July 11, 1947
Exodus 1947 Sails from Sète
Historical context
On this day, July 11, 1947, the former President Warfield left Sète, France, carrying more than 4,500 Jewish displaced persons toward Mandatory Palestine.
Archive record
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- Date
- July 11, 1947
- Verified sources
- 1
- Archive threads
- 8
On this day, the former Chesapeake packet President Warfield left Sète, France, carrying more than 4,500 Jewish displaced persons, most of them Holocaust survivors, toward Mandatory Palestine. During the voyage the ship was known as Exodus 1947. It had been acquired for Aliyah Bet after wartime service, including work connected to the Normandy landings.
British destroyers intercepted the ship on 18 July. A Jewish crew member and two passengers were killed. The British towed the vessel to Haifa, transferred the passengers to three transports, and, after France refused to force them ashore, returned them to camps in Germany.
Research trail
Sources and further reading
- Exodus 1947 · United States Holocaust Memorial Museum · Holocaust Encyclopedia View source
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