Refugee Drama in the Atlantic

 

In the early summer of 1939, 930 Jewish refugees attempt to reach Cuba from Hamburg on the steamer St. Louis. The majority of them possesses landing permits for tourists sold by the head of the Cuban immigration office, but made worthless by the Cuban president by decree 937 of May 5, 1939.

When the St. Louis reaches Havana on May 27, 1939, the authorities allow only 22 Jewish refugees with a valid Cuban landing permit or  US visa to disembark, along with a passenger who was seriously injured in a suicide attempt. The remaining 907 passengers are denied landing rights. On the same day, 72 other Jewish refugees from Germany, Austria and Czechoslovakia who have arrived in Havana on the British steamer Orduna are also not allowed to go on shore.

The governments of the US and Canada refuse to take passengers from the St. Louis, which meanwhile is circling off the coast of Florida. When the shipping company orders the ship’s return to Hamburg, the desperate passengers almost stage a mutiny. Finally, the Intergovernmental Committee for Refugees is able to arrange their admission to England, France, Belgium and the Netherlands.

Boarding of the St. Louis in Hamburg, May 13, 1939 Gustav Schröder, Heimatlos auf hoher See, Berlin 1949 / Jürgen Glaevecke, Hamburg

Boarding of the St. Louis in Hamburg, May 13, 1939

Gustav Schröder, Heimatlos auf hoher See, Berlin 1949 / Jürgen Glaevecke, Hamburg

Decree 937 in the Gaceta Oficial de la República de Cuba, May 5, 1939  In his power struggle with Colonel Fulgencio Batista, Cuba’s president Federico Laredo Brú declares worthless the tourist visas that had been sold by the head of the immigration department, a follower of Batista. With Decree 937, he makes entry permits dependent on a certificate from the Ministry of Labor. Auswärtiges Amt / Politisches Archiv, Berlin, R 67186

Decree 937 in the Gaceta Oficial de la República de Cuba, May 5, 1939 

In his power struggle with Colonel Fulgencio Batista, Cuba’s president Federico Laredo Brú declares worthless the tourist visas that had been sold by the head of the immigration department, a follower of Batista. With Decree 937, he makes entry permits dependent on a certificate from the Ministry of Labor.

Auswärtiges Amt / Politisches Archiv, Berlin, R 67186

Course of the St. Louis off Cuba and Florida Gustav Schröder, Heimatlos auf hoher See, Berlin 1949 / Jürgen Glaevecke, Hamburg

Course of the St. Louis off Cuba and Florida

Gustav Schröder, Heimatlos auf hoher See, Berlin 1949 / Jürgen Glaevecke, Hamburg

Passengers on the St. Louis, anchored off Havana, June 2, 1939 The New York Times, Paris Office / National Archives, College Park, MD

Passengers on the St. Louis, anchored off Havana, June 2, 1939

The New York Times, Paris Office / National Archives, College Park, MD

Telegram from passengers of the Orduna to President Roosevelt, May 29, 1939 Despite dramatic appeals by passengers on the Orduna as well as by numerous famous and ordninary Americans, like the workers from New York’s East Side, President Roosevelt, under pressure from Secretary of State Cordell Hull, refuses to admit the passengers of either ship to the US. Only in September of 1940, after a stopover in Panama’s Canal Zone, can the Orduna’s remaining 55 passengers enter the US. National Archives, College Park, MD

Telegram from passengers of the Orduna to President Roosevelt, May 29, 1939

Despite dramatic appeals by passengers on the Orduna as well as by numerous famous and ordninary Americans, like the workers from New York’s East Side, President Roosevelt, under pressure from Secretary of State Cordell Hull, refuses to admit the passengers of either ship to the US. Only in September of 1940, after a stopover in Panama’s Canal Zone, can the Orduna’s remaining 55 passengers enter the US.

National Archives, College Park, MD

Telegram from East Side workers to President Roosevelt, June 6, 1939 Despite dramatic appeals by passengers on the Orduna as well as by numerous famous and ordninary Americans, like the workers from New York’s East Side, President Roosevelt, under pressure from Secretary of State Cordell Hull, refuses to admit the passengers of either ship to the US. Only in September of 1940, after a stopover in Panama’s Canal Zone, can the Orduna’s remaining 55 passengers enter the US. National Archives, College Park, MD

Telegram from East Side workers to President Roosevelt, June 6, 1939

Despite dramatic appeals by passengers on the Orduna as well as by numerous famous and ordninary Americans, like the workers from New York’s East Side, President Roosevelt, under pressure from Secretary of State Cordell Hull, refuses to admit the passengers of either ship to the US. Only in September of 1940, after a stopover in Panama’s Canal Zone, can the Orduna’s remaining 55 passengers enter the US.

