Kafireus had a very distinguished career in the Chalkis-Limne-Stylis-Oreoi-Volos run... She was one of the main ships of this run pre-war, long before Kyknos.
I vaguely remember her in the very early 1950s. The Miramar shows nothing
Συνημμένο Αρχείο 31122
H σιλουέτα του φαίνεται εξαιρετικά παλαιάς κοπής... προσωπικά δεν το είχα ξανακούσει και αυτό με ιντριγκάρει ;)
I recall reading something about Καφηρεύς in a document about the Evoikos route many years ago... If I am correct this was another yacht-type ship and I would guess it was from the 1900s or 1910s which would make her 50 years old by the time she was retired. The postcard above must be from the 1910s or 1920s because it shows the very early cars of the train that was going from Volos to Milies... Now, it is time for me to start checking the Greek Google again for any mention of ΚαφηρεύςΠαράθεση:
Αρχική Δημοσίευση από Ellinis
paroskayak: What did you discoverer??? If indeed the Kafireus and the Struma is the same ship then we have a major discovery. The Struma is a rather legendary and sad ship. We will have to further check all these things. But I do remember a Kafireus in the early 1950s!Παράθεση:
Αρχική Δημοσίευση από paroskayak
Please read this http://www.sephardicstudies.org/struma.html especially the statement
Παράθεση:
"On December 12, 1941, a Greek boat with a Bulgarian captain (G. T. Gorbatenko) under a Panamanian flag left Constanza, Romania bound for Palestine. The 769 passengers on board the 180-ton Struma had paid an exorbitant price for passage on this boat. The ship Struma carried 769 Jews from Romania (both Sephardic and Ashkenazi) to British Palestine in 1942. It was stranded for ten weeks in Istanbul, because Britain didn't permit them to enter the Country. The British government steadfastly refused them visas to Palestine as illegal entrants of an enemy country (Romania). The local Turkish Jewish community helped feed the passengers during the 70 days that the ship remained in the port, prior to its untimely demise. The Struma was towed into the open sea and sunk by a soviet sub on February 24, 1942. Only one person survived - David Stoliar, who now lives in the United States."
Some additional information about the Struma, if indeed it is the Kafireus, is found here from a diving expedition http://www.struma.org/ in 2001.
The story is briefly like this as presented by Greg Buxton whose parents passed away on the Struma
Παράθεση:
The outlook for the Jewish population of Romania in the late 1930's and early 40's was extremely grim. The Iron Guard and others were massacring thousands of Jews and forcing many others into labour gangs. Many people who were able fled to more friendly countries. Palestine was, with the League of Nations mandate allowing for the settlement of 20,000 Jews each year and its British administration, an obvious choice.
Παράθεση:
Groups of young Romanian Jews started to organise vessels to get people there. These were generally rejected by the British and their passengers imprisoned in Cyprus, or in camps in Palestine. Many never made it there at all. The Patria and Mefkure were to notable examples.
In 1941 the Struma was advertised as suitable ship for the voyage. To pay the huge fees demanded by the ship owners and to bribe the numerous officials in Romania, they had to get as many people as possible on board. Each person paid the equivalent of over $1,000 at today's rates. When the time came to travel to Constansa on Romania's Black Sea coast to start the journey, there were nearly 800 people with tickets. Many people were transported from Bucharest in cattle trains where they lived with no food or water for two days. When they were let out they saw a ship of no more than 160feet in length.
Due to the tiny size of the Struma**, they had to strip their baggage down to 10 Kg leaving a huge pile behind. The Romanian officials searched everyone and removed most valuables and money. Embarking, they found that there were stacks of small bunks 8 or 10 high, some below the deck and some in a makeshift deck house. There was only one fresh water outlet and little in the way of sanitation. Before departure, the Romanian port police came on board and removed all the copper cooking pots, replacing them with iron ones.
So on the 11th December 1941, 779 desperate refugees and 10 Bulgarian crew, set out for Palestine. The engine on the Struma was tiny and very old. It failed just a few miles out of port. After drifting for a while and failing to effect repairs, the captain made contact with a passing tug boat who's captain agreed to fix the engine but demanded all the wedding rings, which was all of value the passengers had left, as payment.
The engine coughed and spluttered it's way over the next 3 days towards Turkey failing for the last time close to a mine field near the Bosphorus entrance. A Turkish tug brought Struma safely into the port of Istanbul.
Now began a prolonged series of discussions between the Turkish authorities and the British. The Colonial Office, and the high commissioner for Palestine, MacMichael, flatly refused to agree to the passengers entering Palestine. This was restating British policy regarding "illegal" immigrants to Palestine. The British ambassador and the Turkish foreign office tried to persuade MacMichael to change his mind. Despite numerous debates in Parliament and pressure from the Jewish communities around the world, the British government didn't move an inch.
