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Jews on Route to Palestine 1934-1944. Sketches from the History of Aliyah

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Jews on Route to Palestine 1934-1944. Sketches from the History of Aliyah JEWS ON ROUTE TO PALESTINE 1934−1944 JAGIELLONIAN STUDIES IN HISTORY Editor in chief Jan Jacek Bruski Vol. 1 Artur Patek JEWS ON ROUTE TO PALESTINE 1934−1944 Sketches from the History of Aliyah Bet – Clandestine Jewish Immigration Jagiellonian University Press Th e publication of this volume was fi nanced by the Jagiellonian University in Krakow – Faculty of History REVIEWER Prof. Tomasz Gąsowski SERIES COVER LAYOUT Jan Jacek Bruski COVER DESIGN Agnieszka Winciorek Cover photography: Departure of Jews from Warsaw to Palestine, Railway Station, Warsaw 1937 [Courtesy of National Digital Archives (Narodowe Archiwum Cyfrowe) in Warsaw] Th is volume is an English version of a book originally published in Polish by the Avalon, publishing house in Krakow (Żydzi w drodze do Palestyny 1934–1944. Szkice z dziejów alji bet, nielegalnej imigracji żydowskiej, Krakow 2009) Translated from the Polish by Guy Russel Torr and Timothy Williams © Copyright by Artur Patek & Jagiellonian University Press First edition, Krakow 2012 All rights reserved No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any eletronic, mechanical, or other means, now know or hereaft er invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers ISBN 978-83-233-3390-6 ISSN 2299-758X www.wuj.pl Jagiellonian University Press Editorial Offi ces: Michałowskiego St. 9/2, 31-126 Krakow Phone: +48 12 631 18 81, +48 12 631 18 82, Fax: +48 12 631 18 83 Distribution: Phone: +48 12 631 01 97, Fax: +48 12 631 01 98 Cell Phone: + 48 506 006 674, e-mail: [email protected] Bank: PEKAO SA, IBAN PL80 1240 4722 1111 0000 4856 3325 Contents Th e most important abbreviations and acronyms ......................................... 7 Introduction ..................................................................................................... 9 Chapter I: “Th e old new country” 1. Context ........................................................................................................... 17 2. Towards “Pax Britannica” ............................................................................. 21 3. Th e Gordian knot .......................................................................................... 23 4. Yishuv .............................................................................................................. 30 5. Polarization .................................................................................................... 32 Chapter II: Illegal or independent immigration? 1. Th e dispute over terminology ...................................................................... 37 2. Without formalised frameworks ................................................................. 38 3. Th e position of the leaders of Yishuv .......................................................... 42 4. Th e fi rst transport .......................................................................................... 44 5. Revisionist Ha’apala ...................................................................................... 46 6. “For Jews the world divides itself into two places...” ................................. 49 7. “Af al pi” .......................................................................................................... 52 8. Th e Polish chapter ......................................................................................... 55 Chapter III: On the eve of war 1. Mossad – “the maritime department of Hagana” ...................................... 65 2. “Th e cooperation of enemies for a common cause” ................................. 72 3. “Immigration today is a question of life or death” .................................... 78 4. Th e intensifi cation of Aliyah Bet ................................................................ 81 5. Great Britain’s position and the Arab voice ................................................ 89 Chapter IV: In the shadow of the “White Paper” 1. Th e reality of wartime ................................................................................... 97 2. Th rough the “green border” ......................................................................... 103 3. From Anders’ Army ...................................................................................... 105 4. “Th e only alternative is to maintain the existing procedures” ................. 108 Chapter V: Th e Atlantic – Mauritius 1. Th e story of the passengers of the Atlantic ............................................... 115 2. Th e Patria .................................................................................................... 118 5 3. Deportation to Mauritius ............................................................................. 121 4. Five years of exile ........................................................................................... 123 Chapter VI: If the gates to Palestine had been open... 1. Th e Kladovo group ........................................................................................ 131 2. Th e case of the Darien II ............................................................................ 134 3. Catastrophes at sea (the Pencho and the Salvador) ................................... 137 4. Th e tragedy of the Struma ............................................................................ 141 Chapter VII: “Th e sole route to survival” 1. London’s concessions .................................................................................... 153 2. With Romania and Turkey in the background .......................................... 154 3. Th e sinking of the Mefk ura ........................................................................ 161 4. Th e arrival of the USSR ................................................................................. 165 5. In lieu of summing up ................................................................................... 168 Final remarks........................................................................................................... 171 Appendices............................................................................................................... 173 Selected bibliography ............................................................................................. 181 List of tables ............................................................................................................. 207 List of maps .............................................................................................................. 208 Index ......................................................................................................................... 209 The most important abbreviations and acronyms AAN – Archiwum Akt Nowych, Central Archives of Modern Records in Warsaw ADM – Admiralty CINM – Clandestine Immigration and Naval Museum in Haifa CO – Colonial Offi ce col. – column CZA – Central Zionist Archives in Jerusalem DDSG – Deutsche Donau Schiff ahrtgesellschaft , German Association of Danube Navigation DGFP – Documents on German Foreign Policy 1918–1945 FO – Foreign Offi ce FRUS – Foreign Relations of the United States. Diplomatic Papers HMG – His Majesty’s Government JOINT – American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee KGPP – Komenda Główna Policji Państwowej, Polish Central Police Command Mapai – Mifl eget Poalei Eretz Israel, Party of the Workers of the Land of Israel Mapam – Mifl eget ha’Poalim ha’Meuhedet, United Workers Party M.P. – Member of Parliament MSW – Ministerstwo Spraw Wewnętrznych, Polish Ministry of Internal Aff airs MSZ – Ministerstwo Spraw Zagranicznych, Polish Ministry of Foreign Aff airs NKVD – Narodnyy Komissariat Vnutrennikh Del, Peoples’ Commissariat for Internal Aff airs NLI – Th e National Library of Israel in Jerusalem NZO – New Zionist Organization PISM – Th e Polish Institute and General Sikorski Museum in London RHL – Rhodes House Library in Oxford TNA – Th e National Archives in London USSR – Union of Soviet Socialist Republics YVA – Yad Vashem Archives in Jerusalem ZAM – Th e Zionist Association in Mauritius 7 Introduction Illegal Jewish immigration to Palestine during the British Mandate was one of the most spectacular enterprises organized by the Jews in the fi rst half of the 20th century before the creation of the state of Israel. Th e Jews called such immigration ‘Type B’ (Aliyah Bet), to diff erentiate it from the offi cial type (aliyah) allowed for by British authorities. Aliyah Bet was an indication of the diaspora’s longing to return to the Promised Land, and simultaneously a way of fi ghting the restrictive policy of Great Britain which limited Jewish immigration to Palestine. It was also a form of aid to Jewish refugees from Europe and salvation for Jews menaced by Nazism. In due time Aliyah Bet became a national myth, part of the Jews’ collective conscious- ness. Th is book deals with Aliyah Bet activity in the years 1934–1944. It opens with the organization of the fi rst sea transport of illegal immigrants to set sail for Pales- tine (the ship Velos, in July 1934). Th at date is considered the symbolic beginning of Aliyah Bet, though the phenomenon was known to exist from much earlier. Th e closing bookend of the book’s chronology is December 1944 and the last wartime sea transport (the ship Taurus). Th us two entirely diff erent chapters in the history of Aliyah Bet form the subject of my analysis: the period when the movement was forming and becoming organized, and the
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