Refugee ship refused access

On 13 May 1939, the St. Louis left the port of Hamburg with 937 Jews on board, almost all of them Germans. They were headed for Cuba and believed that they had the right papers to be admitted. Two weeks later, on 27 May, the ship arrived in Havana, the capital of Cuba. However, only 28 passengers were allowed access, for the President of Cuba had declared the documents of the others invalid. Only one other man was later admitted to the country. He had to be taken to the hospital after a failed suicide attempt.

The ship sailed on to the United States, but that country did not allow anyone in. After a month, the ship sailed back to Europe. The journey ended in Antwerp. After negotiations, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, and Great Britain were prepared to accept a quarter of the passengers each. The refugees were finally allowed to go ashore.