The Turks for their part did not want to offer sanctuary to any more Jewish refugees. They were trying to remain neutral and had little enough resources for their own people. So for 70 days, the Struma lay in the outer harbour of Istanbul. Supplies were organised by the local Jewish community. The ships committee and the captain managed to get the engine taken ashore for repair, after inspectors confirmed it was indeed unusable.
Conditions rapidly deteriorated on board. With no washing water, little fresh food, the diet being mostly biscuits and very occasional fruit, and stench of human waste, it was amazing that disease did not take hold. Passengers could only spend 1 hour a day on deck due to the huge numbers and tiny size of the ship. 8 people were taken off while they waited. A family of 4 had the safety secured by the intervention of Vehbi Koc, who was an influential business man in Turkey. 3 people had expired, but valid entry visas for Palestine, they were allowed to continue overland. The last was a pregnant woman who suffered a miscarriage, and was allowed to visit the hospital.
With no permits forthcoming from the British and no functioning engine, the captain and crew had little choice but to remain. On February 23rd 1942, Turkish police took control of the Struma easily defeating the passengers efforts to repel them. They cut the anchor chains and attached lines. The Struma was towed back into the Black Sea. The passengers cries for help were clearly heard by the residents along the Bosphorus. Sheets with "SAVE US" written on them in Hebrew and English, were hung over the sides.
The sinking Struma was abandoned some 7-10 miles out to sea in fairly good conditions. With no engine, anchor or sail she drifted with the wind overnight. At first light on February 24th, a Russian submarine, commanded by Senior Lieutenant Denezhko, surfaced and fired a single torpedo. Struma sank instantly. No rescue boats appeared although the explosion was clearly heard from the shore. By the following morning, some 20 hours after the Struma had sunk, there was just one man left alive, clinging to a piece of wreckage. He was plucked from the water by a rowing boat crewed by the men of a local lighthouse.
103 children, 269 women and 406 men died, amongst them, my paternal grandparents.
The survivor, David Stoliar, was eventually allowed to enter Palestine. He fought for the British in the war, then in 1948 in Israel and eventually moved to the USA where he lives still. (NB: N Peppas' comment: He lives in Oregon)
After the war, several attempts were made to assassinate MacMichael, one of which seriously wounded him.
My first reaction is that even at war, the "officials" acted as animals and that the Turkish police was subhuman..
In the same Web site there is a letter from Greg Buxton's grandparents to their son in which it is mentioned that Struma was of 140 tons.
In the Romanian Wikipedia for the ship Struma http://ro.wikipedia.org/wiki/Struma_(nav%C4%83) there are two sketches of Struma, a sketch for design and a prototype by Spyridon Manoliu. The two sketches are reproduced below. The model has been built by him. He indicates
The real Struma, was built in 1867 in Newcastle (GB) and was a stream & sail boat. It is impossible to find a picture from this ship. Only some drawings.
And then he makes a very interesting observation!
The picture called Struma frequently presented on the web, with a long ship, is a vietnamese boat-people ship.
Now, see below and compare to Kafireus above! I think we have our answer.. And it is a very sad one..
Συνημμένο Αρχείο 31184
Συνημμένο Αρχείο 31185
My Romanian is not great but it is passable. So, here is what the Romanian Wikipedia site says about Struma/Kafireus.
On December 8, 1941, the passengers left Constanza with the ship Struma, built in Newcastle, England in 1867 and registered in Panama, belonging to the Greek company Singros, represented in Romania by the maritime agency of Stefan Andreas and Jean Pandelis!Παράθεση:
În 8 decembrie 1941 pasagerii ajung la Constanţa, unde se ambarchează pe vasul Struma, o "epavă plutitoare" construită la Newcastle, în Anglia, în 1867, imatriculată în Panama, şi aparţinând companiei greceşti Singros, reprezentată în România de agenţia maritimă Stefan D'Andreea & Jean Pandelis.
The motor of 300 hp was the original one (!)Παράθεση:
Motorul de 300 CP nu era cel de origine,
Iron ship had a tonnage of 642,36 tons, double compatments, length of 46,60 m and width of 8,70 m which created complete rolling...Παράθεση:
Nava din fier, cu un tonaj de 642,36 tone, avea două catarge, o lungime de 46,40 m, şi o lărgime de numai 8,70 m, ceeace provoca un ruliu cumplit.
The Turkish version of the Struma/Kafireus is different http://tr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Struma
It calls the ship "an English ship, of Panamanian flag, Bulgarian captain and the Greek Pandeils owner". It gives her as having 46 m length, 6 m width (!!!) and 227 tons!
Also the Hebrew site http://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%A1%...95%D7%9E%D7%94
provides no technical data but concentrates on the human loss and presents the memorial of the Struma victims in Ashod, Israel along with the well known but incorrect picture.
