David Stoliar
Encyclopedia
David Stoliar is the sole survivor of the torpedo-sinking of the Holocaust refugee ship the Struma
by a Soviet submarine, the Shchuka 213
in the Black Sea in the early morning of February 24, 1942. All of the other 781 Jewish refugees and 10 (mainly Bulgarian) crewmen perished. Then nineteen-year-old Stoliar and the passengers fleeing Constanţa
, Romania
, on board the Struma on December 12, 1941, were cited by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon
in a January 26, 2005, speech to the Knesset
:
The sinking of the Struma might have been no more than a footnote as the single-largest civilian maritime catastrophe
during World War II had it not been for Stoliar's remarkable survival and willingness, even today, to attest to the callous nature of mankind that resulted in the Struma tragedy.
The Struma was sailing from Romania to Palestine. Its engines gave out during December, 1941, the coldest winter on record. A Turkish military tugboat towed Struma to Istanbul
harbor. Under close police surveillance, Struma languished for 71 days in the harbor, its passengers prevented by Turkish police from going ashore. Stoliar said he and the passengers would have died without the meagre shipments of bread and other food ferried from shore to the vessel by a single Turkish Jew named Simon Brod, working with Red Crescent and other Jews of Istanbul. Finally, on February 23, 1942, after negotiations with the British regarding the fate of the passengers seemed to reach an impasse, Turkish authorities boarded the Struma, cut its anchor chain, and towed the hapless vessel, without working engine, radio or anchor, and without adequate food or provisions, back into the Black Sea, and cast her adrift.
The next morning, Soviet submarine SC-213
commanded by Senior Lieutenant D.M. Denezhko and Political Commissar A.G. Rodimatzav, fired a single torpedo from a distance of 1,118 meters and sank the Struma. Stoliar survived the blast and clung to wreckage with the ship's First Mate Ivanof Dikof. Stoliar said Dikof told him, in Russian, he saw the torpedo before it sank the Struma. Dikof died slumped on the wreckage. The Turkish government did not launch a rescue effort for 24 hours. Six coastguards in a rowing boat rescued David after initial reports of the sinking of the Struma, apparently by a stray mine, had already appeared in The New York Times
.
After his rescue, Stoliar was imprisoned in Turkey for six weeks. After an impassioned outcry and strike in Palestine, Turkish authorities released him to Simon Brod. Afterwards British authorities acquiesced and issued Stoliar travel papers and a visa to Palestine, Brod put him on the train to Palestine. Stoliar later joined the British Army and served with distinction in Egypt and Libya, then later in the Israeli Army in the 1948 war for Israel's independence. Later, he moved to Japan and then the United States. He lives with his wife Marda in Bend, Oregon
.
Struma
The Struma was a ship chartered to carry Jewish refugees from Axis-allied Romania to British-controlled Palestine during World War II. On February 23, 1942, with its engine inoperable and its refugee passengers aboard, Turkish authorities towed the ship from Istanbul harbor through the Bosphorus...
by a Soviet submarine, the Shchuka 213
Shchuka class submarine
The Shchuka class submarines , also referred to as Shch or SC class submarines were a medium-sized class of Soviet submarines, built in large numbers and used during World War II...
in the Black Sea in the early morning of February 24, 1942. All of the other 781 Jewish refugees and 10 (mainly Bulgarian) crewmen perished. Then nineteen-year-old Stoliar and the passengers fleeing Constanţa
Constanta
Constanța is the oldest extant city in Romania, founded around 600 BC. The city is located in the Dobruja region of Romania, on the Black Sea coast. It is the capital of Constanța County and the largest city in the region....
, Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
, on board the Struma on December 12, 1941, were cited by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon
Ariel Sharon
Ariel Sharon is an Israeli statesman and retired general, who served as Israel’s 11th Prime Minister. He has been in a permanent vegetative state since suffering a stroke on 4 January 2006....
in a January 26, 2005, speech to the Knesset
Knesset
The Knesset is the unicameral legislature of Israel, located in Givat Ram, Jerusalem.-Role in Israeli Government :The legislative branch of the Israeli government, the Knesset passes all laws, elects the President and Prime Minister , approves the cabinet, and supervises the work of the government...
:
The sinking of the Struma might have been no more than a footnote as the single-largest civilian maritime catastrophe
Shipwreck
A shipwreck is what remains of a ship that has wrecked, either sunk or beached. Whatever the cause, a sunken ship or a wrecked ship is a physical example of the event: this explains why the two concepts are often overlapping in English....
during World War II had it not been for Stoliar's remarkable survival and willingness, even today, to attest to the callous nature of mankind that resulted in the Struma tragedy.
The Struma was sailing from Romania to Palestine. Its engines gave out during December, 1941, the coldest winter on record. A Turkish military tugboat towed Struma to Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
harbor. Under close police surveillance, Struma languished for 71 days in the harbor, its passengers prevented by Turkish police from going ashore. Stoliar said he and the passengers would have died without the meagre shipments of bread and other food ferried from shore to the vessel by a single Turkish Jew named Simon Brod, working with Red Crescent and other Jews of Istanbul. Finally, on February 23, 1942, after negotiations with the British regarding the fate of the passengers seemed to reach an impasse, Turkish authorities boarded the Struma, cut its anchor chain, and towed the hapless vessel, without working engine, radio or anchor, and without adequate food or provisions, back into the Black Sea, and cast her adrift.
The next morning, Soviet submarine SC-213
Shchuka class submarine
The Shchuka class submarines , also referred to as Shch or SC class submarines were a medium-sized class of Soviet submarines, built in large numbers and used during World War II...
commanded by Senior Lieutenant D.M. Denezhko and Political Commissar A.G. Rodimatzav, fired a single torpedo from a distance of 1,118 meters and sank the Struma. Stoliar survived the blast and clung to wreckage with the ship's First Mate Ivanof Dikof. Stoliar said Dikof told him, in Russian, he saw the torpedo before it sank the Struma. Dikof died slumped on the wreckage. The Turkish government did not launch a rescue effort for 24 hours. Six coastguards in a rowing boat rescued David after initial reports of the sinking of the Struma, apparently by a stray mine, had already appeared in The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
.
After his rescue, Stoliar was imprisoned in Turkey for six weeks. After an impassioned outcry and strike in Palestine, Turkish authorities released him to Simon Brod. Afterwards British authorities acquiesced and issued Stoliar travel papers and a visa to Palestine, Brod put him on the train to Palestine. Stoliar later joined the British Army and served with distinction in Egypt and Libya, then later in the Israeli Army in the 1948 war for Israel's independence. Later, he moved to Japan and then the United States. He lives with his wife Marda in Bend, Oregon
Bend, Oregon
Bend is a city in and the county seat of Deschutes County, Oregon, United States, and the principal city of the Bend, Oregon Metropolitan Statistical Area. Bend is Central Oregon's largest city, and, despite its modest size, is the de facto metropolis of the region, owing to the low population...
.
External links
- Picture and Video of David Stoliar's testimony at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum website.
- David Stoliar's evidence Appendix to book Personal Tragedies as a Reflection on a Great Tragedy Called Struma, by Shimon Rubinshtein.
- Personal interview with Stoliar (in Hebrew) March 17'th 2006 on the Hatzofe newspaper site.
- Documented evidence from Stoliar including bibliography.
- The Uncertain Friendship: The US and Israel from Kennedy to Roosevelt by Herbert Druks ISBN 0-313-31423-3.
- David Stoliar on Film.com (on the movie 'Struma').