May 13, 1939 The Shame of President Franklin D. Roosevelt: 1933-1945

The Shame of President Franklin D. Roosevelt: 1933-1945

The Refugee Ships St. Louis (e.g. Movie “Ship of Fools”):

Nine Hundred and thirty German Jewish refugees set sail for Cuba in a luxury liner, the St. Louis (e.g. on May 13^th), they all held official Cuban landing certificates and 734 of them possessed U.S. immigration quota numbers that would have allowed them to enter America three months to three years after disembarking in Cuba on arrival at Havana, almost all the passengers were denied entry on the grounds that their landing papers had subsequently been rescinded. After unsuccessfully negotiating with the authorities in Havana, THE SHIP’S CAPTAIN TURNED TOWARD MIAMI IN THE HOPE THAT THE U.S. GOVERNMENT WOULD RELENT AND TAKE IN THE JEWISH IMMIGRANTS AHEAD OF THEIR SCHEDULED TIME. INSTEAD WASHINGTON ISSUED STRICT INSTRUCTIONS TO PREVENT ANY OF THE PASSENGERS FROM SETTING FOOT IN THE UNITED STATES. Having no other recourse, the St. Louis returned to Europe, where except for 287 Jews who were given asylum in England, the rest were sent back to Germany.

Source: The Hope Fulfilled The Rise of Modern Israel by Leslie Stein Printed by Praeger March 2003 (pg 222-223)