 13, 1941 |
סטרומה Kafireus Καφηρεύς Espiros Есперос Macedonia Makedoniya Македония Strymon Струма Struma
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Struma Струма was towed to Istanbul, where she stayed for 71 days
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Place Note
On December 14, 1941, In response to its distress calls, Turkish vessels towed Struma Струма as far as Sarayburnu, the heart of Istanbul.
Our Jerusalem.com cites: "Bulgarian captain,. G. T. Gorbatenko, made it clear to the Turks that it would be too perilous for the Struma to put to sea again in German-patrolled waters even if it could be rendered seaworthy, and he did not believe it could be."
"The Turks understood that the choice before them was either to let the refugees disembark or to send them to what would most likely be a watery grave. At first they chose to do neither, but to look to Britain (which, after all, had the mandate for the Jewish National Home) to make the decision for them. Accordingly, the assistant secretary-general of the Turkish Foreign Ministry put it to the British ambassador, Sir Hughe Knatchbull-Hugessen: Should the refugees to permitted to land and be put on trains bound for Haifa or should the vessel be forced back into the Black Sea?"
"Colonial Minister, Lord Moyne, had Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden see to it that KJnatchbull-Hugessen was clearly instructed to the let the Turks know that the Struma should be sent back where it came from. (Said Moyne: “The landing of 700 more immigrants….will have a deplorable effect (by) encouraging (many more) Jews to embark on (this) traffic…” Said his aide, E. B. Boyd: “Sir H. Knatchbull-Hugessen had a heaven-sent opportunity of getting the people sent back and failed to avail himself of it.”)"
During her stay in Istanbul, only 9 people can leave Struma Струма; 8 were allowed to disembark because they had visas from Bucharest Bucuresti, and the ninth person was a pregnant woman, Medea Solomonivici, who disembarked to give birth.
Event Note
Benjamin Teodor Brettschneider disembarked Struma Струма at Istanbul.
He carried a passport from a South American country, and he had forged a visa that allowed him to pass the first inspection.
He tried to affix his fiancee's photo to his passport as a family member, which raised the suspicion of the inspector, and she was not able to disembark Struma Струма, and he reluctantly had to leave her behind.
Event Note
Emanuel Geffner disembarked Struma Струма at Istanbul.
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Transport
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חיפה Haifa, חיפה, ישראל
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The train travelled from Istanbul, across Syria, through Lebanon, to Palestine
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Event Note
Emanuel Geffner, who possessed a valid, but expired, visa, and Benjamin Teodor Brettschneider travelled by train from Istanbul to Haifa.
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