Autobiographical ink drawing of a passenger transfer at sea between two Ma’apilim ships

Pavel Szenwald was born on December 28, 1920, in Warsaw, Poland. He was a student at the Technical College in Warsaw when the Germans invaded Poland on September 1, 1939. A few months later, he was imprisoned in the Warsaw ghetto and in March 1941 was transported to the Nedev labor camp; he escaped and returned to the ghetto. In 1942, Pavel used forged Polish papers obtained by his father and escaped the ghetto. He posed as a German national, joined the German army, and served as a guard at a prisoner of war camp for Soviet prisoners. Believing his identity was about to be revealed, he fled his post in March 1943 and traveled over 600 miles to the Lida ghetto in Poland (Belarus). He escaped in April to the forest in Belarus and joined the Bielski partisans as a machine gunner and saboteur. In December, the group established a permanent base in the Naliboki forest which was under the administration of a Soviet partisan group led by General Chernyshev. The Bielski group established a relationship with the Soviet partisans who provided them with weapons. In July 1944, the camp was liberated by the Soviet Army; Pavel and his battalion fought alongside the Soviets. After the war in Europe ended on May 7, 1945, Pavel was drafted into the Soviet Army. Pavel returned to Warsaw in August 1945. He stayed at an army barracks and searched the ghetto ruins for surviving relatives but found none. Not wanting to return to his Russian army unit, Pavel decided to go to Palestine. In October 1945, he joined Beitar, a right wing Zionist group which was involved in illegal immigration and military activities. He gave up his papers, uniform, and weapons in exchange for ragged clothing and forged papers declaring him a Greek refugee. In November 1945, he crossed the border into Czechoslovakia with other Poles. They stayed in a safe house in Prague and were forbidden to leave, but Pavel heard that he could get cakes in town and left. He stopped to ask directions and was arrested. His identity, and the fact he was a deserter from the Soviet army, was discovered. His Russian interrogator told Pavel, in Yiddish, to go to Palestine, and released him. In November, Pavel and the other displaced persons crossed the border into Germany. They arrived at a United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration refugee camp and in June 1946, the Jewish Brigade transported them to Marseilles, France. In Marseilles, Pavel was one of 1100 passengers to board the Biria as part of the illegal immigration to Palestine. The British ruled Palestine by mandate and restricted Jewish immigration during and after the Holocaust. The Biria was discovered by the British near Cyprus. To evade capture, the passengers were transferred to the Akbel, a Turkish coal boat, under the watch of an armed French ship, the Joan D’Arc, as British planes circled overhead. The Akbel almost sank, had no water or bathrooms, and many people were sea sick. The British intercepted the ship and rerouted it to Haifa, Palestine. The passengers were interred in the Atlit detention camp outside of Haifa. In July 1946, Pavel and another man escaped and hid by the side of the Haifa-Tel Aviv road. A passenger bus stopped and let them board without papers or money. Pavel made his way to Ramat-Gan and by winter was living in Givat Shmuel, where his daughter Shula was born. He patrolled the neighborhood at night and guarded the water tower. In the spring of 1947, Pavel joined the Irgun National Military Organization. In May 1948, he enlisted in the Israeli Defense Forces and fought in the War of Independence. The war ended on May 14, when Israel became an independent state. Pavel served in the army until 1961 and left with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. He changed his name to Peretz Chorshati, settled in Eilat, established the Fire and Rescue Service, and served as station chief. 

The photocopy of an autobiographical drawing was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2010 by Peretz Chorshati. 

Autobiographical ink drawing of a passenger transfer at sea between two Ma’apilim ships 

overall: Height: 8.000 inches (20.32 cm) | Width: 11.125 inches (28.258 cm) 

Pen and wash drawing from a series of 19 captioned, narrative illustrations created by Peretz Chorshati (born Pavel Szenwald) between 1994 and 1997 about his wartime experiences. It depicts Pavel and other passengers being transferred between 2 ships mid-sea. In June 1946, Pavel was on the ship Biria bound for Palestine when it was discovered by the British near Cyprus. Pavel was an 18 year old student in Warsaw when the Germans invaded Poland on September 1, 1939. He was imprisoned in the Warsaw ghetto until his father got him forged papers and he escaped. He posed as a German national, and joined the German army. In March 1943, Pavel deserted the German army and joined the Bielski partisan group. After the war ended on May 7, 1945, Pavel returned to Warsaw and joined Beitar, a right wing Zionist group. In June 1946, he illegally emigrated to British ruled Palestine. 

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Ink drawing on white rectangular paper depicting, in the right foreground, a coal boat marked AKBEL on the stern with rear and starboard awnings and 4 people. In the left middle ground is a ship with flags and H.S. BIRIA on the starboard. Many passengers climb down rope ladders into 2 small dinghies. A full motorboat heads towards the AKBEL as an empty one leaves. On the right is an armed ship, the JOAN D’ARC with a ship in the far background. There is an attached piece of white rectangular paper with a paragraph length artist’s caption in Hebrew, date, and a number covered in correction fluid on the front. There are 2 punched holes at the top center. On the reverse is marker bleed through, pencil marks, and a piece of aged yellow adhesive tape with a yellow stain. front, lower left, on attached paper, handwritten, black ink : Hebrew text [A Ma’apilim boat, the “Biria” with 1100 on its deck was discovered near Cyprus. At sea we transferred to a coal boat, the “Akbel.” To make it difficult for the English to catch “Biria”, a French ship, the Joan of Arc, sailed next to us. The British did not come near.] / June 46 front, lower left, on attached paper, pencil : 15