On the Sunday, December 7, 1941, 760 emigrants, Romanian Jews, left Bucharest’s West Railway Station, to Konstantza.

There they had to stay four days and four nights, in the freezing cold wagons, in the freezing cold winter weather. They were allowed to take with them only 20 Kgs each.

On December 11, 1941 they boarded the vessel”STRUMA” (built 1866 for the shipment of cattle). The ship was due to bring them to the Holy Land.

On December 14, 1941 they had almost reached the Bosphorus and a Turkish vessel accompanied them to the port of Istanbul, where the passenger were quarantined for a couple of days.

After two and a half months, famished and sick, they were still waiting to be rescued, stranded on a freezing cold ship anchored in the port of Istanbul. On February 22, 1942, “STRUMA” was removed from the port and left at a distance of 8 km in the middle of the sea.

A big explosion was heard and the ship began to sink, with passengers and crew, in the waters of the Black Sea, not far from the Turkish shores, close to Istanbul. (02.24.1942).

“STRUMA” had on board 769 young emigrants, parents and children, traveling from Romania to Palestine.

This episode is the biggest tragedy in the history of the clandestine Jewish emigration. “Struma” is part of the suffering of the Romanian Jews whose only wish was to live in their own country.

Of the 769 emigrants only one survived, David Stoliar, who was rescued almost frozen to death.

Two Focsani families were among the emigrants resting at the bottom of the Black Sea:

• Gustav and Otelia Adler, the owners of the gasoline station in Focsani
• Frederica Zilberman, apothecary
• Baruh Zilberman (brother of Frederica) – architect
• Silvia Zilberman (wife of Baruh)
• Pincu and Rebeca Zilberman

Blessed be the memory of our brethren who passed away on their way to the Holy Land !