Canadian War Museum welcomes the exhibition St. Louis – Ship of Fate to Ottawa
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| A view of the St. Louis surrounded by smaller vessels in the port of Hamburg, Germany. Photo credit: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, courtesy of Herbert and Vera Karliner, #88358. |
The Canadian War Museum in Ottawa is hosting a travelling exhibition that sheds light on one of the darkest moments in Canadian history.
On May 13, 1939 the ocean liner St. Louis left its home port of Hamburg en route to Havana. On board were more than 900 Jewish passengers hoping to escape Nazi Germany. Most were German citizens, while others came from Eastern Europe and elsewhere.
Many had purchased visas from the Cuban embassy in Berlin. At that time Cuba was seen as a transit point to get to the United States.
When the ship arrived in Cuba on May 27, the passengers were denied the right to disembark. The fear of being overrun by refugees fleeing Europe was of many reasons for not allowing the travellers to leave the ship.
The St. Louis was ordered to leave Cuban waters and did so on June 2. It was denied entry into the United States and other nations in the Caribbean, South and Central America.
Canada was the last hope for the Jewish refugees, but the government of Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King turned them down. The ship was within reach of Halifax, where, ironically, it had previously visited since its maiden voyage in 1929.
“This is a lasting shame on our country,” said Irving Abella, co-author of the book, None is too Many: Canada and the Jews of Europe 1933-1948.
“The message of this exhibition is the veneer of civil society is very thin,” said Mark O’Neil, CEO of the War Museum. “There is a constant need to watch for hate and racism.”
The St. Louis made its way back to Europe and docked at Antwerp, Belgium. The refugees were divided up and went to other countries in Europe, including, Britain, France and the Netherlands.
Sadly, 254 of the refugees who boarded the St. Louis, were killed in the Holocaust.
The exhibition contains many archival photographs, postcards, documents and audiovisual presentations.
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