National Archives, College Park, MD

Intergovernmental Committee to the Department of State, June 28, 1939  In tough negotiations, Robert T. Pell, deputy director of the Intergovernmental Committee for Refugees, is finally able to arrange that Great Britain, France, Belgium and the Netherlands admit the St. Louis passengers. They first disembark in Antwerp and travel from there to their destination countries. Of the refugees who are admitted to countries on the Continent, 254 are later murdered in the Holocaust. National Archives, College Park, MD

Intergovernmental Committee to the Department of State, June 28, 1939 

In tough negotiations, Robert T. Pell, deputy director of the Intergovernmental Committee for Refugees, is finally able to arrange that Great Britain, France, Belgium and the Netherlands admit the St. Louis passengers. They first disembark in Antwerp and travel from there to their destination countries. Of the refugees who are admitted to countries on the Continent, 254 are later murdered in the Holocaust.

National Archives, College Park, MD

Gustav Schröder’s Nazi Party membership card, 1933 (front) Although a member of the Nazi Party since 1933 the captain of the St. Louis shows sympathy towards the desperate Jewish refugees. He delays the requested return to Hamburg and even considers letting his ship run aground on the English coast, in order to save his passengers from almost certain incarceration in a concentration camp. For his conduct, he is honored with the title “Righteous Among the Nations” by the Israeli memorial site Yad Vashem on March 11, 1993. Bundesarchiv, Berlin, R 9361-VIII KARTEI 21200246

Gustav Schröder’s Nazi Party membership card, 1933 (front)

Although a member of the Nazi Party since 1933 the captain of the St. Louis shows sympathy towards the desperate Jewish refugees. He delays the requested return to Hamburg and even considers letting his ship run aground on the English coast, in order to save his passengers from almost certain incarceration in a concentration camp. For his conduct, he is honored with the title “Righteous Among the Nations” by the Israeli memorial site Yad Vashem on March 11, 1993.

Bundesarchiv, Berlin, R 9361-VIII KARTEI 21200246

Gustav Schröder’s Nazi Party membership card, 1933 (back) Bundesarchiv, Berlin, R 9361-VIII KARTEI 21200246

Gustav Schröder’s Nazi Party membership card, 1933 (back)

Bundesarchiv, Berlin, R 9361-VIII KARTEI 21200246

Relieved passengers of the St. Louis upon their arrival in Antwerp, June 21, 1939 SZ Photo, München

Relieved passengers of the St. Louis upon their arrival in Antwerp, June 21, 1939

SZ Photo, München

Refugee Drama in the Atlantic

Clips from interviews with

Gisela Knepel née Feldman, May 18, 1996, Manchester, England

© USC Shoah FoundationVisual History Archive, Los Angeles, Interview Code: 44526

Liesl Loeb, August 20, 1996, Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, USA

© USC Shoah FoundationVisual History Archive, Los Angeles, Interview Code: 18778

Sol Messinger, May 15, 1996, Buffalo, New York, USA

© USC Shoah FoundationVisual History Archive, Los Angeles, Interview Code: 15174

and Clips from News of the Day footage, June, 1939

© University of California Los Angeles, Film & Television Archive, Hearst Collection, SG 15602 (ZVD 159) und SG 4641 (ZVD 1135)

Z
X
Boarding of the St. Louis in Hamburg, May 13, 1939 Gustav Schröder, Heimatlos auf hoher See, Berlin 1949 / Jürgen Glaevecke, Hamburg

Boarding of the St. Louis in Hamburg, May 13, 1939

Gustav Schröder, Heimatlos auf hoher See, Berlin 1949 / Jürgen Glaevecke, Hamburg

Boarding of the St. Louis in Hamburg, May 13, 1939

Gustav Schröder, Heimatlos auf hoher See, Berlin 1949 / Jürgen Glaevecke, Hamburg

Decree 937 in the Gaceta Oficial de la República de Cuba, May 5, 1939  In his power struggle with Colonel Fulgencio Batista, Cuba’s president Federico Laredo Brú declares worthless the tourist visas that had been sold by the head of the immigration department, a follower of Batista. With Decree 937, he makes entry permits dependent on a certificate from the Ministry of Labor. Auswärtiges Amt / Politisches Archiv, Berlin, R 67186

Decree 937 in the Gaceta Oficial de la República de Cuba, May 5, 1939 

In his power struggle with Colonel Fulgencio Batista, Cuba’s president Federico Laredo Brú declares worthless the tourist visas that had been sold by the head of the immigration department, a follower of Batista. With Decree 937, he makes entry permits dependent on a certificate from the Ministry of Labor.

