By Mark Weinberg
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Did you know that a pivotal moment in the birth of the modern State of Israel began right here in Wilmington, Delaware?
Many of us know the legendary story of the ship Exodus 1947—the ship that carried thousands of Holocaust survivors toward a new life in pre-state Israel. It’s a story made famous by Leon Uris’s classic 1958 novel, Exodus; the subsequent movie starring Paul Newman and Eva-Marie Saint; and even a hit song by Pat Boone and others. Yet, few realize that the actual ship at the heart of the story was built on the shores of Wilmington’s Christina River.
Long before the Wilmington Riverfront was redeveloped into its current mix of retail, recreation, culture, and housing, it was a booming industrial area with multiple shipyards. Pusey and Jones was one of the major industrial shipyards, operating from 1848 to 1959 and building over 500 cargo vessels, small warships, and yachts over that time. At its peak during World War II, it employed over 3,600 people.
In 1928, the ship that would become the Exodus 1947 was built by Pusey and Jones as the SS President Warfield, a “packet boat” to carry passengers and freight on a regular schedule across the Chesapeake Bay from Baltimore to Norfolk, Virginia. She spent years peacefully doing this before entering World War II. She first served in English waters as a training and accommodations ship for the Royal Marines and British commandoes. She then supported our troops off Omaha Beach during 1944’s D-Day invasion of France. She returned to the US in 1946 and was destined for the scrap heap, but fate, and the Haganah, intervened.
After the Holocaust, over a quarter-million European Jewish survivors were living in displaced persons camps in Germany and Austria. Nonetheless, the British reaffirmed its 1939 “White Paper” anti-Jewish immigration policy for Palestine. Britain actively used its army and navy to prevent Jewish entry and then returned any captured refugees to the camps.
Jewish organizations fought this blockade though several illegal means, collectively known as “Aliyah Bet.” Blockade-running ships were one approach. A front group for the Jewish underground organization Haganah bought the President Warfield in 1947 and refitted it for passengers. The Haganah boarded over 4500 refugees onto the cramped ship in France, renamed it Exodus 1947, and flew a “Star of David” flag over her.
On July 18, 1947, British destroyers intercepted the ship off the Palestinian coast and boarded her. The passengers, crew, and Haganah members resisted. Some died, many were wounded, and the ship was taken to Haifa harbor.
As I was writing this article, I learned I had another personal connection to these events: My daughter-in-law’s grandfather, then serving in the British Navy, was stationed in Haifa as these events unfolded. He stood on the docks and witnessed the Exodus 1947 firsthand, even taking a photo, depicted below, of the storied vessel.
Unlike the fictional history of Uris’s book or the movie, the remaining passengers were deported back to France. However, France said it would only accept people who voluntarily left the ship. Most refused and began a 24-day hunger strike.
Negative media coverage of starving Jews forced the British hand.
Their “solution” was to send the Jews to camps in the British-controlled section of Germany. Imagine putting Holocaust survivors back into camps in Germany!
The British treatment of the helpless Jews led to a world-wide outcry. Displaced persons throughout Europe staged hunger strikes in solidarity. Other protests occurred in many other places.
The publicity from these events played a significant role in generating sympathy toward the Jews, ultimately leading in 1948 to the recognition of the newly-declared Jewish state of Israel. The ship’s contribution was so important that American journalist Ruth Gruber called her “The Ship that Launched a Nation.”
The ship itself was lost in fires and other priorities after the Israeli War of Independence. Her only remnants, her bell and builder’s identification plate, are in the Mariners’ Museum in Newport News, Virginia.
Wilmington has a memorial marker, but it is difficult to find unless you’re really looking for it! It’s at 15 S. Poplar Street near the Joseph R. Biden Train Station and Opera Delaware.
So, next time you’re in Wilmington, go look for the marker. Think about the Exodus 1947 and the people who struggled and died to win Israel’s independence . . . and those who are still protecting our sacred homeland today. We Delawareans can be proud of Wilmington’s small, but important role in its rebirth.
Am Yisrael Chai!
About the Author:
MARK WEINBERG is a long-time member of Wilmington’s Adas Kodesch Shel Emeth Congregation. He is a retired DuPont chemical engineer/materials scientist and has contributed to polymer and fiber research. His interests include history, particularly World War II, and genealogy. He and his wife, Gail, live in North Wilmington.
