Top Secret among hundreds of Holocaust Survivors in Sweden - Next Year in Jerusalem - 75 years ago - From Malmö to Gävle - Waiting for the Haganah ship S/S Ulua.

Olga Deutsch (Deutschowa) from Karcascomor, Hungary, was 15 when WWII started. On December 31, 1946, she was waiting for the message about the trip to the Promised Land. She came to Sweden on UNRRAs White Boat M/S Ingrid that left port of Lübeck on July 7, 1945. Olga was first imprisoned in Auschwitz in 1944 moved to Buchenwald and liberated from the concentration camp in Bergen-Belsen on April 15, 1945. On February 1947, she was imprisoned again, this time by British in the detention camp on Cyprus. Later she was transferred from Cyprus to the Athlit camp close to Haifa and released from there in August 1947.

On December 31, 1946, the wish Next Year in Jerusalem, was particularly poignant as it represented an end of the long journey of Holocaust survivors from slavery in the ghettos and death camps to freedom in Eretz Israel, Jerusalem. It was not only a matter of moving from one geographical location to another but it symbolized a transition from one low spiritual state to another, high in expectations. After WWII this journey was literally crucial for the revival of the spirit of Jews both as a nation and as individuals.

Departure from Sweden and Europe meant shaking off the deprivation and slavery of the Holocaust and leaving behind what was the Jewish cemetery of 6 million for the freedom of the Promised Land.

The first group of Holocaust survivors, mainly children, left Sweden just after 322 days since their arrival from the camps. When leaving Sweden, the biggest challenge was travel itself; first, the transit through Europe and then entry to the British governed and guarded Eretz Israel. Mission Aliyah Beth was trying to overcome these problems by shipments of the Holocaust survivors by sea.

December 31, 1946 (?). Group photo of the youngsters, Holocaust survivors, waiting in Sweden for the message about their trip to the Promised Land.

Despite months of relative stability and accommodation in Sweden, most youngsters that survived the Holocaust decided, against the stay in Sweden but preferred to pursue an uncertain future in Eretz Israel. The S/S Ulua ship was to bring these survivors, 550 young women and 94 men, to Eretz Israel. It has to be pointed out that these young people — similar to the heroes of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising -- were completely alone in the world, deprived of family members, a true “Mono-Generation”. Olga Deutsch whose picture and fate is described above was a typical example of this Mono-Generation.

The transport of Holocaust survivors was kept top-secret. Just a few people knew the time and the port from which the Holocaust survivors were to leave Sweden. Even the youngsters who were eagerly waiting for a signal in such far apart places as Gävle in the North and Malmö in the South did not know the exact time of the departure. Unfortunately, the Swedish newspapers Dagens Nyheter and Trelleborg Tidningen that broke the secret by publishing the information both about S/S Ulua´s final destination and how the Holocaust survivors being transported to Trelleborg, the port of departure. This, effectively jeopardizing the whole operation. It is not known who and why decided to publish the information about this highly secret project. Herbert Tingsten was the chef journalist at the time at Dagens Nyheter. In particular, the Information published in Dagens Nyheter covered the secret plan to use especially chartered train from Gävle to Trelleborg.

The British Intelligence, from the very beginning, and even before the ship's departure from France, tried to thwart the S/S Ulea expedition. To that effect, they even spread false information to Danes and Swedes that the S/S Ulua is carrying white slaves and whores.

On January 24th, 1947, the Sabbath was to start at 04.06 PM. This moment was used to explain to the port authorities the need to hurry on leaving the harbor of Trelleborg for Sweden. Haganah and Bet Aliyah ship, SS Ulua, left quickly Sweden as they were afraid to be stopped by the Swedish authorities. Just before dusk, 550 young women and 94 men started their long trip to Eretz Israel. However, their common history related to Sweden started at the end of WWII when in April 1945 they were liberated from numerous concentration camps, such as Bergen-Belsen. The green stamp April 28, 1945, signifies the day the Holocaust survivor entered Sweden (most likely a survivor from the concentration camp Ravensbrück), and the red stamp marks the date when the survivor left Sweden. The cities Malmö and Trelleborg are both in the South of Sweden.

The way of the sea, without crossing numerous borders in Europe, looked like the best alternative for moving the Holocaust survivors from Sweden to Eretz Israel. Especially repurposed in France, Haganah ship S/S Ulua, left Marseille for Trelleborg port in Sweden on January 1st, 1947. After boarding the survivors, S/S Ulua started its journey from Sweden on January 24th.

When at Mediterranean sea, the S/S Ulua ship went to Metaponto in Italy, where on February 21st it loaded 684 additional immigrants, bringing the total of 1 384 Holocaust Survivors on board. On the way to Haifa, S/S Ulua changed its name to "Haim Arlosoroff”. After a very difficult and tortuous journey of 34 days, they reached the shore of Bat Galim on February 27, 1947. The quick and clever maneuver resulted in the ship being grounded on the shallow shores of Haifa. Some refugees jumped off the boat into the water but they had no chance of escaping as barbed wire surrounded the beach that was watched by British paratroopers. Instead of reaching their most desired destination, the survivors of the Holocaust were sent to another camp, this time a British detention camp no. 66 in Cyprus. Some persons were allowed to Eretz Israel after 6-8 months, but the rest only in 1948. My heroes!

Mono-Generation. Olga Deutsch´s family history and its destruction are summarized in three lines on her DP-2 card from Lübeck. Father sent to Hungarian work "battalions", her mother and two younger sisters in Auschwitz. Not stated is the fact that Olga was taken during the selection for Mengele experiments.