We did this before. Turned away people who were being persecuted. We did want them. They werent one of us. We can barely take care of ourselves. We, no, the entire world, is still living with the stain. If we send these kids back to Central America without assurance of their safety, how is it different. Goebbels had decided to use the S.S. St. Louis and her passengers in a master propaganda plan. Having sent agents to Havana to stir up anti-Semitism, Nazi propaganda fabricated and hyped the passengers criminal nature - making them seem even more undesirable. The agents within Cuba stirred anti-Semitism and organized protests. Soon, an additional 1,000 Jewish refugees entering Cuba was seen as a threat. The days continued to progress and the passengers all became increasingly suspicious and fearful. If they were forced back to Germany, they would surely be sent to concentration camps. The possible consequences of their return were loudly suggested in German newspapers and magazines. While the negotiations continued, the St. Louis milled around Cuba and then headed north, following the Florida coastline in the hopes that perhaps the United States would accept the refugees. A U.S. Coast Guard ship and planes followed the St. Louis to prevent it from landing. Treasury Secretary Henry Morgenthau, Jr. learned of this from the newspapers, but did not intervene beyond verifying with the Coast Gaurd commander the St. Louis was being followed. Having crossed the Atlantic Ocean twice, the passengers original hopes of freedom in Cuba and the U.S. turned into a forlorn effort to escape sure death upon their return to Germany. Feeling alone and rejected by the world, the passengers returned to Europe in June 1939. With World War II just months away, many of these passengers were sent East with the occupation of the countries to which they had been sent. https://jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Holocaust/stlouis.html
Posted on: Thu, 03 Jul 2014 18:35:53 +0000
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