In May 1939, the German liner St. Louis sailed from Hamburg, Germany, to Havana, Cuba, carrying 937 passengers, almost all Jewish refugees. The Cuban government refused to allow the ship to land, and the United States and Canada were unwilling to admit the passengers. The St. Louis passengers were finally permitted to land in Western European countries rather than return to Nazi Germany. Great Britain, France, Belgium, and the Netherlands each admitted a percentage of the passengers upon their return to Europe in June 1939. Many passengers were able to obtain immigration visas and leave for the United States before the German invasion of Western Europe in May 1940, but 254 passengers were killed in the Holocaust.

In the spring of 1996, USHMM staff launched a project to trace the fate of the 937 passengers of the St. Louis after they were dispersed to England, France, Belgium, and the Netherlands in the summer of 1939. The results of this effort can be viewed in this collection. Entries include passenger name, date of birth, place of birth, passenger ID, other family members, Holocaust fate, destination of emigration, etc., and associated documents.

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

• Sarah A. Ogilvie
• Scott Miller

1939

937

• Refugees
• St. Louis (Ship)
• Passenger Lists