According to historian Corry Guttstadt (author of Turkey, the Jews, and the Holocaust), Helene was one of about 20 Turkish women imprisoned in Ravensbrück who were part of a prisoner trade arranged by Switzerland between Germany and Turkey. They were freed and brought to Lübeck on February 28, 1945. On March 15, they boarded the Swedish ship Drottningholm in Göteborg (Gothenburg). According to my grandmother’s letters, the ship made stops to drop off or pick up former prisoners in Liverpool, Norway, the Faroe Islands, Lisbon, Gibraltar, and Port Said before ultimately reaching Istanbul on April 10.
Below is a copy of an article that appeared in the March 15, 1945 edition of the Swedish Newspaper Dagens Nyheter which Corry Guttstadt shared with me. My husband’s cousin Louise Heller provided the translation.
‘Drottningholm’ has departed
Massload of 125 Swedish passengers go to Turkey
Göteborg, Wednesday.
On Wednesday, the day before ‘Drottningholms’ exchange departure, it was a very lively scene in the waiting room of the American Line’s waiting room and concrete shed, where among extensive baggage, customs officers and police authorities had a lot to do, especially concerning the Argentinian diplomats and also the Swedish missionaries who were leaving. Over a period of time, the remaining group of passengers were placed in huts. At 12.58, the group of 37 Portuguese who had arrived on the night train from Hälsingborg were taken from Gothenburg’s Central Station to the boat by bus.
Later on, the Argentinian diplomats arrived, 114 in total, and a group of 17 English people. They had to stay among 65 other people including prisoners, missionaries with their families, 25 Swedish businessmen representing S.K.F.L.M. Ericson and other industries, 19 Swedish diplomats, and 6 Red Cross personnel.
With the above-named groups of English people and the civilian interns from Turkey, together with the Turkish diplomats who had boarded earlier in the week, the ‘Drottningholn’, had a total of 892 passengers. This number is lower than had been expected, but more than average in normal circumstances. The Swedish authorities are still unclear about the fate of the Irish passengers.
308 people will travel to Liverpool, 222 to Lisbon, 336 to Istanbul, and 26 to Port Said.
Three Greeks are also present.
Even the Peruvian minister from Stockholm was onboard. He is going to Lisbon to be with his family and then will return to the ‘Drottningholm’. Axel Paulin, from the Swedish foreign department, and the Swiss delegate M. Auber de la Rue will be present for the whole journey. There were 3 Greeks among the group from Argentina.
In a statement to T.T., the shipping company manager Axel Jonsson spoke about his great satisfaction in how the German authorities have managed this exchange which was carried out as planned. ‘I must thank the custom officers, the police, post officers, and Red Cross personnel for all their help in making the boat line staff making the boarding as easy as possible. I would also like to thank the German sailing expert legation in Stockholm, Dr. Riensberg, for his excellent cooperation.
It is clear that on such a boat as ‘Drottningholm’, which is built for two or three classes, there are problems when we make it for one class only’ Jonsson pointed out. ‘It is difficult to satisfy everyone’s needs, but thanks to the leaders of the various groups, I think that the shipping line has placed the passengers in such a way that they will enjoy their trip home’.
Journey to Istanbul 21 days
‘Fortunately, we also have cargo’ continued Jonsson. ‘This includes 2.000 tons of paper, pulp and various goods which are sought after in Turkey. We will even receive goods from Turkey on our way back, so the ‘Drottninghom’ will be something of a hired boat.
Engineer Nielson, who together with Major Brunes oversaw the work of the Red Cross troops during the exchange, had to his disposal the help of 30 men and 10 women. The work here was not as extensive as previous work with the exchange of the war prisoners when many were sick. ‘Then we had around 20 people who had to be carried and 5 or 6 who had to be transported with ‘gullstol’. [“golden chair” - Two people carrying a person up with flat hands]
Captain Nordlander says that the boat will depart at 6 o’clock on Thursday morning and intends to continue from Vinga a few hours later. The crossing to Liverpool will take roughly 6 days, and then continue on to Istanbul for 15 days. At the end of May, the boat will be back at Gothenburg with about 1,000 German exchange passengers.