The Story of the St. Louis A view of the St. Louis surrounded by smaller vessels in the port of Havana. (Picture courtesy of the USHMM)
“hopefully, a solution will be found soon, where we can land, it doesn’t matter in which country. One already has to have nerves like a horse to be able to get through everything“ (St Louis passenger Julius Hermann, May 30, 1939)
Theme: the case of the St. Louis ship (as an example for the situation of German refugees shortly before the Second World War.)
Aims: * To examine the story of the ship St. Louis from different aspects and perspectives, giving voice to the different actors that were part to it. * To discuss the historical circumstances leading to the situation of German refugees, that the passengers of the St. Louis are an example for.
* To examine the relevance of the story of the St. Louis today and discussing complex questions of responsibility, civic duties and moral personal and international obligations.
Time Frame:
Stage 1 - Getting started.
This stage serves as an introduction for the module and is aimed to get the students into the topic and to formulate their first questions. The same method will be used to close this unit.
The facilitator hangs five „exhibits“/elements in the class-/seminar room’s corners: 1. the poem “Ships are Sailing” which was written in 1938 by Władysław Szlengel; 2. a caricature1 (either Fred Packer in the New York Daily Mirror - June 6, 1939 or a caricature by Herbert Block which was published in various papers on June 7, 1939); 3. a photo of the St Louis passengers in the waters near Havana;2 4. a photo of an art installation by Ai Weiwei in the National Gallery of Prague, 2017; 5. the art installation dismantled by Banski.3 Walking in the room looking at the different exhibits, the participants choose one of the exhibits and stay standing next to it. In the small groups that are formed next to the exhibits, participants then discuss briefly the reasons for their choice and the questions that they think are related to this exhibit. They write them down for the following working steps. Szlengel’s poem perfectly fits the stories and images we have constantly seen in the media in the last years (especially in 2015). It was written in 1938 in relation to German, Czech and Austrian Jews trying to flee Nazi Germany, yet being refused entry to other countries. One of most known and documented cases of such a ship, sailing with refugees and knocking at ports and gates and being refused entry, was the MS St. Louis.
1 https://static.timesofisrael.com/www/uploads/2016/05/St-Louis-Statue-of-Liberty.jpg / https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5126bbb4e4b08c2e6d1cb6e4/t/517d4123e4b077614f13d813 /1367163175086/. Info: This cartoon by Herbert Block (better known as „Herblock“), for the Newspaper Enterprise Association, appeared in various papers on June 7, 1939. Block was later the editorial cartoonist for the Washington Post for more than 50 years. 2 http://cdn1.spiegel.de/images/image-1107418-galleryV9-gmro-1107418.jpg 3 https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2017/03/58c3962f4054c10314615122-1024x683.jpg; http://dvqlxo2m2q99q.cloudfront.net/000_clients/116017/page/h800-11601715302shP5.jpg
Stage 2: Working in small groups with historical materials connected to the case of the St. Louis Divide the participants into four groups. Each group receives historical sources and background information on the St. Louis, and is asked to present one aspect of the story of the St. Louis, by discussing a leading question. In the following step, each group will present these aspects and discuss their findings with the rest of the participants. 1. News report from “The Springfield Union” newspaper, published in Massachusetts, U.S.A, on June 2nd 1939. Question: Read the news article of “The Springfield Union”, published in Massachusetts, U.S.A, on June 2nd 1939. Based on the article and on the additional background information, try to make a short presentation of the main actors in the St. Louis affair, as well as the course of events. 2. A letter by Julius Hermann to his family in New York from May 30th 1939. Question: How did Julius Hermann describe the atmosphere on the St. Louis? How does he deal with the situation in comparison to other passengers? 3. Report by the Report by the American Consul in Havana on the European refugees in Cuba. March 17th 1939. Question: What were the arguments that were brought up by the Cuban government to justify its decision to refuse the refugees? 4. Excerpts from the memoir of Captain Gustav Schröder. Question: How did Captain Gustav Schröder describe the atmosphere on the St. Louis? How did he deal with the situation? Can you say something about his feelings / thoughts / state of mind? After the work in small groups, they present their findings to the plenary, so that an overall picture of the St. Louis affair is created. Further questions for discussion with the whole group could be: 1. After dealing with the case of the St. Louis from different perspectives and with different sources, who do you think should have been responsible for providing a solution to the problem? 2. In more than one source a genuine concern was expressed that the passengers would rather commit suicide than be sent back. What is the meaning of this information?