Auswärtiges Amt / Politisches Archiv, Berlin, R 67186

Decree 937 in the Gaceta Oficial de la República de Cuba, May 5, 1939 

In his power struggle with Colonel Fulgencio Batista, Cuba’s president Federico Laredo Brú declares worthless the tourist visas that had been sold by the head of the immigration department, a follower of Batista. With Decree 937, he makes entry permits dependent on a certificate from the Ministry of Labor.

Auswärtiges Amt / Politisches Archiv, Berlin, R 67186

Course of the St. Louis off Cuba and Florida Gustav Schröder, Heimatlos auf hoher See, Berlin 1949 / Jürgen Glaevecke, Hamburg

Course of the St. Louis off Cuba and Florida

Gustav Schröder, Heimatlos auf hoher See, Berlin 1949 / Jürgen Glaevecke, Hamburg

Course of the St. Louis off Cuba and Florida

Gustav Schröder, Heimatlos auf hoher See, Berlin 1949 / Jürgen Glaevecke, Hamburg

Passengers on the St. Louis, anchored off Havana, June 2, 1939 The New York Times, Paris Office / National Archives, College Park, MD

Passengers on the St. Louis, anchored off Havana, June 2, 1939

The New York Times, Paris Office / National Archives, College Park, MD

Passengers on the St. Louis, anchored off Havana, June 2, 1939

The New York Times, Paris Office / National Archives, College Park, MD

Telegram from passengers of the Orduna to President Roosevelt, May 29, 1939 Despite dramatic appeals by passengers on the Orduna as well as by numerous famous and ordninary Americans, like the workers from New York’s East Side, President Roosevelt, under pressure from Secretary of State Cordell Hull, refuses to admit the passengers of either ship to the US. Only in September of 1940, after a stopover in Panama’s Canal Zone, can the Orduna’s remaining 55 passengers enter the US. National Archives, College Park, MD

Telegram from passengers of the Orduna to President Roosevelt, May 29, 1939

Despite dramatic appeals by passengers on the Orduna as well as by numerous famous and ordninary Americans, like the workers from New York’s East Side, President Roosevelt, under pressure from Secretary of State Cordell Hull, refuses to admit the passengers of either ship to the US. Only in September of 1940, after a stopover in Panama’s Canal Zone, can the Orduna’s remaining 55 passengers enter the US.

National Archives, College Park, MD

Telegram from passengers of the Orduna to President Roosevelt, May 29, 1939

Despite dramatic appeals by passengers on the Orduna as well as by numerous famous and ordninary Americans, like the workers from New York’s East Side, President Roosevelt, under pressure from Secretary of State Cordell Hull, refuses to admit the passengers of either ship to the US. Only in September of 1940, after a stopover in Panama’s Canal Zone, can the Orduna’s remaining 55 passengers enter the US.

National Archives, College Park, MD

Telegram from East Side workers to President Roosevelt, June 6, 1939 Despite dramatic appeals by passengers on the Orduna as well as by numerous famous and ordninary Americans, like the workers from New York’s East Side, President Roosevelt, under pressure from Secretary of State Cordell Hull, refuses to admit the passengers of either ship to the US. Only in September of 1940, after a stopover in Panama’s Canal Zone, can the Orduna’s remaining 55 passengers enter the US. National Archives, College Park, MD

Telegram from East Side workers to President Roosevelt, June 6, 1939

Despite dramatic appeals by passengers on the Orduna as well as by numerous famous and ordninary Americans, like the workers from New York’s East Side, President Roosevelt, under pressure from Secretary of State Cordell Hull, refuses to admit the passengers of either ship to the US. Only in September of 1940, after a stopover in Panama’s Canal Zone, can the Orduna’s remaining 55 passengers enter the US.

National Archives, College Park, MD

Telegram from East Side workers to President Roosevelt, June 6, 1939

Despite dramatic appeals by passengers on the Orduna as well as by numerous famous and ordninary Americans, like the workers from New York’s East Side, President Roosevelt, under pressure from Secretary of State Cordell Hull, refuses to admit the passengers of either ship to the US. Only in September of 1940, after a stopover in Panama’s Canal Zone, can the Orduna’s remaining 55 passengers enter the US.

