The Struma Tragedy 83 Years Ago and the Current Hostage Release

With the confirmation of the death of the youngest hostage, baby Kfir, comes the tragic realization that the barbarity of October 7^th is far from over.  The “live on stage” performance of Hamas in handing over the hostages coupled with their macabre “parade of caskets” will hopefully remind the world that Hamas is not capable of getting beyond their savagery in making any kind of deal that broaches a peaceful agreement based on the dignity of life and the sanctity of death, irrespective of territorial borders.  The remains of a Palestinian woman in the casket handed over to Israelis is ample proof of their attitude for the sanctity of her burial.

Considering their most recent display of bestial behavior, two questions emerge.  Will much of the world continue to remain apathetic to the plight of the remaining hostages?  Although we cannot know what the future looks like, we can look back to a past episode of Jewish history for some insight. Eighty-three years ago, the world appeared remarkably indifferent to the fate of Jews fleeing Nazis.  As Jewish refugees struggled to escape capture, they risked everything to reach the safe harbor of their homeland.

One such rescue attempt is the story of the Struma which tragically sunk on February 24, 1942. Desperate Jews fleeing Romania boarded the Struma in the port of Constanta in December 1941.  They planned to travel to Istanbul, apply for visas to Palestine and then sail to Palestine.   They were the lucky ones, 767, to be exact, who with money and connections made it on the ship’s list of passengers.  These “fortunate” Jews were able to come up with the incredibly costly ticket of over $1,000 at the time because they believed it represented their only passport to a future.  That they had no legal passports which would allow them to enter Palestine was disregarded. That the vessel was dilapidated and unseaworthy was another irrelevant factor given the need to escape.

The Struma was mistakenly torpedoed by a Soviet submarine and all but one of the so-called “lucky list” of Jews perished in the icy waters.  However, the passengers on the Struma could have gotten off prior to its being blown to pieces.  Over two years before this tragedy, the ship’s failed engines necessitated it being towed from the Black Sea to the Port of Istanbul. There, the hapless passengers could have been allowed to disembark onto land but like the SS St. Louis, the captain was refused permission.  The passengers were informed that they would not be getting visas to Palestine nor would they, as Jews, be permitted to enter Turkey.

Despite aid from the Jewish Community of Istanbul, the stranded refugees lacked sanitation and food, almost to the point of starvation.  Finally, on February 23, 1942, the Turkish authorities ordered the Struma (with her engine still inoperative) to be tugged back to open seas and left there. The very next day the ship was mistakenly torpedoed by a Soviet submarine.  Seventy hundred-eighty people including 101 children and 10 crew members died. This puts the sinking of Struma as one of the worst, exclusively civilian naval disasters of the World Wars. Only one passenger survived for 24 hours in icy waters.  David Stollar, an 18- year- old, clung to a floating door that floated in the icy waters as part of the ship’s wreckage.  The Turkish rescue effort was less than robust.

So, what is the point of remembering the Struma tragedy 82 years ago when we are so heartbroken over today’s news? It is not just another chapter to read in the book of lamentations and weep over.  Something good came out of this tragedy, as history from time to time can remind us of that possibility.  The tragic sinking of the Struma sparked international protest of Britain’s policy of non-immigration into Palestine.  It was to a large degree, the fault of the British, that death was the fate of the passengers and crew of the Struma. Because of the British decision not to allow the Jews of the Struma to enter Palestine, the Turkish government decided  not to allow its passengers to enter their country.  They did not want to be stuck with these Jews “who would have nowhere else to go.” As a result of the international publicity and outrage, the British government began adapting a slightly more relaxed policy for Jewish immigration into Palestine.

With the creation of the War Refugee Board in early 1944, America came up with a plan to rescue 50,000 Jews from southern German-occupied Europe by shipping them first to Turkey and then to Palestine.  Ira Hirschman, an agent of the Board, with the help of Angelo Roncalli, Papal Nuncio of Turkey (later Pope John 23^rd) was able to acquire ships which eventually carried tens of thousands of Jewish refugees from Bucharest to Istanbul, and then to Palestine.  In one deal alone, 2,936 were successfully transferred on eight ships to Istanbul and then by land to Palestine.   Late in the war, America was able to convince the Turkish government officials that it was in their best interest to provided transit visas to these Jewish refugees.

The Struma disaster to some degree, mobilized American public opinion and support that would enable almost 200,000 Jews from Romania and Hungary to escape the Nazis and their own country’s indigenous collaborators.  Out of the Struma’s debris came new initiatives. History’s take-home lesson is that sometimes from the worst of tragedies, positive consequences emerge.  In subsequent rescue operations, thousands of Jews made it across the seas to Palestine and they escaped the Holocaust.

Tying the past to the present, just as the Struma incident sparked international protest and led to positive development for the Jews, so hopefully the brutal and inhumane treatment of the hostages will shock the world into realizing who is deserving of empathy in this situation and something good will result for the Jews.

In memorializing the Struma tragedy, which bears the names of streets in Israel and a monument in Be’er Sheva, Jews everywhere recognize that Israel is the constant in an otherwise unpredictable and volatile world. History has taught us that for Jews, reliance on friends and places of refuge may at best be variables. Let us hope that the in light of the developments of the last few days, the world will realize and support the dream of Israelis to live in peace in their own homeland.