Odyssey Author:John Bierman The last great escape from Nazi-dominated Europe --the story of those Jews who gambled their lives for freedom...and won! — With no other means of escape, more than 500 Jews crowded aboard the Pentcho, a decrepit paddle steamer, to begin one of the most remarkable voyages in modern history. The time: May of 1940, eight months after the outb... more »reak of WWII. The Place: Bratislava, the capital of the Nazi puppet state of Slovakia. Their route: down the Danube River and out into the open sea. Their destination: Palestine. It was a journey that should have taken a month; but four years of frustration and severe hardship would pass until they finally reached the Promised Land.
For many of the Pentcho's passengers, the members of a fiery and dedicated Zionist youth group, the voyage was not a mere flight but the pursuit of a dream. For others, already robbed of their possessions and driven from their homes, it was the last chance to escape the impending Holocaust. At every turn, they were pawns in the political intrigues of war, meeting with indifference and hostility from "friendly" authorities, help and unexpected humane treatment from those who were supposed to be their enemies. They suffered shipwreck, near starvation and the internment. Yet they survived.
Odyssey is the first time the story of this dramatic voyage has been told, a story both heroic and profoundly human in its proportion. At its center was the bitter rivalry for leadership between the young idealist Alexander Citron and the wily pragmatist Zoltan Schalk. The skipper of the unwieldy vessel was a one-legged morphine addict, a former officer in the Russian Imperial Navy. There were among the other passengers tender shipboard romance, time of intense deprivation, but always hope even at the edge of despair. Against almost insurmountable odds, they gambled their lives for freedom -- and won. Based on the recollections of the passengers themselves, illustrated by photographs taken during the voyage, Odyssey is a vivid re-creation of their bravery and determination, a triumphant celebration of the human spirit.« less