Twins Ines and Renate Spanier peer out a porthole of the MS St. Louis as the ship docks in Antwerp on June 17, 1939. US Holocaust Memorial Museum, courtesy of Bibliotheque Historique de la Ville de Paris
For Jewish passengers, a ticket on the St. Louis—which in 1939 set sail from Hamburg to Havana—represented an escape from Nazi persecution, a chance at a life of freedom. Instead, the journey is remembered as the “Voyage of Doom.”
The world watched as the Cuban government turned the ship away from its harbor. Officials in the United States, only about 90 miles away, also refused the passengers safe haven, and the refugees were forced to return to Europe. Join us on World Refugee Day to learn the fate of the 937 passengers aboard the St. Louis.
Speaker
Dr. Diane Afoumado, Acting Director of the Holocaust Survivors and Victims Resource Center, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Moderator
Dr. Edna Friedberg, Historian, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Watch live at facebook.com/holocaustmuseum. You do not need a Facebook account to view our program. After the live broadcast, the recording will be available to watch on demand on the Museum's Facebook page.