Posted on 02/22/2018 9:55:17 PM PST by Texas Fossil
In 1942, a Soviet submarine in the Black Sea torpedoed and sank the Struma, a ship filled with almost 800 Jewish refugees headed from Romania to the Holy Land. David Stoliar, the lone survivor, agreed to share his story with SPIEGEL ONLINE.
David Stoliar's neat house sits atop a hill on the edge of Bend, a small city in central Oregon. A few steps lead up to the front door. Stoliar's wife, Marda, opens, followed by a happy beagle. "Come in," she says cheerfully. "Come in."
Her husband is waiting in the living room, surrounded by souvenirs and family photos. Stoliar, his light-blue eyes twinkling, appears much younger than 90. He laughs, chats about the weather, mentions the road conditions up on nearby Mount Hood. He's making small talk, obviously, to avoid the actual topic of this visit.
David Stoliar needs time to bring his thoughts -- and himself -- all the way back to that night. He's actually never discussed it before with a German reporter. "Nobody has asked me," he says with a shrug, adding emphatically that, after this meeting, he won't ever speak of it again -- with no one, no matter what or where they're from.
"Not a good memory," Stoliar states matter-of-factly. "I just want to finish my life in peace."
But memories, of course, can't be dismissed so easily. Especially these memories. The explosion, catapulting him into the water. The screams of the others, fading slowly. The wait for his own certain death on that icy night at sea.
Stoliar's story has always been a taboo of sorts. His ordeal illuminates a forgotten, inconvenient chapter of the Holocaust, which the then-Allies would rather not be reminded of. For, if anything, they chose to look the other way -- before, during and after.
(Excerpt) Read more at spiegel.de ...
The last thing you could expect to see in a Black Sea in 1942 is a Jewish refugee ship. Any non-Soviet shipping were basically Turks bringing supplies to their Nazi buddies
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Because of poor communication, there was little information about the plight of Jews in any civilian community before WWII including their treatment by virtually all governments . However, there was much information in higher levels of government, including our own. The decision was made to NOT interfer. I cannot to this day understand this decision . FDR will go to hell, I hope. Not only for this decision but others regardering POWS.
Yeah, bloody Brits and FDR didn’t want them either. The movie ‘’ Voyage Of The Damned’ was a heartbreaking story of about 800 Jewish refugees who thought they’d be allowed to get to Cuba only to be denied entry.
Lol!
Yes, I’m aware of that. One of my relatives was an Army Nurse in Manila when WWII broke out. When Manila fell she went to Corregidor, when that surrendered she spent 2-1/2 years in a Japanese POW camp. Her husband was an Exec for CalTex Oil before the war and an officer during the war. He was capture by the Japanese and was on his way to prison in Japan, when we sank the ship he was on.
Denny (her nickname) wrote a book about this. She retire as a Lt. Col. Women in the Army did not have that rank. smile.
Yes, with one survivor it was easily missed.
Many ships were sunk. A lot of deaths were never documented. It was a terrible time. Some amazing heroic things were done.
They were our allies in WWII?
I don’t blame all Russian people. I do blame the Commies in Charge. Then and now.
The USSR is no more, but Commies still exist. Totalitarianism in all forms is evil.
Progressive
Socialist
Marxist
Fascist
Communist
Dictator
Islamist
Bureaucrap
All Evil.
My grandfather on dads side was on one of those. Ended up a slave in a copper mine until wars end.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MV_Wilhelm_Gustloff
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MV_Goya
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_General_von_Steuben
Another Jewish refugee ship suck by the Russians. Only 5 survivors
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MV_Mefk%C3%BCre
Russian subs were busy. And not selective about targets.
For people saying the subs should have looked into the ships to investigate it worth remembering that Russia had two active Nazi-backed Islamist insurgencies in the immediate proximity from Black Sea. One by Tatars in Crimea and another in Chechnya. You could easily confuse a boat full of refugees for a Turkish boat bringing rag-head jihadists to help the Nazi and Chechens.
Sorry but I don’t really get too worked up about dead Russkies. You want tragdey? Look up ‘’The Four Chaplains’’ and the sinking of the S.S. Dorchester. One of those chaplains, Father John Washington, was from my hometown of Kearny, NJ. You want more? Read the story of the S.S. Leopoldville and the men of the US Army’s 66th. Infantry Division.
I'm glad his ship wasn't sunk thereby making it possible for you to tell us of his experience.
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