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The Exodus Crew

When the President Warfield left Baltimore for Europe, its crew was mostly composed of Jewish volunteers with US military experience from WWII, as well as:

  • Captain Ike – an Israeli from the Palyam (naval branch of the Haganah/Palmach),

  • Reverend Stanley John Grauel – an American crew member and journalist, ( See Article - Click Here )

  • a Jewish doctor from Scotland,

  • two Mexican sailors,

  • one from Egypt,

  • an Israeli chief engineer,

  • an engineer from Brazil,

  • an engineer from Mexico

  • (see table below).

In Europe more Israelis joined the crew: 

  • Yosi Harel Hamburger (Amnon) – ship’s commander,

  • accompanied by Micha Perry (Gad), Tsvi Katzenelson (Miri), Sima Shmuckler, and the Gideons (radio officers) Azriel Einav (Uzi) and Max Cohen

  • (in parentheses – their codenames).

Some of the foreign crew members left the President Warfield in France, under orders to transfer to other Clandestine Immigration ships to the Land of Israel. Others left the ship voluntarily to return from France to their homes. 25 foreign crew members underwent the full voyage – from Sète harbor to Haifa, then on the deportation ships to Hamburg, aiding the Exodus immigrants all along the arduous way to Hamburg.

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According to the book “Exodus - the True Story” by Aviva Halamish:
Some of the American crew members remained in the Land of Israel. They hid, together with the Israeli accompanying troops, inside four hidden spaces prepared ahead of time inside the Exodus (in the bow ballast tank, in the stern behind the large refrigerator, in the lowest deck between the two sea doors, and under the stairs from the second to the third deck). Orders were that all American crew members and all Israeli accompanying troops (except Michael Perry) were to hide in these spaces in case the ship was stopped by the British and taken to Haifa. As mentioned above, 25 of the American crew did not obey these orders.

Crew members who stayed in the Land of Israel were:

  1. William Bernstein was killed in battle on the Exodus.

  2. Reverend John Grauel identified himself to the British and disembarked in Haifa harbor.

  3. 5 of the crew hid as ordered in the hidden spaces, and exited the ship with the accompanying Israelis – the 5 were: Kort Baruch, Harold Leidner, Louis Selove, Roger Rofe and Avraham Sygal.

  4. Bill Millman was wounded in the battle and was taken to a hospital.

  5. Bernie Marks (who was presented to the British as the ship’s captain, to save “Ike” from discovery), Cy Weinstein and Stanley Ritzer were arrested by the British. They were released in September 1947 and returned by air to the USA.

Crew members on the President Warfield (on the voyage from Baltimore to Europe):
                                     Country              JOB                                            Name

1) U.S. A

2)  Israel            

3)  U.S. A          

4)  U.S.A            

5)  Scotland       

6)  U.S.A            

7)  Israel           

8)  U.S. A           

9)  U.S.A            

10) U.S.A              11)

12) U.S.A            

13) U.S.A         

14) U.S.A           

15) U.S.A           

16) U.S.A           

17) U.S.A           

18) U.S.A          

19) U.S.A           

20) Mexico        

21) U.S.A      

22) U.S.A       

23) U.S.A        

24) U.S.A          

25) U.S.A       

26) U.S.A          

27) U.S.A          

28) Egypt          

29) U.S.A         

30) U.S.A          

31) Mexico        

32) U.S.A       

33) U.S.A          

34) U.S.A    

35) U.S.A         

36)                  

37) Mexico         

38) U.S.A        

39) U.S.A          

40) U.S.A         

Deck crew

Captain

Engineeroom crew 

Second mate

Chief doctor on the Exodus

Deck crew

Third engineer

Deck crewon

Galley crew

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Chief steward

Engineeroom crew

Deck crew

Radio operater 

Second engineer

Purser-pharmacist

Deck crew

Galley crew

Electician 

Deck crew

Chief mate 

Galley crew

Deck crew

Engineeroom crew

Electician

Engineeroom crew

Deck crew

Deck crew

Deck crew

Deck crew

Deck crew

Galley crew

Engineeroom crew

Deck crew

Chief engineer

Engineeroom crew

Engineeroom crew

Deck crew

Third mate

Boatswain-carpenter

Aronoff Murray

Aronowitz Yitzhak- Ike

Beer Shmuel 

Bernstein William- Bill       

Cohen Dr. Josie

Foreman Ben                      

Garbesh Yaakov (Oron)     

Goldsein Muron                  

REV. Grauel Stanley John   

Johnson Jack

Kalm Eli

Kort Baruch

Levine Frank

Leidner Harold

Lester Sol                              

Lifshitz Avi (Livney) 

Lowenthal David

Lutz Abbot  

Molofsky Donald

Margolis Reuven 

Marks Bernard   

Millman David

Millman William- Bill 

Miller Dov (Mills)

Nedler Nat

Naftel Al

Ritzer Stanley

Rofe Roger

Rosenfeld Teddy (Vardi) 

Schuller Samuel

Schutman Samuel

Segal Zev (Vevie)

Selove Louis  

Sklar Leonard

Stanczak Frank

Starec David (Kochavi)

Sygal Avraham

Weinsaft Harry 

Weinstein Cyril 

Weiss Mike

I

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