Another option for the work in small groups: Alternatively, it is possible to divide the group into five groups - the fifth group will deal with the question of responsibility.
5. A desperate sea letter to president Roosewelt; Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees; (in German also Right of Asylum) Question: The sea letter to president Roosevelt ends with the sentence: „We ask for help confiding in your humanity“. How could refugees argument today and why?
Stage 3: preparing a poster/ a collage / a journal’s front page In the last phase of this educational unit, participants are asked to work in small groups again and formulate and convey a message they consider important in regard to the topic of flight and seeking refuge. They can either address the world of the 1930s or ours. In order to convey this message they will create a poster, a collage or a journal’s front page. They can use a text (either from the materials they previously read or one formulated by themselves), a drawing or photos. They will be provided with newspapers (collected and brought by the facilitator) as well as pens etc.
Discussing with their peers what kind of message they wish to convey and designing the poster is in itself a learning process. Whereas the hidden agenda of this module is to create empathy and sensitivity towards refugees (in the past as well as in the present), it is possible (and legitimate) that not all participants will want to convey a messages of solidarity and social responsibility. At the same time, the presentation of the posters at the end of this stage allows a discussion on the different arguments (cultural, social and economical ones) concerning individuals and societies when dealing with such questions.
Further questions for summary discussion:
- What might be the differences and similarities between the situation of the 1930’s and the past years? This question can be further explored in the Kindertransport module, which deals with the structural differences between the past and the present situation.
- How can we develop a moral and emotional obligation to solve a problem that we have not created, yet which eventually might directly influence our daily lives?
Background information:
500,000 Jews lived in Germany before the Nazi party came to power. They enjoyed social and political equality, and the majority of them saw themselves as an integral
part of the German society. The anti-Jewish policies of the Nazi regime that began during the 1930s led to a major change in the condition of the Jews, and many of them wished to leave Germany. The increasing number of Jewish refugees from Germany, together with the reluctance of the different nations to change their immigration quotas and to absorb those refuges, led to a humanitarian crisis. It led to a sense that “there [was] no entry permit to the entire world” (as described by Beno Cohen during his testimony at the Eichmann trial).
The voyage of the St. Louis
The St. Louis affair was a tragic event that reflected the situation of the Jewish refugees during the 1930s.
On May 13th 1939, the St. Louis ship sailed from Hamburg port with 936 Jewish refugees on board. When it arrived to its destination, Cuba, on May 27, it was revealed that the visas held by 930 of its passengers were not valid. The Cuban president Federico Laredo Brú announced that the refugees will not receive political asylum, and will not be allowed to leave the ship. One of the passengers tried to commit suicide and a few other threatened to do the same.
The American-Jewish relief organization – “The Joint” - sent a representative to Havana to negotiate allowing the passengers to enter Cuba. At that point, the U.S. announced that it would also refuse to accept these refugees (following a direct instruction by President Roosevelt). On June 2, Brú ordered the ship out of Cuban waters and it sailed to the direction of Florida, where it stood and waited in hope of a solution. On June 5th an agreement was reached, that allowed the refugees to enter Cuba in exchange for bonds of 453 thousand dollars (about 500 dollars for each refugee) that were to be deposited the following day. However, “the Joint” was not able to gather the money, and on June 6th the ship had to sail back to Europe.
A month later, the ship arrived in the port of Antwerp in Belgium. The Belgian government was willing to accept 214 passengers. 288 passengers reached Britain, 181 passengers reached the Netherlands, and 244 others continued to France. “The Joint” asked the Jewish Agency (the leadership of the Jewish community in Mandatory Palestine) to allocate to these refugees immigration certificates (that the Jewish Agency received from the Mandate authorities), but the Jewish Agency declined.
The refugees who found shelter in Britain survived. 87 of the 620 passengers who returned to continental Europe were able to emigrate before Nazi Germany invaded the Netherlands, France and Belgium. The rest was bound to endure the atrocities of the Holocaust, 254 of them perished.
In 1993, Yad Vashem awarded the honorary title "Righteous among the Nations" to Gustav Schröder, the captain of the St. Louis ship, that refused to return the passengers to Germany until he had found a safe haven for them.
