The Message of the Member of Parliament Dr. Aurel Vainer, - PDF document

The Message of the Member of Parliament Dr. Aurel Vainer, President of the Federation of Jewish Communities in Romania, for the Commemoration of the Struma ship tragedy (Jerusalem, February 21 st 2012) Dear Mr. President of the Knesset Committee on Im migration, Absorption and Diaspora Affairs, Distinguished representatives of the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Pe nsioners Affairs and Yad Vashem , Distinguished delegates of the organizations representing the Jewish people originary from Romania, now l iving in Israel, Honored audience, I received with great delight the invitation that was addressed to me by Mr. Danny Dannon, Member of Knesset and President of the Committee on Immigration, Absorption and Diaspora Affairs, to attend as a guest at the reu nion, taking place in the Israeli Knesset, commemorating a tragic event that happened 70 years ago, to Romanian Jews who boarded the Struma ship hoping to reach the Promised Land – Eretz Israel. I thank you all for organizing this event, for inviting me a nd, of course, for your presence here. Please allow me to succinctly present you my intervention, in order to remember with piety the 769 Jews that took refuge from the Holocaust that was taking place on the territory of Romania, only to loose their lives on the Struma ship. My speech will try to present :  The facts, including the age structure of those present on the ship  Those who were guilty and the causes of the tragedy. After that, I will try to answer the following questions :  Why did they leave?  Why did this tragedy happen like it did?  What was the reaction of the powers that were involved in the Struma tragedy (Romania, Turkey, Great Britain, USSR) Finally, I will attempt to present lessons we learnt from this great Jewish tragedy – the s inking of the Struma ship, 70 years ago, in the whirling waters of the Black Sea. As such, I will continue to detail the elements presented above. First of all, I can’t but place the Struma event in what I consider the relationship between the Jewish peop le and the history. More to the point, the 5772 years of Jewish history are a strong and powerful eviden ce for our extensive presence in the world and its history. Over this long period, the Jewish people have achieved many acts of history, that obviously meant many positive aspects, but at the same time greatly suffered. We can find such references both in the Tanakh and the Talmud. But, the tales and evidence and the Jewish people have won in history are overwhelming. The “Am Israel Chai” phrase is more truthful than ever, and the great victory of 1948, when the State of Israel was rebuilt along with its existence with many different accomplishments and care for the life and future of his children and whole of mankind are the best possible evidence. Now, let us begin with how the tragedy started, a tragedy that doesn’t only hold a date (December 12, 1941) but took place over a period that stretched to February 24 th , 1941. The Struma ship left Constanta Harbor on December 12, 1941 going towards Pal estine, that was then under the British Mandate. The ship was isolated in quarantine in Istanbul, because the British and Turkish authorities did not want to receive the refugees. On February 24, 1941 the ship was towed and sent back to the Black Sea, were it was torpedoed and sunken by a Russian submarine. From this horrible tragedy only one person survived – David Stoliar, an 18 years old children from Bucharest. In the age structure of the Struma passengers you could find children up to 15 years (10,9%) , teenagers between 16 - 17 years (2,3%), persons with varying ages between 18 - 45 years (76,4%) and over 45 years (11%). We have to remember the fact that once they left the Constanta Harbor all passengers lost their Romanian citizenship, although initially they were citizens of a state the was the enemy of the United States and Great Britain, while Turkey was neutral. The following are also important to note. The trip between Cons tanţa and Istanbul took 4 days, although usually it took only 12 - 14h. The Struma ship was anchored in a small port on the Bosporus (Buyudere), being placed under quarantine with all the passengers that stayed on board. The situation on the ship was inferna l, mostly due to the overloading and overcrowding but as well because of the lack of food and other products necessary to sustain the life of those onboard. Only after 10 days from the anchorage could supplies, food, water and medicine be brought to the sh ip, and only due to the help sent by Jews in America. In order to board the Struma ship, 769 Jews left the East Train Station of Bucharest (Obor), on December 7, 1941 on the Bucharest – Constanta route. The Struma ship should have been removed from ac tive use for a long period, being built in Newcastle – England in 1887. In the 1930s it was used to transport merchandise on the Black Sea. Later, the ship was bought in 1940 by a Greek shipowner – Jean Pandelis, in order to transport Jews to Palestine. Th e ship was registered in Panama and belonged to the Greek company “Singros”, who was represented in Romania by the “Stefan D’Andrea & Jean Pandelis” Naval Agency. Struma was in a very bad shape, with its engine running at barely half capacity. Usually, the ship could have transported some 100 - 120 persons. Once they reached Constanta, the passenger s were taken down from the train, and the main platform was surrounded by the Police, the Army, the customs and naval authorities. During the searches many abuses will be committed by these persons. Each emigrant was entitled to 20kg of luggage, a rucksack with personal belongings, 3 pair s of shoes, 6 day shirts