Haapalah / Aliyah Bet

Martin Sugarman cites: "A brother in Antwerp managed to obtain papers for Maurice to enter Belgium, which he achieved with hair-raising adventures via Warsaw, Prague and Rotterdam. From Antwerp, he contacted Jewish agents of the Irgun, illegally transporting Jewish refugees into British Palestine."

In 1938, the German government had decided that all Jews of Polish nationality residing in Germany, were to be deported back to Poland.
In November, 1938, the Tiefenbrunner family were all taken to the railway station, escorting police took put them into the train carriages, and they were expelled to Poland.
The train left Wiesbaden, stopped in Mainz, Frankfurt and several other places, where more Jewish families boarded the train.
The train went as far as Beuthen, on the border of Germany and Poland, where all the passengers got out.
The Tiefenbrunner family boarded a train for Krakow, to Yaakov Tiefenbrunner's house.
Phillip Tiefenbrunner left home to work in Antwerpen.
Yona 'Yoine' Tiefenbrunner escaped to Belgium, joining his brother, Phillip, in Antwerpen.

On July 13, 1939, SS Parita פאריטה sailed from Constanţa Galatz, organized by Betar and Revisionists. carrying 850 passengers, 540 of them, Betar members from Poland and Romania.
Zionism-Israel.com cites SS Parita פאריטה carried 856 passengers.
Maurice Tiefenbrunner cites he boarded SS Parita פאריטה at Marseille, and 950 passengers boarded in Romania.
Michael Zalampas cites SS Parita פאריטה carried 875 passenger.
Rafael Medoff cites SS Parita פאריטה "brought 600 half-starved immigrants to Palestine after an eight-week journey."
Martin Sugarman cites: SS Parita carried "950 Jewish refugees on a vessel meant to carry 250!"
Paul H. Silverstone's Aliyah Bet Project cites: on June 26, 1939, Bute sailed from Sète, carrying 80, and was renamed Parita; she arrived at Constanţa, and on July 13, 1939, Parita sailed from Constanţa , carrying 850 passengers, including 540 Betar members.
Jürgen Rohwer cites: Menachem Begin and Mordekai Katz organized the transportion for 400 Betarim and 200 Maapilim from Warszawa, in a sealed train to Constanţa. ; in addition, another 120 Maapilim from Romania, so that SS Parita פאריטה carried 800 passengers (including the 80 passengers who boarded in Marseille).

Eliahu Ben-Horin played an important role in facilitating the sailing of SS Parita פאריטה.

On July 7, 1939, Tuvia Peretz left Ciechanowiec for Czyzewo, and then took the train to Warszawa.
Tuvia Peretz cites: "I arrived in Warsaw and went to 5 Havatzimska Street. That was the Emigrants Hotel, the meeting place for Polish Jews going to the Holy Land. There were about 500 of us and 300 more from Roumania and France were to join us soon. We waited four long days in anxious anticipation."
From Warszawa, Tuvia and his group went to Shniatim, on the Poland Rumania border, where they were joined by 300 other Maaplim.
"We were told that from Shniatim we would proceed to Constanta, a port on the Black Sea. It would then be a two-week sea voyage to Israel."
"The order came, “Everyone carry your own baggage. We are walking to the port area." We were in a surging crowd walking to the dock. Among us were 300 Jews from France and Roumania. Far off, we could see the Prita, the ship that awaited us."

On July 13, 1939, Shlomo Zlotolow sailed on SS Parita from Constanţa.

On July 13, 1939, Michel Kolsky sailed on SS Parita from Constanţa.

