Return Otto Frank: Odessa
From 23 April to 21 May 1945, Otto Frank stayed in Odessa where he waited for a boat to take him to France. On 21 May, he left on the New Zealand ship the Monowai for Marseille.
The train journey from the Polish town of Katowice - the first stop after Auschwitz - to Odessa took a long time[1] and was unpleasant for Otto Frank: the weather was bad and he suffered from diphtheria.[2] Once they arrived, after several days of variable or bad weather, it became sunnier and the food was good. Red Cross parcels were also now arriving regularly, according to Rosa de Winter from the English Red Cross. Over the radio, they followed the news about the approaching liberation.[3]
Otto shared much with Salomon Siegfried Lievendag (1892-1948), who, like him, had survived Auschwitz and was trying to travel back to the Netherlands. However, their departure from Odessa kept being rescheduled and their impatience grew. Finally, almost a month later, on 20 May 1945, they were ordered to pack their belongings and board a boat bound for Marseille. The ship was called the Monowai, came from New Zealand and left on 21 May 1945 towards Marseille.[4]
Footnotes
- ^ See: NOS 1944-145 - Het Bevrijdingsjaar: Overlevenden Auschwitz via Odessa naar Nederland.
- ^ Anne Frank Stichting (AFS), Anne Frank Collectie (AFC), Otto Frank Archief (OFA), reg. code OFA_040: Notitieboekje 1945, 23 april.
- ^ Rosa de Winter-Levy, Aan de gaskamer ontsnapt! Het satanswerk van de S.S.: relaas van het lijden in de bevrijding uit het concentratiekamp "Birkenau" bij Auschwitz, Doetinchem: Misset, 1945, p.41.
- ^ AFS, AFC, OFA, reg. code OFA_040: Notitieboekje 1945, 25 april t/m 20 mei. Also see: New Zealand History: Monowai - the ship that rescued Anne Frank's father.