Władysław Szlengel
Władysław Szlengel was a Jewish poet, known as one of the most famous artists in Warsaw before the Holocaust. Szlengel continued to write and perform in the Warsaw Ghetto, where he was forced into labor in a factory that manufactured brushes. In the Ghetto he renewed a performance called “the living newspaper”, which he used to perform during literary evenings before the war. On May 8th 1943, during the Warsaw Ghetto uprising, his hiding place was discovered by the Nazis and he was murdered together with his wife and approximately 160 other Jews who were hiding there.
Some of Szlengel’s works were found in different locations after the war ended. A collection of his poems was published in polish in 1977, and was translated into Hebrew by Halina Birenbaum in 1987. Some of Szlengel’s poems were translated into German and published in 1990 in the book Was ich den Toten las : Gedichte aus dem Warschauer Ghetto (Leipzig [u.a.] : Kiepenheuer, 1990). The poem „Ships are sailing“ was translated to German by Constanze Jaiser of the Memorial and Educational Site House of the Wannsee Conference.
[Translation] Middle of the Harbor Havana, 30 May 39 6:30 PM My dear New Yorkers,
You can imagine the excitement on board because we have not yet heard of any results from the negotiations. Since 5 PM the committees are again sitting down at the negotiating table, but the Cubans have a lot of time. An English ship, also with Jewish émigrés on board, also could not land and is on its way to Mexico and will try to drop them off here on the return trip. An attorney, Loewy, from Breslau, who is traveling with his wife, 19-year-old daughter, and 17-year-old son, slashed his wrists and with lightning speed jumped over the railing into the water. The sailor who jumped in immediately after him had to exert all his strength to hold the resisting, life weary (nerve shattered) passenger until a boat, which just picked up garbage, could haul him on board. Even there he resisted and tore further at his wrist. Hopefully, a solution will be found soon, where we can land, it doesn't matter in which country. One already has to have nerves like a horse to be able to get through everything. Paul Salmon came out 4-5 times with the boats and sends you his greetings. The many boat passengers come to reassure without being able to bring any news. Goodwill and tension shorten the time. With 1000 greetings and kisses and stay healthy as will I. Till we meet again. Your Julius Just now another boat comes, a man with a megaphone is speaking, everyone should remain calm, as soon as it is possible we will be able to enter Havana. Sedatives.
Source: USHMM
After transfers to camps at Gurs and Les Milles, Julius was sent with 235 other prisoners to Drancy, a transit camp in Paris, on August 11, 1942. Three days later, he was deported to Auschwitz, where he perished. His wife, daughter, and other relatives were deported on December 11, 1941, to the Riga ghetto, where they were probably killed.
Excerpts from the memoir of Captain Gustav Schröder
(Gustav Schröder, Heimatlos auf hoher See, Berlin: Beckerdruck, 1949)
“There is a sense of anxiety among the passengers. However, all of them are convinced they will not see Germany again. There were emotional farewells. It seems that many of the passengers felt relieved when they left their homes. Others found it difficult to accept that. But the beautiful weather, the clean ocean air, the excellent food and the kind service on board will soon lead to the relaxed atmosphere of a long sail. The difficult experiences that the passengers had on land will soon be gone, and will seem like a dream.”
A representative of the “Joint Committee” ensured that, in spite of the difficulties, they’ll do all that is humanly possible to prevent these people’s return to Germany. The term “return to Germany” should have never been used. It was a psychological mistake! The concern among the passengers grew. This led to quite a few suicide attempts. A lawyer, Dr. Max Loewe, cut his artery and threw himself into the water.
I was depressed myself. Never before have I experienced such a melancholic mood. The women were especially anxious because there was no information regarding the destination. “Captain, where are you taking us?” And for the first time in my life I could not answer this question. Commissioned by the Hamburg- America Line to do anything for the passengers well-being, I left nothing undone to help these unfortunate people find a home, supported by the board-committee.
Meanwhile a feeling of homelessness took over me. I felt like the entire “St. Louis” was expelled from the world and ought to escape this inhospitable planet; the crew of the ship could not expect recognition from the government for their pro- Semitic attitude. But it was exactly this feeling which gave me the full understanding of the bleak situation of my passengers...