National Archives, College Park, MD

Intergovernmental Committee to the Department of State, June 28, 1939  In tough negotiations, Robert T. Pell, deputy director of the Intergovernmental Committee for Refugees, is finally able to arrange that Great Britain, France, Belgium and the Netherlands admit the St. Louis passengers. They first disembark in Antwerp and travel from there to their destination countries. Of the refugees who are admitted to countries on the Continent, 254 are later murdered in the Holocaust. National Archives, College Park, MD

Intergovernmental Committee to the Department of State, June 28, 1939 

In tough negotiations, Robert T. Pell, deputy director of the Intergovernmental Committee for Refugees, is finally able to arrange that Great Britain, France, Belgium and the Netherlands admit the St. Louis passengers. They first disembark in Antwerp and travel from there to their destination countries. Of the refugees who are admitted to countries on the Continent, 254 are later murdered in the Holocaust.

National Archives, College Park, MD

Intergovernmental Committee to the Department of State, June 28, 1939 

In tough negotiations, Robert T. Pell, deputy director of the Intergovernmental Committee for Refugees, is finally able to arrange that Great Britain, France, Belgium and the Netherlands admit the St. Louis passengers. They first disembark in Antwerp and travel from there to their destination countries. Of the refugees who are admitted to countries on the Continent, 254 are later murdered in the Holocaust.

National Archives, College Park, MD

Gustav Schröder’s Nazi Party membership card, 1933 (front) Although a member of the Nazi Party since 1933 the captain of the St. Louis shows sympathy towards the desperate Jewish refugees. He delays the requested return to Hamburg and even considers letting his ship run aground on the English coast, in order to save his passengers from almost certain incarceration in a concentration camp. For his conduct, he is honored with the title “Righteous Among the Nations” by the Israeli memorial site Yad Vashem on March 11, 1993. Bundesarchiv, Berlin, R 9361-VIII KARTEI 21200246

Gustav Schröder’s Nazi Party membership card, 1933 (front)

Although a member of the Nazi Party since 1933 the captain of the St. Louis shows sympathy towards the desperate Jewish refugees. He delays the requested return to Hamburg and even considers letting his ship run aground on the English coast, in order to save his passengers from almost certain incarceration in a concentration camp. For his conduct, he is honored with the title “Righteous Among the Nations” by the Israeli memorial site Yad Vashem on March 11, 1993.

Bundesarchiv, Berlin, R 9361-VIII KARTEI 21200246

Gustav Schröder’s Nazi Party membership card, 1933 (front)

Although a member of the Nazi Party since 1933 the captain of the St. Louis shows sympathy towards the desperate Jewish refugees. He delays the requested return to Hamburg and even considers letting his ship run aground on the English coast, in order to save his passengers from almost certain incarceration in a concentration camp. For his conduct, he is honored with the title “Righteous Among the Nations” by the Israeli memorial site Yad Vashem on March 11, 1993.

Bundesarchiv, Berlin, R 9361-VIII KARTEI 21200246

Gustav Schröder’s Nazi Party membership card, 1933 (back) Bundesarchiv, Berlin, R 9361-VIII KARTEI 21200246

Gustav Schröder’s Nazi Party membership card, 1933 (back)

Bundesarchiv, Berlin, R 9361-VIII KARTEI 21200246

Gustav Schröder’s Nazi Party membership card, 1933 (back)

Bundesarchiv, Berlin, R 9361-VIII KARTEI 21200246

Relieved passengers of the St. Louis upon their arrival in Antwerp, June 21, 1939 SZ Photo, München

Relieved passengers of the St. Louis upon their arrival in Antwerp, June 21, 1939

SZ Photo, München

Relieved passengers of the St. Louis upon their arrival in Antwerp, June 21, 1939

SZ Photo, München

Refugee Drama in the Atlantic Clips from interviews with Gisela Knepel née Feldman, May 18, 1996, Manchester, England © USC Shoah FoundationVisual History Archive, Los Angeles, Interview Code: 44526 Liesl Loeb, August 20, 1996, Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, USA © USC Shoah FoundationVisual History Archive, Los Angeles, Interview Code: 18778 Sol Messinger, May 15, 1996, Buffalo, New York, USA © USC Shoah FoundationVisual History Archive, Los Angeles, Interview Code: 15174 and Clips from News of the Day footage, June, 1939 © University of California Los Angeles, Film & Television Archive, Hearst Collection, SG 15602 (ZVD 159) und SG 4641 (ZVD 1135)

