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Plan of the two-propeller passenger liner the "St. Louis," showing cabins and room numbers. In 1939, this German ocean liner carried almost 1,000 Jewish refugees seeking temporary refuge in Cuba. It was forced to return to Europe after Cuba and then the United States refused to allow the refugees entry.
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St. Louis

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A postcard of the SS St. Louis. May 1939. The plight of German-Jewish refugees, persecuted at home and unwanted abroad, is illustrated by the May 13, 1939, voyage of the SS St. Louis.
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Postcard of the SS St. Louis
A Jewish refugee couple poses on the gangway of the MS St. Louis as they disembark from the ship in Antwerp. Belgium, June 17, 1939.  
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Disembarking from the St. Louis in Antwerp
Gerda and her parents obtained visas to sail to Cuba on the "St. Louis" in May 1939. When the ship arrived in Havana harbor, most of the refugees were denied entry and the ship had to return to Europe. Gerda and her parents disembarked in Belgium. In May 1940, Germany attacked Belgium. Gerda and her mother escaped to Switzerland. After the war, they were told that Gerda's father had died during deportation.
Oral History
Gerda Blachmann Wilchfort describes the mood of passengers on the "St. Louis" after they were denied entry into Cuba
Gustav Schroeder, captain of the St. Louis, on the day of the ship's departure from Hamburg. Neither Cuba nor the US granted refuge to the ship's passengers. Germany, May 13, 1939.
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Gustav Schroeder, captain of the St. Louis
Jewish refugees aboard the refugee ship "St. Louis." The ship was denied entry into Cuba and the United States in 1939. Germany, 1939.
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Jewish refugees aboard the St. Louis
Jewish refugees from Nazi Germany board the St. Louis. The ship would be denied entry into Cuba and the United States and forced to return to Europe. Hamburg, Germany, May 13, 1939.
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Jewish refugees board the St. Louis
Jewish refugees from Nazi Germany, passengers on the St. Louis, disembark in the port of Antwerp. Cuba and the United States denied entry to these refugees. Belgian police guard the gangway. Antwerp, Belgium, June 17, 1939.
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Jewish refugees disembark from the St. Louis
Klara Gottfried Reif
ID Card
Klara Gottfried Reif
Liane Reif
ID Card
Liane Reif
German Jewish refugees look through portholes of the St. Louis, in Havana harbor. Cuba refused to let the passengers disembark. Cuba, May or June, 1939.
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Looking out from the St. Louis
Passengers aboard the St. Louis. These refugees from Nazi Germany were forced to return to Europe after both Cuba and the United States denied them refuge. May or June 1939.
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Passengers aboard the St. Louis
Jewish refugees in Lisbon, including a group of children from internment camps in France, board a ship that will transport them to the United States. Lisbon, Portugal, June 1941.
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Refugees
Refugees aboard the St. Louis wait to hear whether Cuba will grant them entry. Off the coast of Havana, Cuba, June 3, 1939.
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Refugees aboard the St. Louis
Refugees from Nazi Germany on board the St. Louis en route to Cuba. The passengers were denied entry into Cuba and the US and were forced to return to Europe. 1939.
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Refugees on board the St. Louis
Belgian officials at the gangplank of the St. Louis after the ship was forced to return to Europe from Cuba. Belgium granted entry to some of the passengers. Antwerp, Belgium, June 1939.
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Return of the St. Louis
A Jewish refugee couple poses on the gangway of the MS St. Louis as they disembark from the ship in Antwerp. Belgium, June 17, 1939.  
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Return to Europe of the St. Louis

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