During all of 1941, only about 4,000 Jews managed to enter Palestine. The Struma, a vessel that had left Constanta in Rumania with 769 refugees, got to Istanbul on December 16, 1941. There, it was forced to undergo repairs of its engine and leaking hull. The Turks would not grant the refugees sanctuary. The British would not approve transshipment to Mauritius or entry to Palestine. On February 24, 1942, the Turks ordered the Struma out of the harbor. It sank with the loss of 428 men, 269 women and 70 children. Apparently, it had been torpedoed by a Soviet submarine, either because it was mistaken for a Nazi ship, or more likely, because the Soviets had agreed to collaborate with the British in barring Jewish immigration. At this point, the Mossad l'Aliyah Bet apparently stopped its efforts. However, the illegal immigration efforts continued, including "private initiatives" and one by the US. Sometimes they met with success, and often they ended in internment or tragic failure. In early 1944, US President Roosevelt apparently authorized a cloak and dagger mission to rescue 50,000 Jews from Southern Europe. In fact, somewhat under 3,000 Jews in 8 ships under Turkish registry were rescued in this way, mostly from Romania. (see http://www.alpas.net/uli/struma/Ziarulturc.htm and www.jewishgen.org/romsig/New/Strumah.html ). The ships docked in Istanbul, and the Turks provided rail passage to Syria. On August 5, 1944, however, the Mefkure, carrying 316 passengers and crew, and flying both a Turkish flag and a Red Cross banner, was torpedoed by Soviet submarine SC-215, in the Black Sea. Survivors were machine gunned while trying to escape.
