My Great-grandfather escaped from the Nazis
“Goddamn Nazis!”, he exclaimed, stepping on a cockroach.
Hello, dearest steemians. Today I decided to investigate my great grandfather's arrival to Venezuela during the first years of the Second World War, a topic that has always been intriguing to me, and one that's certainly interesting.
![WhatsApp Image 2017-12-22 at 11.48.06 PM..jpeg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmWpnjB2roFunjq4kY31z9vDgcJBxYh1S68QLM2Rg1Tsbx/WhatsApp%20Image%202017-12-22%20at%2011.48.06%20PM..jpeg)
That was their last chance to save themselves from the war that the amount of politic tensions was announcing, so he had to make the decision. They had to board that cruise. Both of them attempted to take the first train to Hamburg, but the trips had been cancelled and the routes were being used only for business purposes. The driver allowed them and some other group of people to hide between the apple bags in exchange for a certain amount of coins, though, and soon they arrived to the city, where they made their way straight to the port.
![puerto.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmb5EeWY6UQYpwzqAD8Dy4ZDHLV3dj3D85sgWaZqEwAaRq/puerto.jpg)
![](https://steemitimages.com/640x0/https://steemitimages.com/DQmW9aQd9cRgpW6LVHPj6LmsTiGvqgFQNh6c9AiP7NGbos4/Imagen1.png)
![Crucero.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmSZ2YH5FVCM6mKxzKg5p952okAhqhw5HMfmQ4La9dtbtw/Crucero.jpg)
![crucero 2.png](https://steemitimages.com/640x0/https://steemitimages.com/DQmXcEG1cUi6poMWbRdCDwDcF6fTdFcuzVdX1Sf3EGJ4iYK/crucero%202.png)
Vladis having dinner at the Caribian
Desperate and afraid, they received some letters from jewish communities in Venezuela, asking them to try to reach La Guaira's harbor. Back then, President Eleazar López Contreras was in charge of the country, and also in charge of the decision of allowing or not the entry of the ship. After 12 hours, the president still hadn't pronounced a single word.
“My father was under so much pressure, both external and especially internal; and it was most probably due to political or economical reasons that some people thought this was a highly compromising act during such a difficult time” —Mercedes Lopez Blanco, Lopez Contreras' daughter.
In consequence of the lack of communication, the captain ordered to move to Puerto Cabello (Venezuela), arriving after midnight on February 3rd, in 1939. At their arrival in Puerto Cabello, they could only stay until 8PM, but despite all of the negotiation made by personalities from the jewish communities in Caracas and Valencia, the autorization wasn't coming. My great-grandfather recalls the way some villagers threw tropical fruits to the deck, and how that was the first time he ever saw a coconut and a mango.
SOURCE
I had the chance to read a letter at the chancellery, sent by the German Government and signed by Hitler himself, in which they asked the Venezuelan Government to deny the entry of any refugee from jewish origin under any circumstance.” —Gladys Portillo, historian.
Once the news broke, the president's wife, Maria Teresa Nuñez, scolded him. “Are you letting all these people die? You're in charge here, put your pants on and start behaving like the president”, Mercedes recalls, having witnessed her mother's anger.
![eleazar-lópez-contreras-final-clímax.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmUum6JAaafggzBt3SDutBG177tEErXSKLDpXkVYQb1jWH/eleazar-l%C3%B3pez-contreras-final-cl%C3%ADmax.jpg)
Two hours after the ship had sailed, the autorization from President Eleazar Lopez Contreras arrived to Puerto Cabello, allowing those 88 jews to finally land. The passengers had to beg the captain to go back to the port, Vladis even thought about throwing himself and his wife to the sea and swim back, but none of this was necessary, for the captain soon decided to return
The darkness prevailed at such hours of the night, hindering the captain's task to land. The villagers, then, turned their lamps on, pointing to the sea, and started a fire in the beach. That's how they succeeded to anchor and my great-grandfather and his girlfriend finally landed on the new world.
![5nj9f4.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/640x0/https://steemitimages.com/DQmNySqsh7Pm48aTvvQ2xiXroSRkDNe3Mc9TQCAn7DgbV46/5nj9f4.jpg)
SOURCE
![WhatsApp Image 2017-12-22 at 11.48.06 PM...jpeg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmYJVE68xfDeJAUWV3QhTR1PqgcvTBBdFQDjiYA6vbjzha/WhatsApp%20Image%202017-12-22%20at%2011.48.06%20PM...jpeg)
Venezuelan receiving my grat-grand-father Vladis and other jewish refugees
That was all for the first part, I hope you've enjoyed the story of my great-grandfather's voyage. I've saved for the next part his beginnings in Venezuela, the peculiar way he met my great-grandmother, and how he started a great family. ![separador.png](https://steemitimages.com/DQmXDtnrYwcUDQ63Mma2GaVaBrL5iEREUwS6QgysyWYGMEm/separador.png)
![separador.png](https://steemitimages.com/DQmXDtnrYwcUDQ63Mma2GaVaBrL5iEREUwS6QgysyWYGMEm/separador.png)
Enjoy the vote and reward!
I hate nazis so much. It's a good story too
Beautiful
Great history :D