A documentary about the Struma and the expedition will be shown on Channel 4, 9.00pm 16th August 2001 as part of the Secret History series.

She limped to Istanbul over three days where the tiny, woefully inadequate engine finally gave up.

There she remained for 70 days. The British refused to grant permission for them to enter Palestine and the Turks would not let them repair the engine, disembark or remain in Turkey.

With only the food and water supplied by the local Jewish community and no sanitary facilities, conditions on the unbearably cramped, little ship rapidly deteriorated.

On the evening of February 23rd 1942, Turkish police seized control of ship and towed it out into the Black Sea. With no engine, she drifted over night when at first light a Russian submarine sank her with a single torpedo.

103 children, 269 women and 406 men died. Amongst them, my Paternal grandparents. There was one survivor, David Stoliar.

The Ship's name was Struma.

In August 2000 we mounted an expedition to Turkey to locate, survey and dive the Struma.
At the same time we held a ceremony of commemoration in Turkey which was attended by the governments of related countries and over 60 relatives of those lost on the ship.

Click on these links for accounts of the survey/diving, and of the The Day of Remeberance.