Museum Reminds Us of the St. Louis

It was sixty years ago this May that the SS St. Louis set sail from Hamburg, Germany. The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC, has mounted an exhibit that opened April 12 and will run until September 6, 1999. There are many events planned around this exhibit.

For information, check the Museum's Web site at the following URL:

       http://www.ushmm.org/

The Defeat of the SS St. Louis

Compiled by Lauren Gaito
Cold Spring Harbor High School
New York, United States

With World War II approaching, many Jews living in Germany felt it was necessary to leave. Soon after Kristallnacht in November of 1935, it became apparent that there were very few ways for the Jews to get out of Germany. One way however seemed almost flawless. The SS St. Louis, a ship that was part of the Hamburg-America Line, was preparing to take over 900 refugees to Cuba, where they would be allowed eventually to enter the United States. This appeared to be an infallible way to escape death and finally regain a life of freedom. Passengers boarded the SS St. Louis on Saturday May 13, 1939. Although the trip was very expensive for many of the Jews who had been fired from their jobs or charged high rents under Nazi rule, families pooled together in order to pay for the fare of other family members. Throughout the first few days, everything appeared to be going smoothly. With the exception of one death, a suicide, and one unruly member, the passengers suspected nothing. Several days into the trip across the Atlantic, the captain of the ship received another cable, only this time it was slightly more urgent. The cable stated that the passengers might not be able to land in Cuba because of Decree 937. Decree 937 was passed on May 5, 1939, in order to close a loophole found in Decree 55, stating that all passengers, including refugees, needed a landing permit to arrive in Cuba. Unfortunately, after all passengers had purchased these permits, Decree 937 was passed, invalidating their permits. The captain of the ship, Gustav Shroeder, developed a committee to find another way for the refugees to land. As the passengers became more and more aware of the impending trouble, tension grew aboard the ship. The joint committee searched for numerous ways to beat the Cuban government. Every way they tried failed. The idea of returning to Europe became more apparent as days passed, and with a shortage of food and other necessities, mutiny and suicide became more likely. Despite all efforts and negotiations by the Cuban government and the crew, on June 7th, the SS St. Louis set out to return back to Europe. The only negotiation that could be made was the plan that several countries other than Germany would take the refugees. Holland took 181, France received 224, 228 would go to Great Britain, and 214 would go to Belgium. The passengers disembarked the SS St. Louis on June 16 through June 20, 1939. At this time the hope for freedom turned to the hope for survival in avoiding the concentration camps they would once again face in Europe. The hope for survivors of the SS St. Louis lives on today, as the U.S. Holocaust Museum is still searching for passengers that once took that fated voyage. The Reality Behind The SS St. Louis Compiled by Julia Kornblatt, Cold Spring Harbor High School The United States is generally acknowledged as the golden hand that unlocked most of the gates of the concentration camps at the finish of World War II, releasing millions of near-death victims, the majority Jewish. Yet in the case of the SS St. Louis, the ship with the unfortunately fatal destination, America fails to uphold this reputable position. The St. Louis departed from Hamburg, Germany in early May of 1939. The ship contained approximately 925 Jewish refugees attempting to escape Nazi Germany under Adolph Hitler's evil grip. Heading toward Cuba, all passengers had legitimate landing certificates. However, as a result of the pro-fascist Cuban government that later invalidated the certificates, only 22 passengers were allowed entry into Cuba when the ship docked in Havana. The St. Louis then requested entry into the United States, but was denied. America should take pride in the heroic role she held in World War II in numerous circumstances of importance. Yet in the case of the SS St. Louis, there lies a wrinkle in the otherwise smooth history of America's amicable past. As crucially beneficial as the United States was in the war, and as many lives as the United States saved, the facts involving the St. Louis still must be faced. Nine-hundred people could have been saved if the St. Louis passengers were allowed into the safety of the U.S., yet for whatever reasons that seemed justifiable, America denied entry to the refugees aboard the ship. These refugees later perished as the result of Hitler's "final solution to the Jewish problem." On June 6 the ship returned to Europe and docked in Antwerp, Belgium. The refugees were dispersed throughout Great Britain, Belgium, France, and the Netherlands. Most of the refugees that were sent to Great Britain escaped Hitler's armies, but the rest were not as fortunate. They became just another addition to the long list of Jews who were trapped by Hitler. This failure of the United States to protect the lives of nine-hundred innocent people not only caused death, but it also revealed the many imperfections of an otherwise respectable government and groups of people that surfaced during the times of war. A country that boasts freedom, equality, and justice for all committed a terrible contradiction to those ideals. War does not cause simply destruction and death alone. It also forces the swallowing of pride by the brave and the submission to pride by the weak, when confronted with decisions regarding morality.
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