Exodus 1947: The Ship That Launched a Nation - Softcover

Gruber, Ruth

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1402752288 ISBN 13: 9781402752285

Publisher: Union Square Press, 2007

Synopsis

On July 18, 1947, American journalist Ruth Gruber stood on a wharf in Haifa as the Exodus 1947 limped into harbor. The evening before, this unarmed ship, crammed with more than 4,500 Holocaust survivors, had been rammed and boarded by sailors of the British Navy to prevent her desperate human cargo from seeking refuge in Palestine. Gruber rushed to the scene and began witnessing the events as they unfolded, ultimately spending the next several months pursuing the exiles from port to port on the Mediterranean.
Gruber’s quest produced riveting dispatches and vivid photographs published in the New York Herald Tribune and the New York Post that shaped worldwide perception of the plight of the DPs and arguably influenced the U.N. to create the state of Israel. This gripping book contains Gruber’s moving images and text, plus additional reporting on the wretched camps in Europe where the refugees lived before boarding the Exodus 1947, as well as details of many passengers’ eventual fates. In this edition marking the sixtieth anniversary of the voyage, Gruber’s masterpiece remains as stirring and unforgettable as ever.

About this title

From the Inside Flap

an 100 photographs by the author

"The ship looked like a matchbox that had been splintered by a nutcracker. In the torn, square hole, as big as an open, blitzed barn, we could see a muddle of bedding, possessions, plumbing, broken pipes, overflowing toilets, half-naked men, women looking for children. Cabins were bashed in; railings were ripped off; the lifesaving rafts were dangling at crazy angles."

On July 18, 1947, Ruth Gruber, an American journalist, waited on a wharf in Haifa as the Exodus 1947 limped into harbor. The evening before, Gruber had learned that this unarmed ship, with more than 4,500 Holocaust survivors crammed into a former tourist vessel designed for 400 passengers, had been rammed and boarded by the British Navy, which was determined to keep her desperate human cargo from finding refuge in Palestine. Now, though soldiers blockaded both exit and entry to the weary vessel, Gruber was determined to meet the refugees and hear their tales. For the n

From the Back Cover

Praise for Ruth Gruber

"It is one of the most moving books I have read this year . . . no other writer we know of has given [the story of these displaced persons] such compelling form and clarity."--The New York Times, September 28, 1948

"Ruth Gruber's classic, Exodus 1947, is one of the outstanding books to emerge from World War II. It should be in every Jewish library."--Leon Uris, author of Exodus

"This updated edition of Ruth Gruber's classic is most welcome. The desperate yet successful struggle of the Jewish people in the aftermath of World War II remains one of the most compelling stories of modern history."--David Wyman, author of The Abandonment of the Jews

Edition details

• Publisher: Union Square Press
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 1402752288
• ISBN 13: 9781402752285
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 224