In 1939 a shipload of Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi Germany reached the US but were turned away, eventually returning to Europe where many died at the hands of the Nazis. This is an account of that of that odyssey.
From the Holocaust Museum comes this account "The passengers did not return to Germany, however. Jewish organizations (particularly the Jewish Joint Distribution Committee) negotiated with four European governments to secure entry visas for the passengers: Great Britain took 288 passengers; the Netherlands admitted 181 passengers, Belgium took in 214 passengers; and 224 passengers found at least temporary refuge in France. Of the 288 passengers admitted by Great Britain, all survived World War II save one, who was killed during an air raid in 1940. Of the 620 passengers who returned to continent, 87 (14%) managed to emigrate before the German invasion of Western Europe in May 1940. 532 St. Louis passengers were trapped when Germany conquered Western Europe. Just over half, 278 survived the Holocaust. 254 died: 84 who had been in Belgium; 84 who had found refuge in Holland, and 86 who had been admitted to France.
Jewish Virtual Library
From the Holocaust Museum comes this account "The passengers did not return to Germany, however. Jewish organizations (particularly the Jewish Joint Distribution Committee) negotiated with four European governments to secure entry visas for the passengers: Great Britain took 288 passengers; the Netherlands admitted 181 passengers, Belgium took in 214 passengers; and 224 passengers found at least temporary refuge in France. Of the 288 passengers admitted by Great Britain, all survived World War II save one, who was killed during an air raid in 1940. Of the 620 passengers who returned to continent, 87 (14%) managed to emigrate before the German invasion of Western Europe in May 1940. 532 St. Louis passengers were trapped when Germany conquered Western Europe. Just over half, 278 survived the Holocaust. 254 died: 84 who had been in Belgium; 84 who had found refuge in Holland, and 86 who had been admitted to France.
Jewish Virtual Library
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| S.S. St. Louis surrounded by smaller vessels in the port of Havana |
After Kristallnacht in November 1938, many Jews within Germany decided that it was time to leave. Though many German Jews had emigrated in the preceding years, the Jews who remained had a more difficult time leaving the country because emigration policies had been toughened. By 1939, not only were visas needed to be able to enter another country but money was also needed to leave Germany. Since many countries, especially the United States, had immigration quotas, visas were near impossible to acquire within the short time spans in which they were needed. For many, the visas were acquired after it was too late.
"The opportunity that the S.S. St. Louis presented seemed like a last hope to escape. "
From the Jerusalem Post, April 11, 2013 The question as to who gave the order to turn the St. Louis back to Europe is answered in the Roosevelt Library Archive in Hyde Park, New York.
The “secretary of the treasury” mentioned in the article was Henry Morgenthau, Jr. Morgenthau, a Jew, contacted both the coast guard captain and Long, and when he complained to the latter concerning the decision to turn back the ship, Long shot back: “Exactly whose side are you on – the Jews or the United States of America?” |
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