Czernowitzers... 80 years ago, a new edition of “Die Stimme”, the monthly Newsletter for the Bukovinians, was published on 21-FEB-1945. Let's take a journey into the past together to comprehend what moved our ancestors, their relatives and friends back then!
Under the heading “CZERNOWITZ - TULCEA - BULGARIA - PALESTINE”, Dr. Leon Engler reports on the Aliyah of 80 Jews from Czernowitz. Their odyssey began in February 1943 in the Romanian Black Sea port of Tulcea. Leon Engler reports: “What was to stop us? The boat [rom. Pescăruș = engl. Seagull] was ready to go, the authorities had given permission to sail, and even the customs authorities had arrived that evening. So there's no more obstacle, we'll continue tomorrow. But - lo and behold! The High Command suddenly discovers that a fishing boat is a war-important vessel that could fall into the hands of the Allies, which would jeopardize the chances of victory at sea for the Axis allies.” The Seagull was an old launch, a wooden fishing boat with limited dimensions. The experts at the Merchant Shipping Directorate considered it suitable for transporting refugees, but denied any economic or military interest. The High Command of the Navy nevertheless banned its departure on the grounds that although the Jewish refugees had an exit permit, the launch did not. The case was presented to Head of State Ion Antonescu for a decision and even Adolf Eichmann intervened via the German Embassy in Bucharest. Meanwhile, our deplorable 80 Jews from Czernowitz waited in Tulcea, always fearing that they would be sent to the death camps in Transnistria instead of Palestine. Only after an incredible two years do they managed to leave via Bulgaria for the Land of Israel, where they finally arrived in the spring of 1945. https://www.difmoe.eu/uuid/uuid:b5fa615f-cbdf-4842-b7e0-57e40d10b8e6 Dr. Manfred Reifer founded the Chug Olej Bukovina [Association of Immigrants from Bukovina] and decided to publish “Die Stimme”. He entrusted with this task Elias Weinstein, the former editor of the renowned daily newspaper “Czernowitzer Morgenblatt”. I will try to let “Die Stimme” continue to resound in the future and invite you to follow me on this journey. Your comments are highly welcome! Edgar Hauster [MacBook] P.S.: By courtesy of the Digital Forum Central and Eastern Europe (DiFMOE) "Jewish-German Bukovina 1918+" Digitization Project: https://www.difmoe.eu Edgar Hauster [MacBook] ******************************************************************************* This moderated discussion group is for information exchange on the subject of Czernowitz and Sadagora Jewish History and Genealogy. The opinions expressed in these posts are the opinions of the original poster only and not necessarily the opinions of the List Owner, the Webmaster or any other members or entities connected with this mailing list. The Czernowitz-L list has an associated web site at http://czernowitz.ehpes.com that includes a searchable archive of all messages posted to this list. Beginning in 2021, archived messages can be found at: https://www.mail-archive.com/czernowitz-l@list.cornell.edu/ To send mail to the list, address it to <czernowit...@cornell.edu>. To remove your address from this e-list follow the directions at https://it.cornell.edu/lyris/leave-e-lists-lyris To receive assistance for this e-list send an e-mail message to: owner-czernowit...@list.cornell.edu -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