Surprisingly enough Yad Vashem has very little
Συνημμένο Αρχείο 31186
Finally, this is the entry in New Zealand's Miramar
Built at Palmers' in Jarrow and launched on June 24, 1867. Named Xantha and served as a yacht. 132 tons! Surprisingly they know nothing else!
Another source indicates she was probably launched on June 23, 1866 as a schooner belonging to Lord Paget
And then there are all the comments on http://www.worldwar2.ro/forum/index.php?showtopic=798 that I summarize below
Re: Refugee ship Struma
Author: Paul Silverstone (---.c3-0.80w-ubr1.nyr-80w.ny.cable.rcn.com)
Date: 02-19-04 21:46
The true identity of the Struma has not been confirmed. The original name of Xantha was given in Wasserstein's book "Britain and the Jews of Europe."
But the recent book "Death on the Black Sea" by Douglas Frantz and Catherine Collins describes her as having been "a two-masted sailing vessel" with an auxiliary engine added later. They write that it was first registered in 1830 as Macedonia of 130 tons. Before WWII Bulgarian owners had used it as a cattle barge on the Danube.
So which is correct? I lean towards the vessel built in 1867 by Palmers as mentioned above.
I have seen the Romanian film which is interesting. The only picture, indistinct, of the Struma existing shows her in Istanbul harbor in 1942.
Below the incorrectly identified Struma
Συνημμένο Αρχείο 31187
Νίκο, τις ίδιες πληροφορίες έχω για το μοιραίο πλοίο, αν είναι το Καφηρεύς. Υπάρχει καταχώρηση για το Xantha, αν πρόκειται για το ίδιο σκαρί με το ζητούμενο μας. Επίσης, παραθέτω μερικά επιπλέον στοιχεία που περιπλέκουν περισσότερο το κουβάρι του Sturma. Τελικά, κανένας δεν είναι σίγουρος για την ταυτοποίηση είτε του Καφηρεύς ή του Sturma.
Απόσπασμα από το βιβλίο: Death on the Black Sea: The Untold Story of the Struma by Douglas Frantz
Παράθεση:
By the fall of 1941, the supply of seaworthy vessels had dwindled even further and ticket prices had risen even higher. The deaths on the Patria and the Salvador and the internment of those who had made it to Palestine had sapped the resolve of some of the supporters of the aliyah bet. In the aftermath of the Darien episode, the Mossad had pulled its agents out of Romania and Istanbul. Yet even the risks of internment or sinking seemed more appealing to many than the consequences of staying in Romania.
A year earlier, Pandelis had tried to interest the Mossad agents in the Struma as a candidate for a voyage. The ship was old and in terrible condition. It was first registered in 1830 as the Macedonia and at the time it was a two-masted sailing vessel. It weighed one hundred thirty tons and it was one hundred fifty feet long, with a maximum width of slightly less than eighteen feet. Over the years, a small auxiliary engine had been added and its weak wooden sides buttressed with metal plates. Before World War II, its Bulgarian owners had used the ship as a cattle barge on the Danube, but by the time war broke out it was deemed so unfit for sea travel that the German military had not bothered to requisition it.
The Mossad had intended to lash the Struma to a larger and more powerful ship, the Darien, to enable another two hundred or so additional passengers to escape earlier in 1941. But the German occupation of Bulgaria had stranded the smaller ship there, and the Darien had eventually sailed alone.
Απόσπασμα από το βιβλίο: Escaping the Holocaust: Illegal Immigration to the Land of Israel by Dalia Ofer
Παράθεση:
Such was the situation when the Struma, candidate for an aliyah bet voyage since 1940, was once again proposed for a voyage. The ship was known to be very old, and it was hardly thought fit for the purpose, as it was not equipped with a motor powerful enough for sea travel. It bore a first registry date of 1830, had been under Greek ownership (under the name Macedonia), and flew the Panamanian flag. It measured 53 by 20 feet, weighed 180 tons, and was being used as a cattle barge on the Danube. Ze'ev Shind later explained that the Mossad had intended to lash the boat to the Darien and tow it, thus enabling 250 more passengers to sail. However, the German entry into Bulgaria forced the Mossad to abandon the plan. As a result, the Struma remained behind in the hands of Pandelis, the owner.
Ari, I read these two as well before I posted my research. I just do not believe them and several other sources do not believe the version that it was a barge called Macedonia. I wonder if you can compare (by cutting and pasting) the lower part of my postcard with Manoliu's model. For me these two are the proof... Also do you have the Lloyd Register around 1930 to see if indeed she was taken off their records?Παράθεση:
Αρχική Δημοσίευση από paroskayak
Doesn't anyone have Greek newspapers of the 1930s to see ads of Kafireus?
Finally read http://books.google.com/books?id=vpj...esult#PPA54,M1
There are many references to Struma and Pandelis