"In Palestine or Never"

As Port-de-Bouc's solitary church bell struck six, the shrill blast of a ship's siren split the air. This was the deadline the British had set. If the 4,424 Palestine-barred Jews aboard three British prison ships in Port-de-Bouc's harbor failed to disembark, the British would order the ships to Germany.

Half an hour later, the last supply boat headed for the French shore, carrying six sick refugees--the Jews' reply to the British ultimatum. The Runnymede Park put to sea, with its passengers grasping the grill of their caged-in deck and singing defiantly in Hebrew. The Ocean Vigour and Empire Rival followed.

For the Jews, it was a continuation of the Exodus 1947 saga. All of them had been aboard this ship when it had been rammed, attacked and captured by the British (TIME, July 28) off the Palestine coast. Since then they had lived in the ships' holds, ignoring British orders to leave and French offers of hospitality. The leaders of the refugees declared doggedly: "We wish to go to Palestine. We shall not land in Europe as long as we are alive."

"Unpremeditated Folly." In Britain, which only a fortnight ago had seen anti-Semitic riots, there were wide expressions of sympathy for the refugees. Commented the Manchester Guardian: "World opinion will be shocked. . . . The Government has not so much credit left in the world that it can afford to squander it in acts of unpremeditated folly." Added the News Chronicle: "British conduct ... is moving rapidly to the ultimate stage of lunacy. . . . No one but a fool would try to compel a Jew to go to Germany of all countries. . . ."

Anti-Semitism was still alive in Germany. In Berlin last week a German woman, sentenced to six months in jail for offending a Jewish family living in her house, shouted at her accusers in court: "What a shame they forgot to burn you in the concentration camp!"

"Come to Our Auschwitz!" Since the Jews had been placed on the prison ships, 36 babies had been born. Around 50 more would be born in the ten to 14 days it would take the ships to reach Hamburg, according to Port-de-Bouc's Dr. Jean Cayla. The environment they would be born into was described vividly by the New York Herald Tribune's Ruth Gruber. Visiting the Runnymede Park just before sailing time, she reported: "We picked our way gingerly over people lying on the floor on dirty blankets. . . . While we walked the people kept shouting: 'Don't stand up here! This is good, there is air here! Come below! Come to our Auschwitz!' [notorious Nazi extermination camp].

"We were led down a hazardous set of 20 slippery stairs without hand rails. The sight in the hold was like a charcoal drawing of Inferno. The brilliant sun filtered through grillwork, throwing sharp lines of light and darkness across the refugees' faces and their hot, sweaty, half-naked bodies. . . ."

As the three ships steamed off toward Germany, a frail little man in a shabby black suit stood on Port-de-Bouc's tiny quay, looking longingly after the ships. A Polish Jew who had emigrated to Strasbourg, Josef Hochowitz had two children aboard the ships, Israel (24) and Rebecca (22). Once he had lost them to a German concentration camp, but in 1945 the family was reunited. Now he had lost them to Zionism. Two months ago, exclaiming, "We want to go to our real country," the children had left, and at Sete boarded the Exodus.

For weeks, as the boats rode at anchor, Josef had clutched the sleeves of passers-by on the wharf, pleading: "What is the use? Why don't they give up? I can't bear to think of them on that ship. Please tell them I'm here, tell them to come home."

An austere rabbi (who had no children) had taken Josef to task: "You must know home for a Jew is Palestine. That is something to be struggled for ... to pave the way for the children of Israel." Now, as he prepared to board the Strasbourg train to tell his wife that Rebecca and Israel were not coming, Josef had his answer. From one of the steaming, sweating shipholds, they had finally sent him a message: "We will meet again in Palestine or never."

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