Exodus

Among the 68 ships at work to lend a hand to post-war Jewish migrants, one of those that failed went down in history forever. The Exodus 1947 weighed anchor in the port of Sète on July 11, 1947 with 4,554 refugees on board who had fled Central and Eastern Europe to see their hopes dashed a few miles from their Holy Land, in sight of the promised shores of a Palestine held under an inflexible British mandate. From this drama will be born, the following year, the State of Israel which celebrates in 2023 the 75th anniversary of its creation.

This book retraces an odyssey with a tragic destiny, illustrated with poignant testimonies and enriched with new photographs of survivors who returned 70 years later to the place of their embarkation. The last of them and their families have again, in 2018 and 2023, paid their brothers, sisters, parents and grandparents a tribute that the Occitanie Region, the City of Sète and their institutional partners hold dear, through these first Memorial Journeys, to perpetuate.

Published with the support of:

Crif – Languedoc-Roussillon Delegation

Edmond Fleg Center

Shoah Memorial

Occitanie Region

City of Sète