Samuel Herschel Schulman (July 8, 1928 – July 5, 2019) was the last surviving American crew member of the ship ''1947'', which tried to bring thousands of Holocaust survivors from Europe to

Mandatory Palestine Mandatory Palestine ( ar, فلسطين الانتدابية '; he, פָּלֶשְׂתִּינָה (א״י) ', where "E.Y." indicates ''’Eretz Yiśrā’ēl'', the Land of Israel) was a geopolitical entity established between 1920 and 1948 ...

. Born in Terre Haute, Indiana, to Jewish immigrants from Poland, he moved to Paris in 1932, surviving the

Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...

in hiding in central France. After the war, he was repatriated to the United States where he joined the Aliyah Bet, the clandestine immigration movement to bring Jews who survived the Holocaust in Europe to Mandatory Palestine, and then fought with Israel in the

1948 Arab–Israeli War The 1948 (or First) Arab–Israeli War was the second and final stage of the 1948 Palestine war. It formally began following the end of the British Mandate for Palestine at midnight on 14 May 1948; the Israeli Declaration of Independence had ...

. Schulman returned to the United States in the 1950s and was drafted to the US Army during the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

, serving two years training soldiers at Camp Edwards on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. After being released from the army, he went into the jewelry business in New York City.

Early life

Indiana

Samuel Schulman was born in Terre Haute, Indiana, on July 8, 1928. His parents Hillel and Sarah Schulman (née Sobkowska) immigrated to the United States from

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

, Poland, in the 1920s. After his father died of appendicitis in 1932, he moved to Poland with his mother to be with her family. Sarah Schulman remarried to an Orthodox rabbi, Moses Maidenbaum, and moved to

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, France, in 1933.

France

In May 1940, Germany invaded France and occupied Paris the following month. Sarah Schulman and her son had to register as Jews in order to obtain ration cards; she had to wear a

Jewish star The Star of David (). is a generally recognized symbol of both Jewish identity and Judaism. Its shape is that of a hexagram: the compound of two equilateral triangles. A derivation of the ''seal of Solomon'', which was used for decorative ...

, but Sam Schulman, an American citizen, was exempt. Since Sarah Schulman was officially stateless, she could not return to the United States. In July 1942, after the

Gestapo The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one organi ...

conducted a round-up of Parisian Jews, Sam Schulman and his mother fled Paris. His step-father was on a business trip to the United States when the war broke out and could not return to France. Schulman and his mother were smuggled on a freight train to

Limoges Limoges (, , ; oc, Lemòtges, locally ) is a city and Communes of France, commune, and the prefecture of the Haute-Vienne Departments of France, department in west-central France. It was the administrative capital of the former Limousin region ...

, in the unoccupied zone, from where they continued to La Creuse. They remained in hiding in the small town of

Pionnat Pionnat (; oc, Piònac) is a commune in the Creuse department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in central France. Geography A farming area comprising the village and several hamlets situated by the banks of the Creuse, some east of Guéret, ...

, France, from 1942 to 1945. While Schulman and his mother survived

the Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...

, most of his family in Poland, including his grandmother, aunts and uncles, were murdered in

Auschwitz Auschwitz concentration camp ( (); also or ) was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It con ...

. In February 1946, Schulman and his mother were repatriated to United States through the

Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society HIAS (founded as the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society) is a Jewish American nonprofit organization that provides humanitarian aid and assistance to refugees. It was originally established in 1881 to aid Jewish refugees. In 1975, the State Department ...

(HIAS).

''Exodus 1947'' and Aliyah Bet

In March 1947, Schulman was instructed by a contact in the

Haganah Haganah ( he, הַהֲגָנָה, lit. ''The Defence'') was the main Zionist paramilitary organization of the Jewish population ("Yishuv") in Mandatory Palestine between 1920 and its disestablishment in 1948, when it became the core of the ...

in New York to go to

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

, Maryland, where he thought he would board a ship as a passenger to British-mandate Palestine. When he got to the Baltimore Harbor on March 23, 1947, he learned that he was to become part of the

Mossad LeAliyah Bet The Mossad LeAliyah Bet ( he, המוסד לעלייה ב', lit. ''Institution for Immigration B'') was a branch of the paramilitary organization Haganah in British Mandatory Palestine, and later the State of Israel, that operated to facilitate Je ...

and serve as a crew member aboard the Aliyah Bet ship ''Exodus 1947''. ''Exodus 1947'' left

Sète Sète (; oc, Seta, ), also historically spelt ''Cette'' (official until 1928) and ''Sette'', is a commune in the Hérault department, in the region of Occitania, southern France. Its inhabitants are called ''Sétois'' (male) and ''Sétoises' ...

, France, on July 11, 1947, carrying 4,515 Jewish refugees.

Ike Aronowicz Yitzhak "Ike" Aronowicz (August 27, 1923 – December 23, 2009) was an Israeli sailor, best known as the captain of the immigrant ship SS ''Exodus'', which unsuccessfully tried to dock in British-era Palestine with Holocaust survivors on July 11, ...

was the ship's captain and the

commander of the operation was

Yossi Harel Yossi Harel ( he, יוסי הראל; January 4, 1918 – April 26, 2008) was the commander of the operation and a leading member of the Israeli intelligence community. Biography Yossi Hamburger (later Harel) and his twin brother Natan were b ...

