VOYAGE OF THE ST. LOUIS TIMELINE

November 9-10, 1938
Kristallnacht ("Night of Broken Glass")

January 24, 1939
Reichsmarshall Hermann Goering appoints Reinhard Heydrich to head the Central Office for Jewish Emigration. Heydrich is to rid the Reich of as many Jews as possible.

January 25
German Foreign Ministry issues circular "The Jewish Question as a Factor in Foreign Policy." The circular states that one goal of German policy will be to stimulate anti-Semitism worldwide.

March 18
U.S. Consul, in Havana, Cuba, Harold Tewell submits a confidential report entitled "European Refugees in Cuba," to the State Department. The report describes the situation of 2,500 Jewish refugees in Cuba, proposals to settle 25,000 European refugees there, and the growth of anti-Jewish and anti-refugee sentiments.

April
Fortune Magazine publishes a poll indicating that 83 percent of Americans oppose loosening immigration restrictions.

May 5
President of Cuba Laredo Bru's Decree 937 invalidates Benitez landing certificates and sets stringent rules for immigration to Cuba.

May 8
A demonstration of 40,000 Cubans in Havana against Jewish immigration is sponsored by former President Grau San Martin.

May 13
St. Louis sails from Hamburg, Germany.

May 15
St. Louis arrives in Cherbourg, France, and departs the same day.

May 19
St. Louis passes the Azores islands.

May 27
St. Louis arrives in Havana harbor.

June 1
Lawrence Berenson, a representative of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, meets with President Bru in Havana.

June 2
St. Louis departs Havana, circles off the coast of Cuba.

June 3
St. Louis steams slowly between Havana and Miami.

June 4
St. Louis passes Miami going north, then turns south.

June 5
St. Louis passes Miami going south.

June 6
Between Miami and Havana, the St. Louis heads back toward Europe.

June 10-13
Great Britain agrees to admit 287 passengers, France 224, Belgium 214, and the Netherlands 181.

June 17
St. Louis journey ends at Antwerp, Belgium.