Romania, Direzione generale dei passaporti, Immigrati ebrei in Palestina, 1940-1944 (USHMM)

General collection information

This database contains details extracted from records of the office of the General Directorate of Passports (Ministerul Administratiei si Internelor, Directia Generala de Pasapoarte) related to Jewish emigration to Palestine from Romania. Includes a name list of Romanian Jews who traveled to Palestine on the ships "Kasbek, "Mefkur," "Morina," "Selahadin," "Toros," and "Bulbul." The originals are held by the Ministerul Administratiei si Internelor, Directia Generala de Pasapoarte in Romania.

Historical Background

After the German invasion of Poland in 1939, hundreds of thousands of refugees fled the Germany army. Thousands of refugees escaped south and booked passage on ships leaving ports on the Black Sea in Romania and Bulgaria to reach British-controlled Palestine. Turkish authorities wanted to prevent these ship from stopping and refueling in their territory unless the refugees had entry permits to enter Palestine.

In 1942, one such ship, the “Struma” was refused permission to dock in Istambul and was towed out into the Black Sea by Turkish authorities. Within hours, the boat sank, likely the result of a torpedo hit from a Soviet submarine who mistook the “Struma” for an Axis supply ship. Only one passenger survived.

Source: Holocaust Encyclopedia