The Story of the MS St. Louis

In summer 1939, more than 900 Jews living in the German Reich boarded the MS St. Louis hoping to escape Nazi persecution. Most of them had legal documents to disembark in Havana, which they hoped would be a place of refuge before they eventually emigrated to the US The St. Louis even came to the shores of Miami, hoping that America would let them in. But complicated Cuban, American and international politics forced the passengers back to Europe. After disembarkation in Antwerp, the refugees dispersed between Belgium, the Netherlands, France and Great Britain. Dr. Diane Afoumado will present the St. Louis’ dramatic story using archival documents, photos, and artifacts from the collections of the US Holocaust Memorial Museum, placing the incident into the larger context of the refugee crisis of the late 1930s.