World War II Database

During the European War, Nazi Germany occupied much of Europe. The Jews, viewed as inferior in Nazi ideology, were subjected to a genocide that saw millions of deaths, some violently, some tragically, and all unjustly. After the war, a very large wave of European Jews, many of whom were survivors of concentration camps and ghettos, began illegally emigrating to Palestine. This emigration was illegal since the proposal by United Nations Special Committee on Palestine to create a Jewish state would not be passed until Nov 1947. The British military, following the law, made every attempt to block illegal entries. The ship SS Exodus was one of the many ships that attempted such a journey, packed full with 4,515 Jews, captained by Yossi Harel. Famed writer Yoram Kaniuk ventured from his usual fictional writing to pen Commander of the Exodus, a non-fictional biography of Harel, with focus on the preparations and the journey of Exodus. Through the pages, I learned of Harel's younger days with the Haganah (he had fought alongside of Orde Wingate, later of WW2 Chindits fame), his belief in Zionism, and his determination to lead refugees out of Europe despite overwhelming odds. Decidedly written from a Israeli point of view, Kaniuk stressed the Western Allies' failures to assist Jewish refugees and disrupt, either by political pressure or by force, German atrocities against the Jewish peoples. Even though the author recognized that Exodus, along with many other ships attempting to make a similar journey, were embarking on an illegal activity, Kaniuk's writing nevertheless cast slight disapproval on the British Royal Navy sailors who protected the maritime borders of British Palestine. As for the writing style, I had expected Kaniuk, who had won many literary awards in his career, to perform beautifully despite knowing that Kaniuk had originally written this book in Hebrew and that the work I was reviewing was a translated work; I was not disappointed, for that the narratives were gripping and thought-provoking.

I had reviewed this title in its audio book format. William Sutherland's strong voice lent authority to Kaniuk's words. I had enjoyed Sutherland's performance very much.

A biography, Commander of the Exodus, was biased in favor of Harel, the Jewish peoples, and Zionism. Nevertheless, when reading with that in mind, it provided a view into the plight of European Jews during the Nazi period and in the uncertainty of the post-war period.