A love story with a tragic end -
uncovered after 57 years....

        A young Jewish woman from Vatra Dornei found her end on the Struma because she could not bear to be separated from her fiancee and got herself hired as a maid on the ship as well as paying for her voyage! The story of this young lady and her love is only now becoming public due to a book which will be published this year.

        The young lady, Thea Hilzenrad, 21 years old, moved during the war
with her family from Vatra Dornei to Braila. She was the only daughter to her parents: mother Pepi (born Fessler) and father Pinchas Hilzenrad. In
1941 she became engaged to Fredi Solomon, a student at the mechanics
University. Fredi was forced to quit his studies because of racial
discrimination.

        The two, like so many other young Jews in Romania as well as some
not so young, were dreaming of emigrating to Palestine. When it became known that a ship was being organized for Jewish emigrants and that the vessel itself was undergoing repairs at the Braila shipyards, Fredi manages to join the mechanics' team which was working on the Struma, and got himself
hired as a mechanic on the ship's crew.

        Thea was desperate. Her family managed with great efforts to gather
enough money for the trip, but there were no more seats, the ship already
being overbooked. In the end, partially due to Fredi's help, she managed to
get on board. She was listed as "chambermaid"....

        This tragic love story is being told by a cousin of the girl, Mr. Arie
Scheier of Tel Aviv, in an article which will appear in a book dedicated to
the Jews originally from Vatra Dornei. I was told of the article by Mr.
Ytzhak Yalon, leader of the Association of Vatra Dornei natives, the
editor of the book mentioned.

        We remind all that the Struma transported 769 passengers, Jewish
refugees, the large majority of them from Romania. She was sunk by a Russian submarine on Feb. 25, 1942, after being anchored for several weeks in the port of Istambul, with it's passengers not allowed to continue their
journey or even debark the ship. The British authorities refused to
grant permission to Jewish refugees to enter Palestine, which was then
under British mandate. In the end the Struma was towed to the international
waters of the Black Sea and, as we told, sunk. A single passenger, David Stoliar, survived.