“One person died in a crash between a car and a truck on Struma Motorway, near Mariovo and Sandanski, reported by ODMVR-Blagoevgrad. The incident occurred at 10:55 AM. Traffic in the direction of Sofia was temporarily halted and rerouted through Petrich.”
” Kalina Nikolova, in an interview with BETL, claimed to be the biggest victim of this manipulation.”
The Struma Disaster: A tragic maritime incident
Introduction
The Struma disaster, also known as the Struma maritime incident, was a tragic event that occurred on February 24, 1942, during World War II. The incident involved a Romanian-built and -flagged ship named Struma, which was carrying Jewish refugees from the Romanian-controlled port of Constantsa, Romania, to Palestine, then under British mandate.
Background
After the Nazi Germany’s invasion of Poland in 1939, hundreds of thousands of Jews fled to Romania hoping to escape the Holocaust. However, Romania, under the rule of Marshal Ion Antonescu, became an ally of Nazi Germany and implemented anti-Semitic policies. Jews in Romania faced persecution, forced labor, and poverty. Seeing Palestine as a hope for a better future, many Jews attempted to illegally immigrate there.
The Struma Affair
The Struma, a small steamship, was chartered by a Romanian Jew named Rottenberg to transport Jewish refugees to Palestine. The ship set sail on December 12, 1941, carrying 769 passengers, mostly Romanian Jews, but also some from Germany, Austria, and Hungary. The journey was fraught with difficulties from the outset. The ship was overcrowded, and rations underestimated, leading to severe hardships for the refugees on board.
British Policy and Rejection
In December 1940, the British had implemented the White Paper, which restricted Jewish immigration to Palestine. The British in the Middle East rejected the Struma’s entry, arguing that the ship was a violation of the White Paper restrictions and a potential risk during wartime.
Instead of finding a safe haven, the Struma was forced to sail around the eastern Mediterranean for three months, seeking asylum in vain. During this time, several refugees died due to the harsh conditions, and the ship’s engine broke down repeatedly, requiring frequent tows to keep it afloat.
The Final Tragedy
On February 24, 1942, as the Struma was anchored off the coast of Istanbul, Turkey, awaiting British clearance to enter the Bosphorus, a mine or a torpedo (depending on the account) struck the ship. It sank within minutes. Only one person, an Romanian engineer named David Stoliar, survived.
Aftermath and Controversy
The sinking of the Struma remains one of the darkest chapters in the history of the Holocaust. The British were widely criticized for their role in the tragedy, as many believed they could have done more to prevent it. Some historians argue that the British could have allowed the ship to dock at the Port of Haifa, while others contend that the ship was too small and overcrowded to make such a voyage safely.
Legacy
The Struma disaster serves as a tragic reminder of the human cost of war, immigration policies, and the desperate measures people will take to flee persecution. Today, the Struma is remembered as a symbol of the Jewish refugee experience during the Holocaust. Memorials have been erected in Israel and other locations to commemorate the passengers and crew who perished.
Sources:
- "The Struma Disaster" by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
- "The Struma: A Pocious Voyage" by Yigal Bin-Nun
- "Frames of Reference: The Black Sea and the Struma Disaster" by Robert O. Paxton
This article is a translation and adaption of the original Bulgarian article "Катастрофа на „Струма“ действа WRITE" published on NOVA’s website.
