''Darien II'' was the last ship to bring
Aliya Bet
''Aliyah Bet'' (, "Aliyah
''Aliyah'' (, ; ''ʿălīyyā'', ) is the immigration of Jews from Jewish diaspora, the diaspora to, historically, the geographical Land of Israel or the Palestine (region), Palestine region, which is today ch ...
refugees to
Haifa
Haifa ( ; , ; ) is the List of cities in Israel, third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropolitan area i ...
during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. A former lighthouse tender, she sailed from the
Black Sea
The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...
to Palestine in early 1941.
Ship history
Early career
The ship was built by the
Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company
The Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company, Limited, was a Scottish shipbuilding company in the Govan area on the Clyde in Glasgow. Fairfields, as it is often known, was a major warship builder, turning out many vessels for the Royal Na ...
of Glasgow in 1892 for the
Northern Lighthouse Board
The Northern Lighthouse Board (NLB) is the general lighthouse authority for Scotland and the Isle of Man. It is a non-departmental public body responsible for ocean, marine navigation aids around coastal areas.
History
The NLB was formed by ...
and served as a tender, named ''Pole Star'', based at
Stromness
Stromness (, ; ) is the second-most populous town in Orkney, Scotland. It is in the southwestern part of Mainland, Orkney. It is a burgh with a parish around the outside with the town of Stromness as its capital.
Etymology
The name "Stromnes ...
. She was renamed ''Orphir'' in 1931, and then sold to William Marshall of Glasgow for conversion to a salvage ship under the same name. In 1933 she was again sold to James M. Stewart of Glasgow. It was used in 1935 to discover the wreck of RMS ''
Lusitania
Lusitania (; ) was an ancient Iberian Roman province encompassing most of modern-day Portugal (south of the Douro River) and a large portion of western Spain (the present Extremadura and Province of Salamanca). Romans named the region after th ...
''. In 1939 it was sold to P. Svolakis & Co., of
Piraeus
Piraeus ( ; ; , Ancient: , Katharevousa: ) is a port city within the Athens urban area ("Greater Athens"), in the Attica region of Greece. It is located southwest of Athens city centre along the east coast of the Saronic Gulf in the Ath ...
, Greece, renamed ''Sophia S'', and registered at Colón, Panama.
Aliya Bet
In May 1940 the ship was purchased in Piraeus by Moshe Agami and Shmarya Zameret for $40,000.
Zameret, who was a
U.S. citizen
Citizenship of the United States is a legal status that entails Americans with specific rights, duties, protections, and benefits in the United States. It serves as a foundation of fundamental rights derived from and protected by the Consti ...
, was the registered owner,
and renamed the ship ''Darien II'', still registered under the Panamanian flag.
Both men were members of
Mossad LeAliyah Bet
The Mossad LeAliyah Bet (, ) was a branch of the paramilitary organization Haganah in British Mandatory Palestine, and later the State of Israel, that operated to facilitate Jewish immigration to British Palestine. During the Mandate period, it ...
, a branch of
Haganah
Haganah ( , ) was the main Zionist political violence, Zionist paramilitary organization that operated for the Yishuv in the Mandatory Palestine, British Mandate for Palestine. It was founded in 1920 to defend the Yishuv's presence in the reg ...
that organised illegal Jewish emigration from Europe to the
British Mandate of Palestine.
They planned to take the ''Darien II'' to a port in
Yugoslavia
, common_name = Yugoslavia
, life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation
, p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia
, flag_p ...
to rescue 822 Jews from Poland, Germany and Austria, who had attempted to leave Europe in the ship ''Uranus'' via the
Danube
The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...
, but had been stranded at
Kladovo
Kladovo ( sr-Cyrl, Кладово, ; or ) is a town and municipality located in the Bor District of Southern and Eastern Serbia, eastern Serbia. It is situated on the right bank of the Danube river.
Name
In Serbian language, Serbian, the town i ...
on the Romanian/Yugoslav border. This plan was abandoned after the entry of Italy into the war in June 1940 made entering the
Adriatic
The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Se ...
too dangerous.
The ship then became involved in a struggle between two branches of Haganah, one dedicated to bringing Jewish refugees from Europe to Palestine in defiance of British restrictions, and the other actively co-operating with the British
Special Operations Executive
Special Operations Executive (SOE) was a British organisation formed in 1940 to conduct espionage, sabotage and reconnaissance in German-occupied Europe and to aid local Resistance during World War II, resistance movements during World War II. ...
(SOE) to provide Jewish agents to carry out acts of sabotage and intelligence gathering in enemy territory. Various plans were put forward for the ship.
Eliyahu Golomb
Eliyahu Golomb (; 2 March 1893 – 11 June 1945), also referred to as Eliyahu Ben-Naftali, was the "unofficial founder" of the Haganah, and one of the architects of the Jewish defense organizations in Mandatory Palestine, Palestine during the Br ...
suggested using her to simultaneously infiltrate agents and rescue Jewish refugees in Romania. Another suggestion was to sink the ship at the mouth of the Danube, blocking the entrance. A third plan involved occupying the port of
Constanța
Constanța (, , ) is a city in the Dobruja Historical regions of Romania, historical region of Romania. A port city, it is the capital of Constanța County and the country's Cities in Romania, fourth largest city and principal port on the Black ...
, Romania, and appears to have received some support from the Royal Navy.
Eventually the ship was sold to SOE for £15,000 to operate in the Balkans in cooperation with Haganah, though Zameret remained the registered owner
and the ship remained under the control of Mossad LeAliyah Bet.
In August 1940 the ''Darien II'' sailed to
Alexandria
Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...
, then to
Istanbul
Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...
, and finally arrived at Constanța in November. There refugees from Romania and Poland boarded, and the ship sailed to
Sulina
Sulina () is a town and free port in Tulcea County, Northern Dobruja, Romania, at the mouth of the Sulina branch of the Danube. It is the easternmost point of Romania.
History
During the mid-Byzantine period, Sulina was a small cove, and in th ...
where more refugees were expected. She waited until the end of December, but when they did not arrive, the ship finally left. On the return voyage to Constanța the ''Darien II'' hit a reef and had to be towed to a dry-dock for repairs. On 17 February 1941 ''Darien II'' left Constanța with 460 refugees on board, arriving at
Varna
Varna may refer to:
Places Europe
*Varna, Bulgaria, a city
** Varna Province
** Varna Municipality
** Gulf of Varna
** Lake Varna
**Varna Necropolis
* Vahrn, or Varna, a municipality in Italy
* Varna (Šabac), a village in Serbia
Asia
* Var ...
, Bulgaria, the next day. When the Bulgarian authorities arrested the ship's captain, Olaf Bergenson, a former Norwegian naval officer, was appointed to command. On 28 February the ship sailed from Varna with 750 refugees aboard, arriving in Istanbul on 2 March. More refugees were embarked there bringing the total up to 792,
which included survivors from the ''Salvador'',
another Aliyah Bet ship that sank in the
Sea of Marmara
The Sea of Marmara, also known as the Sea of Marmora or the Marmara Sea, is a small inland sea entirely within the borders of Turkey. It links the Black Sea and the Aegean Sea via the Bosporus and Dardanelles straits, separating Turkey's E ...
on 14 December 1940 with the loss of 204, including 66 children.
On 15 March 1941, the ship sailed from
Istanbul
Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...
. It was not intercepted by the British, and could have landed the refugees on the coast. However the ship sailed directly into
Haifa
Haifa ( ; , ; ) is the List of cities in Israel, third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropolitan area i ...
on 19 March, and the refugees were detained
in the
Atlit detainee camp
The Atlit detainee camp was a internment camp established by the authorities of Mandatory Palestine in the late 1930s on what is now the Israeli coastal plain, south of Haifa. Under British rule, it was primarily used to hold Jews and Arabs ...
,
and were not all released until 22 May 1942.
Among the refugees aboard ''Darien II'' were Abba Berdichev, who joined SOE and was
parachuted back into Europe only to be caught and executed by the Germans, and Shulamit, later wife of prime minister
Yitzhak Shamir
Yitzhak Shamir (, ; born Yitzhak Yezernitsky; October 22, 1915 – June 30, 2012) was an Israeli politician and the seventh prime minister of Israel, serving two terms (1983–1984, 1986–1992). Before the establishment of the State of Israel, ...
.
Later career and disposal
The ''Darien II'' was requisitioned by the British authorities,
[ and under their control sailed to ]Tobruk
Tobruk ( ; ; ) is a port city on Libya's eastern Mediterranean coast, near the border with Egypt. It is the capital of the Butnan District (formerly Tobruk District) and has a population of 120,000 (2011 est.)."Tobruk" (history), ''Encyclop� ...
in late 1941 following the lifting of the siege
''The Siege'' is a 1998 American action thriller film directed by Edward Zwick. The film is about a situation in which terrorist cells have made several attacks in New York City. The film stars Denzel Washington, Annette Bening, Tony Shalhoub ...
. She was then berthed at Alexandria
Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...
, resuming convoy duties in early 1943 between ports in North Africa, and later Sicily, then shifting operations to ports in mainland Italy in 1944–1945.
She operated under the control of the Ministry of War Transport
The Ministry of War Transport (MoWT) was a department of the British Government formed early in the Second World War to control transportation policy and resources. It was formed by merging the Ministry of Shipping and the Ministry of Transpor ...
, and was managed by the Wilson Line in 1945, and was purchased from her owners by the Ministry of Transport
A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government a ...
in 1948 to operate in the Eastern Mediterranean. She was eventually laid up at Port Said
Port Said ( , , ) is a port city that lies in the northeast Egypt extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, straddling the west bank of the northern mouth of the Suez Canal. The city is the capital city, capital of the Port S ...
in 1950, sold to Italian ship-breakers, and arrived at Spezia
La Spezia (, or ; ; , in the local ) is the capital city of the province of La Spezia and is located at the head of the Gulf of La Spezia in the southern part of the Liguria region of Italy.
La Spezia is the second-largest city in the Liguri ...
for breaking up in 1951.[
]
In media
''The Darien Dilemma'', a film that mixed a fictionalized retelling of the final Aliya Bet sailing with interviews of actual passengers, premièred at the Tel Aviv International Documentary Film Festival in April 2006.
See also
* Ruth Klüger - Aliav
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Darien
1892 ships
Ships built on the River Clyde
Passenger ships
Jewish emigration from Nazi Germany
Jewish immigrant ships