Haapalah / Aliyah Bet

In 1932, after Harry Schulman's death, Sarah Schulman moved to Paris, with Sam, to be near her family.
In May, 1940, when the Germans invaded France, Sarah supported herself by sewing leather pocket books for a Jewish manufacturer, and sold goods on the black market.
Sarah Schulman and her son had to register as Jews in order to obtain ration cards; she had to wear a Jewish star, but Sam Schulman, an American citizen, was exempt.
Since Sarah Schulman was officially stateless, she could not return to the United States.
In July, 1942, after the Gestapo conducted a round-up of Parisian Jews, they packed bedding and sheets in potato sacks and shipped them to friends in a town near Limoges, while they hid in a hotel near the Tour Eiffel for 2 weeks.
They were smuggled on a freight train to Limoges, in the unoccupied zone, from where they continued to La Creuse, where their bedding had been sent.

Sam Schulman, who spent three years, 1942-1945, with his mother in hiding in Pionnat, cites: "Far from the city where roundups were frequent, being in the middle of nowhere was about as safe as it could get given the circumstances."
Sam Schulman and his mother, Sarah, survived the war in Pionnat, but, most of his family in Poland, including his grandmother, aunts and uncles perished in Auschwitz.
After the war Sam met with the Hehalutz group in Paris, and wanted to go to Palestine with them, but Sarah Schulman preferred to return to the United States.
In February, 1946, Sam and his mother were repatriated to United States.

Samuel Schulman kept in contact with the Labor Zionists in New York, and told them of his desire to immigrate to Palestine, so they instructed him to go to Baltimore, where he thought he would board a ship as a passenger.

On March 29, 1947, 'Bill' Millman, age 21 years, served as Deck Crew aboard President Warfild Exodus 1947 אקסודוס תש"ז.
He had been sent to Baltimore where the Weston Trading Co. a friend told him, worked at in getting emigrants to Palestine.
When he signed on as Helmsman and Bosun mate, and first saw the ship, 'Bill' Millman cites: "No lights, no heat, plenty of rats, It had a metal hull but the superstructure atop the hull was entirely made of wood. The boat was outfitted with 5,000 life jackets and 5,000 1-gallon tins of water and the crew set sail for the Azores."
He became involved in the illegal immigration movement for personal reasons.
'Bill' Millman cites: "I had my problems in the service because of the fact that I was Jewish, "I caught a lot of garbage. But I took care of myself. And when I came out (of the Navy), I didn't like what I saw and what I read about" what the Nazis had done. "I decided I would do something about it."

On March 29, 1947, Nathan Nadler shipped out from Pier 32 in Philadelphia, and served as Electrician aboard President Warfield Exodus 1947 אקסודוס תש"ז.
He had been interviewed at the Free Palestine League's office, and a few days later, he received a call instructing him to go to the pier in Philadelphia, to join the crew of the President Warfield Exodus 1947 אקסודוס תש"ז.
Nathan Nadler cites: When heclimbed the rope ladder to President Warfield Exodus 1947 אקסודוס תש"ז, he was greeted by "A priest! With a clerical collar, a black tunic, and a big cross on his chest about eight inches high." the Rev. John Stanley Grauel, Methodist minister and a crew mate.

Sam Schulman went to Baltimore, and he discovered that they intended for him to serve as a crew member on President Warfield Exodus 1947.

On December 27, 1947, Pan Crescent פאן קרסצנט Atzmaut עצמאות and Pan York פאן יורק Kibbutz Galuyot קיבוץ גלויות sailed from the port of Burgas Бургас.
Gad Hilb cites: Pan Crescent פאן קרסצנט Atzmaut עצמאות and Pan York פאן יורק Kibbutz Galuyot קיבוץ גלויות sailed from Burgas Бургас on December 26, 1947.
Yoram Kaniuk cites: Pan Crescent פאן קרסצנט Atzmaut עצמאות and Pan York פאן יורק Kibbutz Galuyot קיבוץ גלויות sailed at 16:00PM, on Friday, December 26, 1947, because that sailing south from Burgas Бургас toward Turkey Türkiye would have been shorter, but it was filled with mines, therefore she sailed north, hugging the Romanian coast, where the minefields had been cleared by the Russians.
The Russian Pilot who had a map, but refused to sail at night, diembarked at Varna Варна, along with Shaike Dan and the Bulgarian officer who accompanied him.
Micha Peri served as Palyam Escort aboard Pan Crescent פאן קרסצנט Atzmaut עצמאות.

'Mira' Kafri served as Palyam פלי"ם Escort מלווה and head of the kitchen aboard Pan Crescent פאן קרסצנט Atzmaut עצמאות, when she sailed from Burgas.

Sam Schulman served aboard Pan Crescent פאן קרסצנט Atzmaut עצמאות, when she sailed from Burgas.

Benjamin Yerushalmi served as crew on board Pan Crescent Atzmaut עצמאות, and worked getting the ship seaworthy.

After serving as Commander of the transit camp not far from Mula, Pinchas 'Pinny' Ashuah was sent, with three other Palyamnikim, to Venezia, to serve as Palyam Escort on board Pan Crescent פאן קרסצנט.

Sam Schulman and Avi Livney were two of the more than 50,000 interned by the British authorities in Cyprus.
Sam Schulman cites: "There were two sets of camps. There were the ‘summer camps’ at Karaolos, located by the sea on the outskirts of the port city of Famagusta, and the ‘winter camps’ at Xylotymbou in the outlying hill country.”
"They were constructed by the German prisoners of war in a similar fashion - surrounded by a double electric wire fence with spotlights and an observation point every 100 meters. British soldiers kept watch with Tommy guns with orders to shoot anyone who tried to escape."
Sam Schulman spent 6 weeks in the British internment camp.

In January, 1948, a year after their capture. passengers of laNegev לנגב, were transported by British Army to Famagusta, where they boarded SS Kedma קדמה, at that time the only Jewish passenger ship in service, for the overnight trip to Haifa.

In January, 1948, Sam Schulman was smuggled out of the Cyprus Internment camp by the Haganah, on the passenger liner, SS Kedmah קדמה, under the alias of an immigrant approved by the monthly British quota.

Sam Schulman became a watchmaker in New York, and set up a business in the old Diamond Exchange on Canal Street.