Haapalah / Aliyah Bet

David Shpitzer, his wife,and son, Dan, arrived at Bratislava, but the Danube River was frozen, so they waited until September to sail to Tulcea.

On August, 1940, Esther Leinhardt Langsam, and her sons, Oscar and Herman, left with 500 others, the last to successfully leave, on a train to Bratislava, and boarded a steamship that sailed down the Danube River to Tulcea.

In September, 1940, Jiri Polacek left on the last transport from Bohemia and Moravia, to Tulcea.

On September 2, 1940, Emil Gregr organized the illegal transport of ten fellow Jews from Praha via Wien for Palestine.

In October, 1940, Hugo Hornung sailed from Bratislava to Tulcea.

On October 6, 1940, David Shpitzer, his wife and son, Dan, age 14 years, sailed on SS Pacific sailed from Tulcea for Palestine.
Dan Shefy cites: Au mois de décembre, 1939, "nous sommes arrivés à Bratislava, mais le fleuve du Danube était gelé. Nous avons dû patienter jusqu'au mois de septembre pour entreprendre la traversée vers Israël. Nous avons alors navigué vers Tulcea, en Roumanie, et de là nous avons faitescale au bord du Pacific.¨
"We arrived in Bratislava, but the frozen waters of the Danube prevented us from sailing on to the Land of Israel. Finally, in September 1940, we sailed from Tulcea, a Romanian port city, aboard the Pacific."

On October 6, 1940, Judith Caro sailed on SS Pacific sailed from Tulcea for Palestine.

Captain F. C. Halliday served as commander of SS Patria, under British control.

Hans Venfel and Erich Frank were Hechalutz leaders onboard SS Patria, who, together with Monya Mardor, planned the method and timing of the explosion.

At 9:00 in the morning, Hans Vanfel lit the fuse with the help of a little sulfur found in a matchbox.
The first explosive failed to go off, but the second explosive was too great for the weakened hull of SS Patria.
The explosion was heard throughout Haifa, as it blew out the sheets of the superstructure and created a hole of six square meters.
The waters gushed in with a terrible force and within fifteen minutes SS Patria turned on its side and sank.

David Shpitzer, his wife and his son, Dan, were aboard SS Patria when the bomb exploded.
Dan Shefy cites: "I heard the explosion and immediately the boat tilted to the right side,"
"I tried reaching the deck. All the passageways were blocked with many people trying to reach the deck. My father was sitting on the deck when he heard the explosion. He was about to descend to locate me, but he couldn't because of the crowd. I managed to climb onto the deck."
Dan Shefy and his parents survived, and they were sent to Atlit Detention Camp.

Dan Shpitzer Shefy cites: "Instead of taking part in the war effort against the Nazis by using the Patria ship as a troop carrier, the British thought it more important to deport about 1,800 Jewish refugees aboard the ship,"

Emil Gregr was aboard SS Patria when the bomb exploded.
He survived the sinking.

Jiri Polacek was aboard SS Patria when the bomb exploded.
He was below deck, supervising the cleanup of SS Patria, when a explosion ripped through the ship.
He survived the sinking.
Jiri Polacek cites: "At first we didn't really take much notice because we'd been used to the Milos, the ship we came to Palestine on, which would often lurch like that, The captain would say, 'Everyone move to the other side, please,' something we'd have to do to balance the ship."

Monya Mardor volunteered to enter the harbor area with the assistance of Hertzel Shchori, Operations Manager of the Public Works Division of the Harbor, and two construction workers who worked on the construction of bomb shelters.
SS Patria was being prepared for her long voyage, and they had to retrofit the baking oven, so Hertzel Shchori sent a message to Monya Mardor, who posed as a worker, that they were transferring bricks and sacks of sand to SS Patria, under guard by the military and police.

Judith Caro was aboard SS Patria when the bomb exploded.
Judith Caro cites: "on 6th November, we were informed that we were to be transferred to a large troop transporter in the harbour for a fortnight’s quarantine. The new ship was the Patria, a former French luxury liner captured by the British. We were ferried over in small groups, women, children and the Youth Aliyah group first. We climbed a side ladder to board the ship."
"Eva and I went up onto the tween deck. We arrived just as the first group jumped into the water. Then we heard a bang. We thought they were shooting at the swimmers: we watched with interest. Then the English arrived, waving their guns and started to drive us all below deck. We had to go downstairs too, but on the next level, we went our onto the lower deck."
"There was total chaos and no one paid us any attention. Some people were screaming, others were praying. No one knew what had really happened. The bang we had heard was an explosion. The “Arabs” who brought the coal had also brought explosives on board to damage the ship. We now know that they miscalculated the amount needed and that the ship was not as robust as they had assumed. The hole in the ship’s side was so big that the Patria sank much more quickly than planned. People were trapped in their cabins and couldn't open the doors; stairs collapsed, the water poured in. People jumped from the side which was tilting towards the water and planks and boards slipped off the ship on top of them, killing many, including our Alfred, who came from Rissen with us. He was an excellent swimmer, but was knocked out in the water by a thick board."
"Eva and I had stayed by the railing. When the ship was listing so severely that we could not stand, we slipped gradually down the ship’s side, which was gradually becoming upright. We were on the upper side and so could slide down comfortably. Margot climbed out of a porthole and Chaja, who was trying to do the same, got stuck because of her broad hips. It took two sailors to pull her out."
"An Englishman in a rowing boat pulled me out of the water. The non-swimmers were picked up first. I showed him where Eva was and he pulled her into the boat too. We were all just taken to the breakwater, so that the boats could return to the ship as soon as possible. Once there, we started to realise what had really happened. Up to then we were too busy thinking about what to do next - now we could see the whole picture. Everyone went around looking for his friends and relations among the dripping wet figures."

Moshe Dafni cites: "I was involved in retrieving the bodies of, and equipment from, the ship “Patria”."

On November 26, 1940, Dan Shpitzer and his parents, having survived the explosion aboard SS Patria, were interned at Atlit Detention camp.

On November 26, 1940, Judith Caro, having survived the explosion aboard SS Patria, was interned at Atlit Detention camp.
Judith Caro cites: "That evening there was an announcement: “His Majesty’s Government” was granting an amnesty to the survivors of the shipwreck. We were allowed to stay in the country. Buses drove up and we were taken to the Atlith internment camp. We were so happy. After 107 days, our journey was over."

Dan Shpitzer Shefy server in A Company.