From the "George Duncan Website"
dedicated to the maritime desastres
    http://www.iinet.net.au/~gduncan/maritime.html
 
 

                (February 24, 1942)  The Romanian ship 'Struma' sailed from Constansa under the command of a Bulgarian captain, G.T. Gorbatenkoin, and flying the Panamanian flag.  There were 769 Romanian Jews with their families on board, their hope was to reach Palestine.

                After three days at sea, the Struma anchored off the outer harbour at Instanbul, with engine trouble. Here she awaited British permission to proceed to Palestine, permission which the British refused (a mistake they were to regret), one reason given was "It will encourage a flood of refugees".

                Turkey, for some unknown reason, likewise refused them to disembark although the local Jewish community, who were already running a camp for Displaced Persons, were quite willing to take the Struma's passengers and were in the meantime supplying them with food and water.

                After two months at Instanbul with  engines that were damaged beyond repair, conditions on board became appalling, many of the passengers now suffering from dysentery and malnutrition.  Eventually the Turkish police arrived to tow the Struma  out into the Black Sea. The British had exerted strong pressure on Turkey to persue this course.

                The enraged passengers fought then off but a second attempt, where force was used, succeeded and the Struma was cast adrift outside Turkish territorial waters. This inhuman decision by the Turkish and British governments was to destroy the special relationship between Britain and the Zionist Jews.

                On the water for 74 days since leaving Conatansa, the Struma, hopelessly overcrowded, and with no country willing to accept them, was suddenly torpedoed and sunk by the Russian submarine SHCH-213 just ten miles from Instanbul. All on board perished except one, a David Stoliar who today (1998) lives in Oregon USA.

                The British High Commissioner in Palestine stated, 'The fate of these people was tragic, but the fact remains that they were nationals of a country at war with Britain, proceeding direct from enemy territory. Palestine was under no obligations towards them".