Ervin Birnbaum was 16 years old when he survived the Holocaust with false identification in Budapest Hungary. His immediate family had survived the war but his entire extended family, including all four grandparents and 30 aunts, uncles and cousins, all perished in the hands of the Nazi beast. Following the war, Ervin joined the Hagana mission to emigrate to British Palestine and was appointed Group Leader of 90 children on the President Warfield ship, later to be renamed "Exodus 1947". Little did he or any of the 4550 passengers on board the ship know at the time that this was to be the largest Aliah Bet ship and that although the mission to land and live in Israel had initially failed, the ship was eventually credited as the "Ship that Launched a Nation". That’s because Abba Eben had brought to the dramatic landing in Haifa the UN delegates who were touring Palestine on mission to recommend to the General Assembly whether or not to establish a Jewish State in Palestine. The delegates were deeply moved by the genuine intent and conviction of the immigrants, many of whom were orphans, countered by the ruthless treatment of the British soldiers. This firsthand experience -- seeing the dozens of casualties among these Jewish passengers who were all Holocause survivors -- influenced their recommendation to establish an independent Jewish state side-by-side with an Arab state. This UN vote was adopted by David Ben Gurion and the Jewish Zionist leadership but was rejected by the Arab leadership, leading the the War of Independance of 1948 and the lasting displacement of Palestinians then living in the land. Ervin Birnbaum, 91, brings a rare eyewitness testimony of what went on during this historic voyage of “Exodus 1947”, the ship that ultimately was to become an important trigger to the establishment of the State of Israel. …...more
...more
Show less
