They called it the Voyage of the Damned - the flight of 937 Jewish refugees who made a desperate bid to escape from Nazi Germany on the eve of World War II. In May 1939, four months before war broke out, the St Louis sailed from Hamburg to Cuba, carrying a desperate cargo of men, women and children. Although those on board had entry documents, unbeknown to them, the Cuban government had changed the rules while the ship travelled from Europe, and their visas were no longer valid. The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum reports that anti-immigrant sentiment in Cuba was high: fresh from the effects of the Depression, rallies were held against accepting refugees locals feared would take their jobs. The United States had firm immigration quotas for its annual German-Austrian intake of 27,370 people, and would not budge. No one would take them - not Cuba, the US, Canada or various South American countries that were approached. A month later, the ship turned back to Europe. After hasty negotiations, it was agreed that Britain would take 287 passengers, France would accept 224, Belgium 214 and the Netherlands 181. It is estimated that 254 of the refugees who returned to Continental Europe were killed in Hitlers slaughter of Jews and other minorities. Todays international refugee protocols, embedded in the United Nations Refugee Convention, were designed to ensure that the horrors that befell Jewish people, particularly those denied sanctuary in other countries, would never be repeated. Their key principle is that the international community will share the burden of hosting refugees. (from the article) - [Cat]
Posted on: Sat, 18 Jan 2014 22:44:38 +0000
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