MV Struma Shipwreck and Its Lasting Impact

The MV Struma shipwreck is a tragic event that left a lasting impact on history. The ship was carrying over 800 people, mostly Jewish refugees, from Romania to Palestine in 1942.

It was a crowded and poorly maintained vessel that was not designed for the task. The ship was originally built in 1910 as a passenger liner and had been converted into a cargo ship.

The MV Struma was intercepted by a Soviet submarine off the coast of Turkey on February 23, 1942. The submarine torpedoed the ship, causing significant damage.

The survivors were forced to abandon ship, but only 194 people were rescued by a Turkish tugboat.

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The MV Struma was a ship with a tragic history, sunk with the loss of almost 800 Jewish refugees on February 24, 1941.

It was built in 1867 as a steam-powered schooner yacht and had been recently re-engined with an unreliable second-hand diesel engine.

The ship was only 148.4 ft long and had a beam of only 19.3 ft, which made it extremely overcrowded when 781 refugees and 10 crew members were crammed aboard.

The Struma reached Istanbul on December 16, 1941, but the passengers were informed they would not get visas to enter Palestine and would not be permitted entry into Turkey.

Turkish authorities denied the passengers permission to land without British agreement to their continued journey to Palestine, which the British refused to grant.

The ship was held in quarantine in Istanbul harbor for two months, leaving the passengers with limited supplies of food and water.

The Struma's engine had failed again on February 23, 1942, and Turkish police towed the ship out to sea and abandoned it the next day.

A huge explosion occurred on February 24, and the ship sank quickly, resulting in the deaths of almost 800 people, with only one survivor, 19-year-old David Stoliar.

The aftermath of the MV Struma's tragic fate was marked by a sense of outrage and injustice. Lord Wedgwood opened the debate in the House of Lords, urging for the League of Nations mandate over Palestine to be transferred to the United States.

The British government's actions were met with strong criticism, with many accusing them of reneging on their commitments. Anglo-Jewish poet Emanuel Litvinoff wrote a scathing poem mourning the loss of Struma, calling the British uniform he wore a "badge of shame".

The truth about the sinking of the Struma remained unclear for many years, with competing theories emerging. In 1964, a German historian discovered that Shch-213 had fired a torpedo, which sank the ship.

This revelation was later confirmed by several other Soviet sources, revealing that the submarine had been acting under secret orders to sink all neutral and enemy shipping entering the Black Sea.

The MV Struma was a ship that made history for all the wrong reasons. It was a migrant vessel carrying 781 Jewish refugees from Romania to Palestine in 1942.

The ship's journey was marked by a series of unfortunate events, starting with its arrival in Istanbul, Turkey. The Turkish authorities, under pressure from the British government, refused to allow the refugees to disembark, despite their pleas for help.

The ship was eventually towed out into the Black Sea, where it drifted helplessly for hours. On the morning of February 24, 1942, the Soviet submarine Shch-213 torpedoed the Struma, causing a massive explosion that sank the ship quickly.

Many people were trapped below decks and drowned, while others clung to pieces of wreckage, but unfortunately, all but one of them died from drowning or hypothermia. The only survivor was a 19-year-old refugee named David Stoliar, who was rescued by Turks in a rowing boat the next day.

The sinking of the Struma resulted in the loss of 791 lives, including over 100 children. It's a tragic reminder of the devastating consequences of war and the importance of protecting human rights.

Here's a list of some of the key facts about the MV Struma: