RMS ''Mataroa'' (formerly named the ''Diogenes'') was a 12,341-ton ocean liner built by

Harland & Wolff Harland & Wolff is a British shipbuilding company based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It specialises in ship repair, shipbuilding and offshore construction. Harland & Wolff is famous for having built the majority of the ocean liners for the ...

in 1922. She was scrapped in 1957. In 1945, ''Mataroa'' made two famous journeys: * In August 1945, the ''Mataroa'' was chartered to transport from

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Fran ...

Haifa Haifa ( he, חֵיפָה ' ; ar, حَيْفَا ') is the 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 metropoli ...

173 Jewish children of the

Œuvre de secours aux enfants Œuvre de secours aux enfants (, Children's Aid Society), abbreviated OSE is a French Jewish humanitarian organization which was founded in Russia in 1912 to help Russian Jewish children. Later it moved to France. OSE's most important activitie ...

(OSE), survivors of the

Buchenwald Buchenwald (; literally 'beech forest') was a Nazi concentration camp established on hill near Weimar, Germany, in July 1937. It was one of the first and the largest of the concentration camps within Germany's 1937 borders. Many actual or su ...

concentration camp, who had family in

Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East J ...

. She later transported survivors of

Bergen-Belsen Bergen-Belsen , or Belsen, was a Nazi concentration camp in what is today Lower Saxony in northern Germany, southwest of the town of Bergen near Celle. Originally established as a prisoner of war camp, in 1943, parts of it became a concentra ...

. * In late December 1945, the ''Mataroa'' brought from Greece to

Taranto Taranto (, also ; ; nap, label=Tarantino dialect, Tarantino, Tarde; Latin: Tarentum; Old Italian: ''Tarento''; Ancient Greek: Τάρᾱς) is a coastal city in Apulia, Southern Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Taranto, serving as an ...

in southern Italy a number of Greek artists and intellectuals Greek aiming to reach

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...

, in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

, in the context of the

Greek civil war The Greek Civil War ( el, ο Eμφύλιος �όλεμος ''o Emfýlios'' 'Pólemos'' "the Civil War") took place from 1946 to 1949. It was mainly fought against the established Kingdom of Greece, which was supported by the United Kingdom ...

. The vast majority were

fellows Fellows may refer to Fellow, in plural form. Fellows or Fellowes may also refer to: Places *Fellows, California, USA *Fellows, Wisconsin, ghost town, USA Other uses *Fellows Auctioneers, established in 1876. *Fellowes, Inc., manufacturer of works ...

of France. This trip was organized by the then Director of the ,

philhellene Philhellenism ("the love of Greek culture") was an intellectual movement prominent mostly at the turn of the 19th century. It contributed to the sentiments that led Europeans such as Lord Byron and Charles Nicolas Fabvier to advocate for Greek i ...

Octave Merlier Octave Merlier ( el, Οκτάβιος Μερλιέ; 1897–1976) was an expert on the Modern Greek language. Merlier was born in Roubaix. He studied at the Sorbonne and École pratique des hautes études under the tutelage of Antonius Meillet and ...

, and his deputy

Roger Milliex Roger is a given name, usually masculine, and a surname. The given name is derived from the Old French personal names ' and '. These names are of Germanic origin, derived from the elements ', ''χrōþi'' ("fame", "renown", "honour") and ', ' ( ...

, husband of

Tatiana Gritsi-Milliex Tatiana Gritsi-Milliex ( el, Τατιάνα Γκρίτση-Μιλλιέξ; 1920 – 14 February 2005) was a Greek novelist and journalist. Biography Gritsi-Milliex was born in Athens and studied at the University of Athens, but quit her studies a ...

. Some of the passengers became internationally recognised artists, scientists or intellectuals, including: architect

George Candilis Georges Candilis ( el, Γεώργιος Κανδύλης; 29 March 1913 – 10 May 1995) was a Greek-French architect and urbanist. Biography Born in Azerbaijan, he moved to Greece and graduated from the Polytechnic School of Athens between 19 ...

, artists

Constantine Andreou Constantine Andreou (also: Costas Andreou, Kostas Andreou; french: Constantin Andréou, Costas Andréou; el, Κωνσταντίνος Ανδρέου, Κώστας Ανδρέου) (March 24, 1917 – October 8, 2007) was a painter and sculp ...

& , philosophers

Kostas Axelos Kostas Axelos (also spelled ''Costas Axelos''; el, Κώστας Αξελός; 26 June 1924 – 4 February 2010) was a Greek-French philosopher. Biography Axelos was born in Athens in 1924 to a doctor and a woman from an old Athenian bourge ...

Cornelius Castoriadis Cornelius Castoriadis ( el, Κορνήλιος Καστοριάδης; 11 March 1922 – 26 December 1997) was a Greek-FrenchMemos 2014, p. 18: "he was ... granted full French citizenship in 1970." philosopher, social critic, economist, ps ...

& , linguist

Emmanuel Kriaras Emmanuel G. Kriaras (Greek: Εμμανουήλ Γ. Κριαράς; 28 November 1906 – 22 August 2014) was a Greek lexicographer and philologist. He was Emeritus Professor of the School of Philosophy at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. ...

, filmmaker Ado Kyrou, physician

Miltiadès Papamiltiadès Miltiadès Papamiltiadès ( el, Μιλτιάδης Παπαμιλτιάδης; Amfikleia, 1910 – 1987) was a Greek anatomist known for his studies of the lymphatic system. He was among the passengers of RMS Mataroa in 1945, fleeing from Greece ...

References

Further reading