SHIMON RUBINSTEIN

    Personal Tragedies as a Reflection
     on a Great Tragedy Called
  STRUMA


Drawing by
 Gretty Rubinstein

THE JEWS FROM THE TOWN OF BARLAD AND THEIR RELATIVES
WHO PERISHED DURING THE STRUMA TRAGEDY.
1. The Marcus Family

Mendel Marcus was the head of the family, he was a very religious Jew,[9] and a wealthy person owning real estate property not only in Barlad but also in Palestine.[10] Before leaving to Bucharest where all the passengers of the Struma were due to meet before embarking, he was accompanied by his wife and his two sons who were chemists by profession. Then a family drama started. The elder son, Herscu Marcus-Lupu, age 42, went aboard the ship with his wife Aneta Marcus-Lupu, age  41, her parents, the Varcovicis who were native of the town of Jassy,[11] their two daughters, Marga Marcus-Lupu, age 13 and Ivette Marcus-Lupu, age 7.[12] However the younger son, Aurel was expected to leave by himself since his fiancée’s (Anuza, Nuza Maiersohn) parents were opposed to her departure arguing that the journey was rather unsafe. As soon as the train pulled out from Barlad to Bucharest the parents were so touched by their daughter’s sadness that they decided to get a permit from the local authorities, although it was no easy thing, that enabled her to travel from Barlad to Bucharest. In fact she reached Bucharest in the last minute, one day before the Struma ship passengers left for Constanza. The couple was married quickly by a rabbi just before departure. I have this information thanks to the testimony of Bianca Grinberg, who is native of the town of Barlad. Together with her husband Jacques Grinberg they were veteran members of Beitar in Berlad. Both were among the 15,236 illegal immigrants who sailed from Constanza to Erez Israel on December 22, 1947 on the “Pan York,” which was renamed “Qibbuz Galuyot” and the “Pan Crescent,” which was renamed “Azmaut.” Both ships were detained by the British in the Aegean Sea and sent to Cyprus.[13]

Prior to their departure from Barlad to Bucharest, the Marcuses came up to my parents’ place to say farewell, in fact my parents were renting a house owned by Mendel Marcus himself. People used to nickname him “Mosh Mendel” (= “Old Mendel)[14] and he was so religious that as soon as he was told that the passengers were not allowed to carry aboard the ship more than 20 kilos of luggage per person, he decided to give up his piece of luggage and took instead a Torah scroll that he had previously donated to the synagogue where he used to attend the prayers.[15] My  parents’  memories about the Marcuses are  connected with a very touching moment. While my parents were talking with the grown-ups, Mendel Marcus’ elder son’s daughters, Marga and Ivette, were dancing around happily, celebrating that they would shortly reach the shores of Erez Israel.