Research Catalog

Running the Palestine blockade : the last voyage of the Paducah

Title
Running the Palestine blockade : the last voyage of the Paducah / Rudolph W. Patzert.
Author
Patzert, Rudolph W., 1911-
Publication
Annapolis, Md. : Naval Institute Press, ©1994.

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StatusFormatAccessCall NumberItem Location
Book/TextUse in library DS126.4 .P355 1994Off-site

Details

Description
ix, 223 pages : illustrations; 24 cm
Summary
This haunting narrative recounts the clandestine transport of Holocaust survivors to Palestine by the Jewish underground and volunteer American seamen. The story is told by the American captain of one of the rescue ships, the Paducah, an aging U.S. gunship sold as surplus after World War II. He begins in May 1947, at the start of the Paducah's six-month voyage, as he and his largely inexperienced crew make their way from New York to Bulgaria, where they retrieve 1,388 refugees. Captain Patzert's poignant memoir of this epochal migration in the face of strong British opposition reads like a novel, but with the uncompromising reality of history in the making. A dramatic true story of political intrigue and sea adventure, Running the Palestine Blockade tells of constant surveillance by the Royal Navy and Air Force, uncharted mines in the Black Sea, and informants bent on sabotaging the mission. Surrounded by British ships for its final run into Palestine, the Paducah didn't have a chance, and everyone aboard was captured and taken to internment camps on Cyprus. There, the brutal conditions Patzert and his men share with the already weakened exiles forge an enduring bond between passengers and crew. The author's transformation from impartial protector of a cast-off population to active supporter of their cause provides an uncommon viewpoint of a momentous journey. In an ironic twist at the end of his tale, Patzert gets to see the Promised Land when he and some of his men are transferred to Palestine, where they then escape to America. Reminiscent of the classic story Exodus, Running the Palestine Blockade captures the bravery, compassion, and indomitable spirit of Europe's war-wracked refugees as they navigate the turbulent postwar waters. Captain Patzert's vivid depictions of the unforgettable individuals who embark with him on the Paducah's final voyage complement a moving account that will appeal to a wide range of readers.
Subject
  • Patzert, Rudolph W., 1911-
  • Haganah (Organization)
  • Paducah (Ship)
  • 1917-1948
  • Holocaust survivors > Cyprus
  • Emigration and immigration
  • Holocaust survivors
  • Politics and government
  • Einwanderung
  • Überlebender
  • Judenvernichtung
  • Paducah Schiff
  • Holocaust survivors > Cyprus
  • Geschichte 1947
  • Palestine > Politics and government > 1917-1948
  • Palestine > Emigration and immigration
  • Cyprus
  • Middle East > Palestine
  • Türkischer Föderationsstaat von Zypern
  • Israel
  • Eretz Israel > Emigration and immigration
  • Eretz Israel > Politics and government > 1917-1948, British Mandate period
  • Eretz Israel > Aliyah
  • Juden
Note
  • Includes index.
ISBN
  • 1557506795
  • 9781557506795
  • 1853105252
  • 9781853105258
LCCN
93028122
OCLC
  • ocm28424236
  • 28424236
  • SCSB-2022175
Owning Institutions
Princeton University Library