Exodus Affair Collection: Then and Now!

100 hostages in Gaza still awaiting their Exodus

This exceptional collection features 16 original items, including photographs, certificates, and paper artifacts from the 1947 Exodus affair, with origins in both Israel and Germany.

The immigration ship Exodus was already a symbol of Jewish resistance and the struggle for a homeland during its fateful voyage from Europe to the Land of Israel in the summer of 1947. Carrying 4,500 Holocaust survivors, the ship embodied the desperation and determination of the Jewish people seeking refuge after the horrors of World War II.

The British, enforcing their strict immigration policies outlined in the White Paper of 1939, assaulted the vessel at sea. Despite the ship’s dilapidated condition, British warships violently boarded it, leading to a brutal confrontation that resulted in casualties among the passengers. Refusing to allow the immigrants to land in Israel, the British chose to deport the 4,500 passengers back to Europe, specifically to German-controlled territories. This decision evoked profound outrage, as it forced Holocaust survivors back to the very lands where they had endured unspeakable atrocities.

The ship’s name, Exodus, rich with biblical resonance, evoking the Israelites’ journey out of slavery in Egypt and their quest for the Promised Land. News of the British actions was not lost globally and drew widespread condemnation and support for the Zionist movement. Images of young survivors being forcibly removed from the ship became a powerful symbol of the moral urgency to resolve the Jewish refugee crisis and establish a safe state for the Jewish people.

The Exodus affair not only symbolized the broader struggle for Jewish statehood but also underscored the problematic nature of British immigration policies in the face of the survivors’ plight. The public outcry over the ship’s fate is credited with influencing the UN’s decision to recommend the partition of Palestine later that year, paving the way for the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948. In this way, the affair was not just a tragic episode but a turning point in the history of modern Zionism.