View of the Struma in the Istanbul harbor.

Photograph | Photograph Number: 09115

Date: February 1942
Variant Locale: Constantinople
Photo Designation: JEWISH REFUGEES: IMMIGRATION TO PALESTINE/ISRAEL -- Refugee Ships (1934-1944) -- Struma
Photo Credit: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, courtesy of David Stoliar

Event History: The Struma was a vessel bound for Palestine from Constanza, Romania in December 1941, which was torpedoed off the shores of Istanbul. 769 Jewish refugees were crammed aboard the cattle boat, which had to be towed all the way to Istanbul because of a disfunctional engine. The ship was placed in quaratine and the refugees remained confined to the boat in Istanbul harbor for ten weeks while attempts were made in vain to secure immigration certificates for Palestine from the British government. On February 23, 1942, the Turks, knowing that the vessel lacked an engine and basic supplies to sustain its passengers, towed the Struma out to sea. Within hours the boat was struck by a torpedo from a Soviet submarine and all but one of its passengers drowned.
Keyword: ALIYAH BET (ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION)
NEWSPAPERS
SHIPS
SHIPS (STRUMA)
VIEWS
Photo Source: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

Copyright: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

Provenance: David Stoliar
Published Source: Observer (London) - March 1, 1970
: Record last modified: 2008-06-23 00:00:00
This page: https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/pa1085054

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