Handbill declaring a day of mourning for the sinking of the refugee ship Strumah

Handbill issued by an unidentified synagogue in Jerusalem announcing a called strike and day of mourning in response to the sinking of the refugee ship, Strumah, in the Black Sea in 1942. The Strumah (Struma) was an illegal immigrant ship that left Constanta, Romania, on December 12, 1941 with 767 Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi-dominated Europe. The ship was headed for Istanbul where the passengers hoped to get visas to enter Palestine. The old cargo barge was unsafe and overcrowded. The engine died when it reached Istanbul and it had to be towed into port. Palestine was ruled by the British who imposed strict immigration limits and refused to provide visas. Turkish authorities also denied entry to the passengers. After being held in quarantine for 70 days, the Strumah was towed out to sea by Turkish police on February 23, 1942. The next day, the ship sank, torpedoed by a Soviet submarine, presumably in error. The sole survivor was 20 year old David Stoliar. He was found in the wreckage by Turkish sailors, jailed in Turkey, but released when the British supplied a visa for Palestine which he reached in April 1942.