The MS St Louis was a smallish, but well-appointed trans-Atlantic passenger liner of the Hamburg-America line.
In 1939 it was already clear to the Jewish population in Germany that they weren’t welcome and things could get much worse. It was also fairly evident to governments abroad, especially after the infamous “Kristallnacht” of a year earlier in which thousands of Jewish shops were vandalised and 91 Jews were killed by paramilitary brown shirts and mobs in Germany.
In May, over 1,000 passengers, mostly German Jews, boarded the ship in Hamburg, with landing visas for the Cuba stopover and entry papers to the U.S.
It was a pleasant trip for most, but upon arrival in Cuba, clouds of concern began for the passengers. Cuba refused to let them land, and eventually only 28 were able to get off, with one more taken to hospital.
Jewish refugees aboard the MS St. Louis who had been refused permission to land, attempt to communicate with friends and relatives in Cuba, who were permitted to approach the docked vessel in small boats, June 3, 1939. Photo: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum/National Archives and Records
The ship remained in harbour for a week, before authorities ordered the ship with its 907 Jewish passengers to leave on June 2.
The German captain, Gustav Schroeder, then headed toward the Florida coast only to find U.S coast guard ships preventing the ship from entering U.S. waters in spite of the fact the passengers had entry papers. A plea by the ship’s passengers along with other requests from prominent American citizens were sent to U.S President Roosevelt. But the answer remained that the ship would not land its Jewish passengers.
After Cuban, U.S. refusal, Canada failed to invite.
With no alternative, the ship headed north on an eventual course back to Europe. That course would take it not that far from the Canadian coast.
Many prominent Canadians knowing of the situation and plight of the Jewish passengers telegraphed a petition to Canadian Prime Minister Mackenzie-King requesting that Canada “forthwith offer to the 907 homeless exiles on board the Hamburg American ship St. Louis sanctuary in Canada”.
He in turn referred the issue to other members of his cabinet. But the government was not sitting and many important officials were not available. Director of Immigration Frederick Blair wrote that an Order-in-Council would be needed to allow entry, but this was not possible due to the decisional vacuum in Ottawa, adding there might be a public backlash to a large-scale admission of Jews.
The Prime Minister said in a Toronto synagogue in May that he would apologise on the floor of the Commons for the turning back of the ship in 1939. Photo: CBC
The ship did not make a formal request to land, but due to misinformation on immigration policy, dithering, and a general anti-semitic attitude on June 7 1939, word went out that the ship would not be invited to land in Canada.
One of the most often cited quotes is that of Blair who also wrote during the St. Louis crisis: “It is manifestly impossible for any country to open its doors wide enough to take in the hundreds of thousands of Jewish people who want to leave Europe: the line must be drawn somewhere”.
The ship sailed back across the Atlantic where the passengers were given sanctuary in France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and the UK. However, hundreds were trapped when the Nazis overran Europe and 254 were murdered in the Holocaust.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promised earlier this year that his government would make an official apology to the Jewish community for the June 7th decision not to offer sanctuary.
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