Voyage of the S.S. St. Louis

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A postcard from the SS St. Louis

Photo Credit: Florida State Archives

In 1939, 936 German Jews hoped to escape persecution by fleeing to Cuba and then Florida, but many were turned away.

In May 1939, the passenger liner St. Louis left Hamburg, Germany for Havana, Cuba with 936 German Jews fleeing Nazi persecution. They had purchased special certificates from the Cuban Director General of Immigration and they believed they would be allowed to enter Cuba. However, when they reached Havana only 22 indiviuals holding Cuban visas were allowed to disembark. After unsuccessful negotiations, the Cuban government forced the ship to leave Havana. Refugees without Cuban visas remained on board.

The St. Louis then sailed north to the Florida coast, its captain still hoping to enter either Cuba or the United States. A U.S. Coast Guard cutter shadowed the vessel to stop passengers from attempting to reach shore. The ship finally anchored off Miami Beach, and sympathetic Floridians mounted protests demanding that passengers be admitted. Their efforts were unsuccessful. On June 7, 1939, the ship returned to Europe. Great Britain, Belgium, France and the Netherlands finally agreed to accept 847 refugees. The rest were returned to Germany. Only one-fourth of the St. Louis’s Jewish passengers, an estimated 240, survived World War II.