Maurice 'Monju' Tiefenbrunner contacted his brother, Philip, who lived in Belgium.
Maurice 'Monju' Tiefenbrunner cites: "He had contacts with a Belgian consul in Holland and promised to try and get me a visa to Belgium. I immediately sent him my passport and he actually succeeded in obtaining this precious visa. He returned my passport, which reached me a day before its expiry."
Martin Sugarmen cites: "A brother in Antwerp managed to obtain papers for Maurice (Tiefenbrunner) to enter Belgium, which he achieved with hair-raising adventures via Warsaw, Prague and Rotterdam. From Antwerp, he contacted Jewish agents of the Irgun, illegally transporting Jewish refugees into British Palestine (Israel). Via Paris and Marseilles, he made it to a ship with a group of 20 others."
"After 70 days instead of the intended 10, of wanderings, touching Rhodes, Smyrna and other ports, and begging for food from passing liners (including 20 bottles of beer from one passing cruise ship), his group took over the ship from the Greek crew, hoisted the Israeli flag and then beached the vessel on the sea front of Tel-Aviv on Aug 22nd 1939. It was a Friday night and thousands of Tel-Avivans came out to greet them with food. Then they were promptly interned at Sarafand Army camp by the British! Two weeks later war broke out and Maurice was consequently made a "legal" citizen as an amnesty was declared. "

Maurice 'Monju' Tiefenbrunner made it to Marseille.
Maurice 'Monju' Tiefenbrunner cites: "We were to buy tickets on a pleasure boat, which was making trips around the Marseilles harbour. Some of the crews on these boats were bribed to take us to our ship, which was docked outside French waters. In the evening we bought our tickets; and after some cruising around in the dark, we were taken to our ship. When everyone had arrived, we were only 80 people. On board, we were told why we had been kept waiting so long. A group of 180 people, coming from Switzerland, were to join us. Unfortunately, this group did not make it; they were turned back. This ship was meant to take about 250 people and naturally 80 of us could not possibly bear the cost of the passage. So our organisers communicated with a group who were waiting in Romania, and they would join us in Constanza.
We finally left the shores of France on June 10th 1939."

Martin Sugarman cites: Maurice Tiefenbrunner "fought in and escaped from France via St Malo with hundreds of other Palestinian Jewish troops, in 1940, fighting with the BEF. "

Maurice Tiefenbrunner joined the No. 51 Middle East Commando Unit, and fought in the battles in Gondar and Keren, in Ethiopia/Eritrea where he was wounded trying to rescue a wounded comrade, promoted and Mentioned in Dispatches.
He returned to Egypt with the No. 51 Commando Unit.

In December, 1941, Maurice Tiefenbrunner took part in an early raid on Tobruk.

Captain Buck recruited Maurice Tiefenbrunner and other Jews of the No. 51 Middle East Commando into the SIG.

Martin Sugarman cites: "Before the SIG raid on Derna, Maurice (Tiefenbrunner) and five friends were ordered by Buck to accompany him to King Farouk's Royal Palace on a secret mission to "persuade" HRH not to back the "wrong side" in the war. This was successful."

Maurice Tiefenbrunner cites: "On one occasion, he even lined up to draw pay from a German field cashier; he explained how he was nervous but so caught up in his trained role as a German soldier, that he hardly had time to dwell on the danger of what he was doing! On other occasions he and other SIG mingled with German POW's to gather intelligence and learn how they behaved."

Martin Sugarman cites: "Maurice (Tiefenbrunner) was in a jeep at the rear of a convoy of 50 vehicles, and broke down. Seen by Italians, he and his driver (from Lancashire) were soon surrounded by armoured cars and after destroying any sensitive documents which may have incriminated them, were captured on Dec 18th 1942. When the Italian army collapsed he was taken (as an important SAS prisoner) with 8 others by Italian submarine to Bari. On the way they tried to overpower the crew but failed and were punished by being locked up. As the Allies advanced on the POW camp at Bari, he was moved to a POW camp at Udine. His cover (prepared before the raid) was that his name was Tiffen, born in Montreal but taken to Palestine as a child!"
The Germans transferred them to Wolfensgarten, and during the trip, a group, including Maurice, tried an escape, but were recaptured.
From Wolfensgarten,they were transferred Thorn.
In May, 1945, after 30 months as a POW, Maurice Tiefenbrunner was liberated.

Rabbi Dr. Ansbacher, a Rabbi in Wiesbaden, and a close friend of Efroim Tiefenbrunner, attended Maurice 'Monju' Tiefenbrunner wedding.
Philip Tiefenbrunner and his wife, Henny, came from Antwerpen, but Yoine Jonas Tiefenbrunner could not get a visa in time.