"On May 13, 1939, the luxury liner St. Louis sailed from Hamburg, one of the last ships to leave Nazi Germany before World War II erupted. Aboard were 937 Jews - some had already been in concentration camps - who believed they had bought visas to enter Cuba. The voyage of the damned had begun.

Before the St. Louis was halfway across the Atlantic, a power struggle ensued between the corrupt Cuban Immigration Minister who issued the visas and his superior, President Bru. The outcome: the refugees would not be allowed to land in Cuba.

In America, the Brown Shirts were holding Nazi rallies in Madison Square Garden; anti-Semitic Father Coughlin had an audience of fifteen million."

"And aboard the St. Louis, within sight of the Florida coast, 937 refugees awaited the decision that would determine their fate."

Since no country allowed its passengers to land, the St. Louis returned to "Europe where the Final Solution was about to be implemented". (Note 1.)

At this stage, for reason of security, the identity of the survivor is anonymous, only known by the code we have assigned. If you wish to contact the survivor in person, you first must email us with some information about yourself, who you are, the purpose of the interview, how it will be used, etc. You can email us at holocaustchild@comcast.net

PASSENGER ON THE S.S. ST. LOUIS (Rudolph J)

Note 1. Quoted from the book-cover of the "Voyage of the Damned" by Gordon Thomas and Max Morgan Witts