The 1st Independent Polish Parachute Brigade
(1 Samodzielna Brygada Spadochronowa)
Ship No 5 (Wave 1)
The Profintern (Профинтерн)
Overview Of The Profintern
The Profintern was a lenin class tanker and was owned by Kasptanker.
It was one of the official ships (unofficial flotillas of fishing boats were also involved) organised by Stalin in 1942 at Krasnovodsk (Russian: Красноводск) (Modern day Türkmenbaşy) to transport Polish exiles (also mistakenly called "deportees") who had been held captive in Siberia/Kazakhstan labour camps over the Caspian Sea to Pahlevi (Pahlavi) now called Banzar-e Anzali which is in modern day Northwest Iran.
Ship Movements
From passenger testimonies & any other available data this is a "best educated guess" of the ships movements.
- Embark: 27/03/42 | Time: Early Evening/Night (Andrew Syska) & (Danuta Mączka Gradosielska)
- Depart: ? | Time: ?
- Arrive: 30/03/42 (Ross report) | Time: Afternoon (Danuta Mączka Gradosielska)
Extract From "The Ross Report"
According to the Ross Report, here is who was on this ship;
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Related Accounts
- Account of Danuta Mączka Gradosielska (Full account here ) - "We arrived in Krasnovodsk on 27 March, ate lunch and then waited for the ship. During the night we boarded the cargo boat overloaded with 5,000 soldiers!! On the next vessel were families, among them Mother, Father and Tadeusz. A lot of people on the boat were ill and there were even a few deaths - mainly caused by serious illnesses like typhoid and dysentery. One main trouble was a lack of water - but far greater was the lack of toilets - this caused long queues and many people simply relieved themselves over the side. I felt desperately sorry for those who died on the very threshold of freedom. We arrived in the port of Pahlevi in Persia (now Bandar Anzali, Iran) on 30th March and disembarked in the afternoon. We were directed to tents pitched on the beach." (Editors Note: Based on the "5,000 soldiers" ship 3 looks a more likely contender meaning that she got the dates wrong?)
- Account Of Andrew Syska (26 p.p., 9th Division) : http://kresy-siberia.org/hom/files/Syska-Andrew_Recollections.pdf: It is dark, and we get through the guard checks, and board the ship "Krasnyi Profintern" (Красный Профинмєрн), bound for Pahlevi, Persia. The ship is crowded. We sleep on the decks. I have no idea where Mama, Tata, Malina, or Rafał are. We all have become separated. We sail through the Caspian Sea, and arrive in Pahlevi on the 30th March 1942. (Editors Note: It is believed this boats correct name is "Profintern" and not "Krasynii Profintern". The latter appears to have sailed in the Black sea and not in the Caspian. It's possible, when survivor accounts were written they checked the name of their ship on the internet and assumed the 2 boat names were one and the same and at that point mis-named it as the "Krasynii Profintern".)