and 3 pajamas, 2 suits, a coat and an overcoat. Money, jewelry and any other objects were forbidden. Dur ing the customs clearance a representative of the National Bank of Romania also attends. On the ship there were Jews who bought their ticket at an exorbitant price for that period (1000$), mostly with high education – doctors, lawyers, engineers, economis ts but also merchants, students. In regards to origin these Jews were especially from Bucovina, Moldova and Bessarabia. The responsibilities for the tragedy that struck the ship were multiple. On one side, the Antonescu Government, through its promoted ant i - Semitic laws that forced the Romanian Jews towards emigration and on the other side the Government of Great Britain that forbid the coming of Jews in Palestine. An d not least the indifference of the Turkish authorities. Only in the 1960s did documents su rface that proved the actions of soviet submarine in that area. After 1991, when the archives were opened, things cleared up and the case was solved : the Struma ship was torpedoed by the “Stiuca” class SC - 213 submarine. In 1999, the wreckage of th e ship was found, 5km north of the Turkish shore, at a depth of 90m, based on the indications of the only survivor – David Stoliar. The option presented to the travelers of Struma, to the desperate Jew living under the authority of the discriminatory anti - Semitic laws of Romania, governed by the Antonescu regime, was considered to be only emigration, but also without neglecting the motivation and reason of the Zionist return to Eretz Israel. In principle, Ion Antonescu conceded to the idea of Jewish emigrat ion, seeing in this a way to achieve his objective : a Romania without Jews. As such, several ships with Jews leave to Palestine from Romanian harbors. Some set on their way with permission from the authorities, others illegally. In the tragedy of Struma s hip sinking several countries were involved : Romania, Great Britain, Turkey and finally, The Soviet Union. Their behavior, in general, was to not support the Jews and their emigration to Eretz Is rael. More to the point : - Romania did not do any attempts to actually support the departure from the country of these Jews on the Struma in proper technical and humane conditions. The ship was not adequately checked and it was allowed to leave with a charge of over 5 - 6 times from the technical allowed value. Th e Jewish passengers were subject to different bureaucratic complications, their possessions were taken, and the baggage was limited to just 20KG per passenger - Great Britain did not grant the entry permits in Israel, as the British Mandate was governing Pal estine, mostly in order not to upset the Arab population - Turkey showed a great indifference and unfriendly reaction for those arrived on the Struma ship who were under quarantine in the Bosporus. - The soviet fleet torpedoed and terminated Struma alo ng with its passengers, that desired to reach Eretz Israel. It was a tragic end with multiple responsibilities for what happened, an especially sad and painful page of history for the Jewish people that can’t and most not be forgotten. I have in front of me the boo “The last trip – from Struma to Mefkure” written by Mihai Stoian that begins with the most offensive and insulting phrase “Jidow, go to PALESTINE!”, showing the reason for the intensity of the Jewish desire and desperation to set their foot on the ancient territory of the Promised Land, as told when God appeared to Moses : "Go, and gather the elders of Israel together, and say unto them, `The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob appeared unto me, saying, "I have s urely visited you and seen that which is done to you in Egypt; and I have said I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt unto the land of the Canaanites and the Hittites, and the Amorites and the Perizzites, and the Hivites and the Jebusites, unto a land flowing with milk and honey." In those excruciating and desperate days of the world conflagration, this swearing phrase, who became a classic in that period, had managed to paradoxally sound like an encouragement, as a farewell wish, as the only r escuing solution. The objective truth, simple and tragic, meant that it was hard to reach in the 1940s the Promised Land. Those that dared to face the tremendous risks, all the adversities, the desperation, lost more than once their life. As Eli e Wiesel said “not all the victims were Jews, but all Jews were victims” . From the tragic reality of the Struma ship sinking we can learn an universally valid conclusion : the world history is made from good and dark pages, from events that are filled wit h joy but also from those that bring sadness and sorrow. The tragedy of the Struma ship is such a page. Beside the painful end where approximately 800 Romanian Jews died in the depths of the Black Sea due to the indifference, the lack of human values, the placement of political interests on the first place, it also meant that a very important aspect was forgotten : one human life is equally important as the life of mankind as a whole . From this human tragedy we must understand that through continuous educa tion and remembrance even the most diverse population, based on ethnic groups, nationality or other elements, will see the needed to better understand the things that happened with such a sad ending in order to make sure that in no way and under no circums tances such tragedies will not repeat. Finally, we must remember that monument dedicated to the victims was build in the Giurgiului Jewish Cemetery in Bucharest and a Struma memorial exists in the City of Holon in Israel. Dr. Aurel Vainer – Member of Parliament President of the Federation of Jewish Communities in Romania