However, all assistance would hardly have been of any use if the passengers themselves had not been so approachable themselves. Their thankful goodbye before the arrival in Antwerp was moving, touched me deeply and was unforgettable. Therefore, I felt all the more grief for the poor (passengers), that believed to have found safety in France, the Netherlands and Belgium, only to be caught by the villains later. The thought that there were people who first were in the concentration camp, then as passengers on the “St. Louis”, who then were displaced again only to end up miserably in a concentration camp again is very depressing.
Only of a few emigrants of the “St. Louise”, that were brought to the mainland, I know that they are still alive.
I’ve been asked how the whole thing was even possible and who enacted the landing ban in Havanna by many different people, especially by Arthur Maschowsky and Leo Haas. I have not been able to find out the answers, and I have long since abandoned the search. I’m not into clarifying questions of guilt. Maybe the people who were picked by fortune to play an important role are already dead.
It makes me think of an old teacher who always preached tolerance to us students. He never said anything bad about a fellow man, not even about his opponent. “Never be resentful to each other”, he said, “a truly educated man doesn’t behave like that. Who ever does something wrong punishes himself more than anyone else could punish him.”
Therefore I let the question of guilt in awe. How much nicer it is to talk about gratitude. Gratitude for everything good that we learn from others. That is why I have to thank countless people that helped me make the life of our passengers on the “St. Louis” as pleasant as possible. Although, never forget the reminder, what the tragic fate of the passengers of the “emigrant ship” means for all mankind, so that cruelty and inhumanity, wherever they can be, can never again spread.
Report by the American Consul in Havana on the European refugees in Cuba. March 17, 1939. State CDF 837.55J/1. Published in: The Holocaust: selected documents in eighteen volume, volume 7 (Jewish emigration: the S.S. St. Louis affair and other cases), 1982. On November 7, 1938 the Cuban government took further recognizance of the European refugee situation by promulgating Decree No. 2507, the preamble of which read as follows: “The republic of Cuba has the right to select the quality of immigrants most suited to the development of the population, its industries and commerce, classifying each immigrant as useful or not useful to our nationality.”
On February 23 the Director General of Immigration placed the following statement in the Habana newspapers: “That he is decidedly favourable to closing the ports of the country to all immigration that intends to come to our territory to enter into competition with native labor in any kind of work, and under the circumstances he has not authorized nor will he authorize in the future the landing of any person, of any nationality whatever, who intends to become a rival of our compatriots, and that
he takes very special care that all who disembark fulfill the requirements of current immigration refutations, and unless the applicant previously has declared unequivocally that his journey here is solely and exclusively to await the necessary visa in order that he may enter the United States of America or some other country where he can locate permanently, that is, in the status of a ‘tourist’…” After discussing the accomplishments of the conference of Evian, with emphasis upon the statements of the representatives of Great Britain, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Canada and the United States that such countries are not prepared to admit large numbers of European refugees, the Association for the Defense of Citizens Rights inserted in “Diario de la Marina” of January 25, 1939, a lengthy article concerning immigration into Cuba, from which the following excerpts are quoted: […] “the nation is an organism whose economic and social necessities require careful attention. the entrance of great numbers of people in addition to what may be indicated, produces great disturbance and creates difficulties not less grave. Accordingly, an immigration policy, generous and unlimited, which has been followed in some countries in our America, should be changed for one more selective in the States of less density of population.” In newspaper editorials and over the radio the continued admission of Jewish refugees has been severely criticized, the Habana newspapers on May 3 announced that a leading member of Congress had requested the President to promulgate a decree “prohibiting repeated immigrations of Hebrews who have been inundating the Republic and prohibiting permits that are being issued for the entrance of such immigrants to Cuba, until the House can approve a proposed law imposing severe penalties upon fraudulent immigration that makes a joke of the laws of the Republic”.
Threatens to Use Gunboats To Tow Tragic Shipload of Jews From Cuban Waters
President Laredo Bru Orders Liners to Leave for Homeland with 917 German Refugees; “Suicide Pact” Feared HAVANA, Cuba, June 1 (AP) – A tragic shipload of 917 German-Jewish refugees tonight faced return to the land from which they fled. President Federico Laredo Bru coupled an order for their ship to leave with a threat to use gunboats if necessary to tow it from Cuban waters.
The presidential decree came during a day of uncertainty in which the captain of the German liner St. Louis, expressing fear of a “collective suicide pact” among his refugee passengers, sought in vain to have the Government rescind its order against landing them.
