Handwritten Diary of one of the Exodus Illegal Immigrants – 1947

Handwritten Diary of one of the Exodus Illegal Immigrants – 1947

A diary handwritten by one of the Exodus illegal immigrants. [Germany? ca. August-September 1947]. Yiddish.

The illegal immigrant ship SS Exodus (or in its Hebrew name – Yetzi'at Eiropa) left the port of Sète, France, in July 1947, carrying 4554 passengers, most of them Holocaust survivors. The ship was intercepted by the British, and its passengers were sent, after a bitter struggle, to DP camps in Northern Germany. The high-profile struggle of the illegal immigrants was publicized worldwide; the public dismay at the way the British authorities treated Holocaust survivors helped turn public opinion in favor of establishing a Jewish state in Palestine.
As evident from the diary entries, the events were recorded in the diary shortly after their occurrence, in DP camps in Northern Germany, where Exodus illegal immigrants were gathered, or aboard the deportation ship Runnymede Park, after the deportation from Haifa port.
The diary documents the story of the Exodus illegal immigrants chronologically and from a personal perspective: the departure from the port of Sète in France, arrival in Haifa port, embarking the deportation ship SS Runnymede Park, sailing to Port-de-Bouc in France and the long stay there (while the immigrants refused to disembark) and later, the trip from France to Germany (the diary ends when the ship crosses The Strait of Gibraltar on its way to Germany).
The author recounts his experiences and feelings using mainly plural form: "We reached Haifa on July 18th. While standing in the port we listened to the radio. They spoke to us in Hebrew and handed out leaflets in English and in Hebrew announcing that we would sail to Cyprus… who could have imagined!!! Unfortunately, we could only see Haifa from far away. With tears in our eyes we looked at the land we longed for but could not set foot in. We saw no civilians around us, only soldiers and more soldiers. With heads bent down, looking at the Holy Land, we embarked the Runnymede Park. I was one of the last passengers to embark, there was no place to sit, we were packed like herring in a small barrel” (p.4).
The writer continues to tell about the immigrants' refusal to disembark in France and the decision to start a hunger strike, as well as the decision not to allow pregnant women and children to disembark in Gibraltar; about the Red Cross physician who boarded the ship in France; about "Mordechai" (probably Mordechai Roseman, leader of the immigrants on the ship) and an speech he gave to the illegal immigrants; about observing Shabbat on the ship; about journalists coming on board in Port-de-Bouc; about the flag the immigrants prepared and waved in front of the journalists in France – a British flag with a swastika ("we prepared a British flag with a swastika from a blanket, red toothpaste and condensed milk. The journalists immediately took pictures of it, and we celebrated in front of the English… we flew the flag continuously... The English looked on, grinding their teeth"), and more.
Enclosed with the diary is a full translation into Hebrew.

The diary is written in blue ink. [12] diary pages + [16] pages with exercises for learning Hebrew (in penci). Notebook: 11X17 cm. Fair-poor condition. Wear. Stains and tears. New paper cover; placed in an elegant case.

Provenance: The Rimon Family Collection.