. The ship was manned by a crew of some 35 volunteers, mostly American Jews, including Samuel Schulman. Schulman also sailed on two other Aliyah Bet ships, the ''Pan Crescent'' and ''Pan York'', which left from the port of Burgas, Bulgaria, on December 27, 1947, with over 15,000 immigrants. Several days later they were stopped by British warships and forced to anchor at

Famagusta Famagusta ( , ; el, Αμμόχωστος, Ammóchostos, ; tr, Gazimağusa or ) is a city on the east coast of Geography of Cyprus, Cyprus. It is located east of Nicosia District, Nicosia and possesses the deepest harbour of the island. Duri ...

, Cyprus. About his experience on the ships, Schulman once said:

''“The Exodus might have been the most famous of all the Aliya Bet ships, but the Pan ships brought the largest number of refugees from Europe at one time.”''

Schulman spent six weeks in a British internment camp on

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...

before being smuggled out by the

in January 1948 on the Jewish passenger liner the ''Kedmah'' under the alias of one of the immigrants approved by the monthly British quota to

. ''Exodus 1947'' was popularized in Leon Uris' 1958 bestselling novel ''

Exodus Exodus or the Exodus may refer to: Religion * Book of Exodus, second book of the Hebrew Torah and the Christian Bible * The Exodus, the biblical story of the migration of the ancient Israelites from Egypt into Canaan Historical events * Ex ...

'', and later made into a Hollywood

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

based on the book starring

Paul Newman Paul Leonard Newman (January 26, 1925 – September 26, 2008) was an American actor, film director, race car driver, philanthropist, and entrepreneur. He was the recipient of numerous awards, including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, three ...

Israel

Arriving in the port of Haifa in January 1948, Schulman headed south to help settle Kibbutz

Mishmar HaNegev Mishmar HaNegev ( he, מִשְׁמַר הַנֶּגֶב, ''lit.'' Guard of the Negev) is a kibbutz in the northern fringe of the Negev desert in Israel. Located on Road 264, about two kilometres south of the Bedouin city of Rahat and around ten ki ...

with friends he knew from his youth movement days in France. He would then fight with Israel in the

, training seamen in navigation at a naval base in Haifa. In June 1987, Schulman and other Aliya Bet volunteers were honored by Israeli President

Chaim Herzog Major-General Chaim Herzog ( he, חיים הרצוג; 17 September 1918 – 17 April 1997) was an Irish-born Israeli politician, general, lawyer and author who served as the sixth President of Israel between 1983 and 1993. Born in Belfast and ...

for their contributions to the

State of Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

. At this first reunion of the American volunteers in Jerusalem, Herzog said:

''"Out of six million American Jews, it was you who jumped into the breach.''"

In a letter to mark the occasion, then-Minister of Defense, Yitzhak Rabin, wrote:

''"Your participation in the struggle of the Jewish People to bring the Holocaust survivors to Eretz Israel will be inscribed in the history of the People of Israel as a bright chapter of volunteering spirit and as a meaningful contribution to the establishment of Israel."''

In November 2018, Schulman received a medal and certificate from Israeli Minister of Jerusalem and Heritage Affairs, Ze'ev Elkin, for his contribution to bringing Jewish immigrants to

United States

Shortly after his return to the United States from Israel in 1949, Schulman was drafted to the

. He spent two years training soldiers at Camp Edwards on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, rising to the rank of Sergeant First Class. After the war, Schulman studied at

Brooklyn College Brooklyn College is a public university in Brooklyn, Brooklyn, New York. It is part of the City University of New York system and enrolls about 15,000 undergraduate and 2,800 graduate students on a 35-acre campus. Being New York City's first publ ...

and then at the Joseph Bulova School of Watchmaking in Queens, NY, on the

GI Bill The Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, commonly known as the G.I. Bill, was a law that provided a range of benefits for some of the returning World War II veterans (commonly referred to as G.I.s). The original G.I. Bill expired in 1956, bu ...

. He went on to set up a watchmaking business in the diamond exchange district on Canal Street and the Bowery in lower Manhattan where he worked for 40 years.

Personal life

Sam Schulman married Eileen Azif of Mt. Vernon, New York in 1964 and had two sons. His daughter-in-law i
Noa Furman
Deputy Permanent Representative of Israel to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

. A long-time resident of

Larchmont Larchmont is a village located within the Town of Mamaroneck in Westchester County, New York, approximately northeast of Midtown Manhattan. The population of the village was 5,864 at the 2010 census. In February 2019, Bloomberg ranked Larc ...

, New York, Sam Schulman moved to

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

, Virginia in 2014. He died a few days before his 91st birthday.

References

External links

Exodus1947.com
PBS Documentary Film focusing on the secret American involvement, narrated by Morley Safer
Sam Schulman - Oklahoma
Toldot Yisrael YouTube video
Sam Schulman video interview
Virginia Holocaust Museum
Selected Sam Schulman documents and photos
US Holocaust Memorial Museum {{DEFAULTSORT:Schulman, Samuel Herschel 1928 births 2019 deaths Aliyah Bet activists People from Terre Haute, Indiana United States Army personnel of the Korean War American people of Polish-Jewish descent American watchmakers (people) 20th-century American jewellers Brooklyn College alumni 20th-century American Jews American expatriates in France Holocaust survivors Israeli military personnel of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War Jewish American military personnel American Zionists 21st-century American Jews