Although the President directed the St. Louis to leave “within the day,” and marines were held ready to carry out his order, it was understood the liner was granted a delay until it could refuel and take on provisions for the return voyage to Germany.
The Cuban treasury department, instructed to carry out Laredo Bru’s order, was said to have granted Luis Claslng, agent for the Hamburg-Amerika line, until 6 p.m. tomorrow to get the ship out of port.
It was held probable in port circles, however, that Capt. Gustav Shroeder of the St. Louis would try to complete the task of taking on stores and get under way early tomorrow while his passengers are asleep.
Driven to Desperation
This move was understood to be under consideration because of the fear that the refugees, including 500 women and 150 children, might be driven to desperation and try to jump overboard.
Port police had several boats ready to escort the ship out of the harbor and pick up any who might try to end their lives in this manner rather than return to their former homeland.
Cuban guards, maintaining a close watch on the passengers, reported during a change of shifts this afternoon that their situation was desperate. Mothers and children wailed incessantly and calls to meals virtually were unanswered.
President Laredo Bru denied flatly reports in Washington that American representatives of Jewish organizations had reached an agreement with Cuba for a partial solution of the refugees’ problem.
Private dispatches received in Washington from Havana said the Cuban government would permit all refugees to land who have valid landing permits and whose relatives or friends either in Cuba or the United states guarantee a bond of $500 a person.
Informed of these reports tonight, Laredo Bru declared: “This is false. The only truth is that the ship must leave Cuba as soon as possible.”
The ship, which arrived last Saturday, was scheduled to start the return voyage, to Germany this afternoon, but her captain, Gustav Schroeder, announced postponement of the sailing in the hope that the Government would rescind its order denying the refugees permission to enter Cuba.
Fears Mass Suicides
Capt. Shroeder had requested the Government to reconsider its action because of his fear of a “collective suicide pact” or perhaps a “mutiny” among his passengers once they learned finally that they must return to Germany.
Police in launches and aboard kept close watch on the passengers, who included 500 women and 150 children. They said that women and children cried continuously and that calls to meals for the most part went unanswered.
Port police had several boats ready to escort the St. Louis from the harbor and to pick up any of the passengers who might jump overboard.
Shroeder’s fears of mass suicides arose when one passenger slashed his wrists and jumped overboard yesterday. The man, however, was rescued.
In case the presidential order to depart was not “carried out within this day,” the decree declared that “the Secretary of the Treasury, with the proper authority to do so, will ask the co-operation of the constituted navy forces, and will proceed to take the ship St. Louis, with all its passengers, out of the jurisdictional waters of this country.”
The President also directed that any member of the crew of the liner who may have entered Cuba illegally be taken aboard and that an official investigation be launched into the whole affair.
The government order was delivered to Claslng at 4 p.m. He asked for time to refuel the ship and take on food and water because he said the liner did not have sufficient supplies for the voyage.
The refugees were refused permission to land when they could not show Cuban consular visas, passports and Cuban Labor Department permits. They held only provisional permits of the Immigration Department to land as passengers en route to the United States where they hoped eventually to gain admission.
U.S. Groups May Aid Some of Refugees
WASHINGTON, June 1 (AP) – Private dispatches from Havana stated tonight that American representatives of Jewish relief organizations in New York have reached an agreement with Cuba for a partial solution of the problem of 917 German-Jewish refugees who are now in Havana harbor aboard the liner St. Louis and are unable to land.
The Cuban government, it is understood, will permit all refugees to land who have valid landing permits and whose relatives or friends either in Cuba or the United States guarantee a $500 bond per person. The bond is returnable when the refugees leave Cuba.
The dispatches said that before leaving the Reich practically all refugees had themselves placed on the immigration quota for entry into the United States. Their stay in Cuba will be temporary, since they will merely await their turn to enter the United States under the quota.
Besides the 917, several thousand other German refugees are concentrated in Cuba. Most of these have had their names placed on the quota list.
They, like the others, must await their turn for entry into the United States. Those whose names come at the top of the list will be admitted first.
Source: The Springfield Union, Massachusetts, reports on the St. Louis, June 2, 1939. Courtesy of the Boston Public Library.
Desperate sea letter to President Roosevelt pleading for help for 72 European refugees abroad the English steamer Ordumna refused landing in Cuba. May 29, 1939. State CDF 837.55J/19