Refugee Drama in the Atlantic

Clips from interviews with

Gisela Knepel née Feldman, May 18, 1996, Manchester, England

© USC Shoah FoundationVisual History Archive, Los Angeles, Interview Code: 44526

Liesl Loeb, August 20, 1996, Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, USA

© USC Shoah FoundationVisual History Archive, Los Angeles, Interview Code: 18778

Sol Messinger, May 15, 1996, Buffalo, New York, USA

© USC Shoah FoundationVisual History Archive, Los Angeles, Interview Code: 15174

and Clips from News of the Day footage, June, 1939

© University of California Los Angeles, Film & Television Archive, Hearst Collection, SG 15602 (ZVD 159) und SG 4641 (ZVD 1135)

Refugee Drama in the Atlantic

Clips from interviews with

Gisela Knepel née Feldman, May 18, 1996, Manchester, England

© USC Shoah FoundationVisual History Archive, Los Angeles, Interview Code: 44526

Liesl Loeb, August 20, 1996, Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, USA

© USC Shoah FoundationVisual History Archive, Los Angeles, Interview Code: 18778

Sol Messinger, May 15, 1996, Buffalo, New York, USA

© USC Shoah FoundationVisual History Archive, Los Angeles, Interview Code: 15174

and Clips from News of the Day footage, June, 1939

© University of California Los Angeles, Film & Television Archive, Hearst Collection, SG 15602 (ZVD 159) und SG 4641 (ZVD 1135)

Boarding of the St. Louis in Hamburg, May 13, 1939 Gustav Schröder, Heimatlos auf hoher See, Berlin 1949 / Jürgen Glaevecke, Hamburg
Decree 937 in the Gaceta Oficial de la República de Cuba, May 5, 1939  In his power struggle with Colonel Fulgencio Batista, Cuba’s president Federico Laredo Brú declares worthless the tourist visas that had been sold by the head of the immigration department, a follower of Batista. With Decree 937, he makes entry permits dependent on a certificate from the Ministry of Labor. Auswärtiges Amt / Politisches Archiv, Berlin, R 67186
Course of the St. Louis off Cuba and Florida Gustav Schröder, Heimatlos auf hoher See, Berlin 1949 / Jürgen Glaevecke, Hamburg
Passengers on the St. Louis, anchored off Havana, June 2, 1939 The New York Times, Paris Office / National Archives, College Park, MD
Telegram from passengers of the Orduna to President Roosevelt, May 29, 1939 Despite dramatic appeals by passengers on the Orduna as well as by numerous famous and ordninary Americans, like the workers from New York’s East Side, President Roosevelt, under pressure from Secretary of State Cordell Hull, refuses to admit the passengers of either ship to the US. Only in September of 1940, after a stopover in Panama’s Canal Zone, can the Orduna’s remaining 55 passengers enter the US. National Archives, College Park, MD
Telegram from East Side workers to President Roosevelt, June 6, 1939 Despite dramatic appeals by passengers on the Orduna as well as by numerous famous and ordninary Americans, like the workers from New York’s East Side, President Roosevelt, under pressure from Secretary of State Cordell Hull, refuses to admit the passengers of either ship to the US. Only in September of 1940, after a stopover in Panama’s Canal Zone, can the Orduna’s remaining 55 passengers enter the US. National Archives, College Park, MD
Intergovernmental Committee to the Department of State, June 28, 1939  In tough negotiations, Robert T. Pell, deputy director of the Intergovernmental Committee for Refugees, is finally able to arrange that Great Britain, France, Belgium and the Netherlands admit the St. Louis passengers. They first disembark in Antwerp and travel from there to their destination countries. Of the refugees who are admitted to countries on the Continent, 254 are later murdered in the Holocaust. National Archives, College Park, MD
Gustav Schröder’s Nazi Party membership card, 1933 (front) Although a member of the Nazi Party since 1933 the captain of the St. Louis shows sympathy towards the desperate Jewish refugees. He delays the requested return to Hamburg and even considers letting his ship run aground on the English coast, in order to save his passengers from almost certain incarceration in a concentration camp. For his conduct, he is honored with the title “Righteous Among the Nations” by the Israeli memorial site Yad Vashem on March 11, 1993. Bundesarchiv, Berlin, R 9361-VIII KARTEI 21200246
Gustav Schröder’s Nazi Party membership card, 1933 (back) Bundesarchiv, Berlin, R 9361-VIII KARTEI 21200246
Relieved passengers of the St. Louis upon their arrival in Antwerp, June 21, 1939 SZ Photo, München