Biography
Simon Brod (1893-1962), a Jewish businessman from Istanbul, who during World War II helped to rescue an untold number of Jewish refugees who reached Turkey. Brod ran a successful textile importing firm in Istanbul together with his brother Max. During World War II he was employed by the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee and the Jewish Agency for Palestine to assist in the rescue of European Jewish refugees who, in one way or another, had been able to reach Turkey. His close association with Arthur Whittall, an officer in the British passport office in Istanbul and Ahmet Demir, a high-ranking Turkish police officer, made Brod a valuable asset to these organizations. Together, Brod, Whittall and Demir were able to locate and identify groups of refugees arriving by ship, train or automobile, secure the appropriate stamps and documents, and arrange for safe passage to their next destination. Following the sinking the Struma refugee vessel in February 1942, Brod make contact with David Stoliar, the sole survivor of the shipwreck, who had been imprisoned in Istanbul after he was fished from the water. Brod arranged for Stoliar's meals during his two-month incarceration. Upon his release, Brod brought Stoliar home. He provided him with clothes and a suitcase, a safe conduct pass and a train ticket to Allepo, Syria, from which he was driven to Tel Aviv.
[Source: Guggenheim, Alan. "Interview with Marta Brod [daughter of Simon Brod], 7 November 2002. Email correspondence from Alan Guggenheim to Sharon Muller, 15 July 2003.]
