View of the MS St. Louis surrounded by smaller vessels in the port of Hamburg.

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Date

June 1939

Description

The German luxury liner, the "MS St. Louis" surrounded by smaller vessels in the port of Hamburg. In the face of increasing persecution at the hands of Nazi Germany, more than 930 Jewish refugees attempted to take the St. Louis to Cuba on May 13, 1939. Despite bearing legitimate landing certificates, the pro-fascist Cuban government denied entry to all but 28 of the refugees. When the others attempted to go to the United States they were likewise refused entry. Thus, the ship was forced to return to Europe where several countries such as Great Britain, Belgium, France, and the Netherlands agreed to take them in. With the German conquest of western Europe in the spring of 1940 the majority of the refugees were once more under Nazi control and many were killed in the Holocaust.

Type

Photograph

Region

Global

Era

The Great Depression and WW II

Topic

Genocide, Global History and Geography, Immigration, Jewish History, Transportation, World War II

Repository

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

Identifier

88358

Source

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, courtesy of Herbert & Vera Karliner

Rights

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