During World War I, Max Loewe was a hero fighting for his country Germany and earning the coveted Iron Cross. Twenty years later, like Jews across Germany, he found himself in a very different country. Under Nazism, Jews were barred from virtually all professions and forbidden even to set foot into many public spaces.
In 1937 German authorities had built the notorious Buchenwald concentration camp near the picturesque German town of Weimar. At first primarily political dissenters found themselves imprisoned there, and in 1939 Jews began to be sent to the prison camp where they received brutal, often fatal, treatment at the hands of sadistic guards. Max Loewe was one of the many thousands of Jews sent to Buchenwald. He was beaten so severely by guards that afterwards he walked with a pronounced limp.
Max was released from Buchenwald and he and his wife desperately tried to find a way out of Germany. By 1939, only wealthy Jews could leave: they had to pay a steep fee to leave the country, and high payments to other countries that might be willing to offer visas to let them in.
Many Jews yearned to go to America but the 1924 Immigration Act set firm limits on the number of immigrants who could be admitted annually. In 1939, the number from Germany was 27,370, and it was filled almost immediately. Public sentiment in the United States was firmly against letting in Jewish refugees. A Gallup poll taken in November 1938, two weeks after Kristallnacht asked Americans “Should we allow a larger number of Jewish exiles from Germany to come to the United States to live?” 72% answered no.
Other countries also refused to take in large numbers of desperate refugees. In Britain, the notorious 1939 White Paper limited Jewish immigration to Palestine to just 75,000 over five years. One by one, the nations of the world shut their doors against the Jews.
One marked exception was Cuba. The island nation allowed tourists to visit without a visa. Cuba’s corrupt director of immigration, Manuel Benitez, however, began issue “landing permits” to visitors that looked like visas. It was a money-maker for him and gave assurance to hundreds of desperate Jews that Cuba would allow them to visit, escaping the horrors of Nazi Germany. Max Loewe was one of the many Jews to obtain one of these so-called “Benitez visas”.
Hundreds of other Jews were allowed to leave Germany on the condition that they pledged never to return. They agreed to draconian terms that if they were ever to come back to Nazi Germany, the would be thrown into a concentration camp once more.
Over 900 Jews, including Loewe and his wife, booked passage on the cruise ship MS St. Louis, departing from Hamburg in Germany and destined for Havana. The ship was a luxury liner but virtually none of its passengers were taking a vacation. Virtually all of the 937 passengers on board were Jewish refugees. On May 13, 1939, the ship set sail with great fanfare. A band played and friends and relatives lined the shore, waving goodbye. The passengers watched as their homeland became a small dot on the horizon.
Before setting sail, Captain Gustav Schroder called a meeting with his 231-member crew, explaining that the passengers were all paying guests and were to be treated with the utmost dignity, even though they were Jews. He ordered the large portrait of Adolf Hitler taken down from the ship’s Grand Salon so that his Jewish guests would feel more comfortable.
That night, Cpt. Schroder recorded in his diary: “There is a somewhat nervous disposition among the passengers… Despite this, everyone seems convinced they will never see Germany again. Touching departure scenes have taken place. Many seem light of heart, having left their homes. Others take it heavily. But beautiful weather, pure sea air, good food, and attentive service will soon provide the usual worry-free atmosphere of long sea voyages. Painful impressions on land disappear quickly at sea and soon seem merely like dreams.”
For two weeks, the passengers enjoyed the sensation of freedom that had eluded them so long back in Germany. Alice Oster, who was in her 20s during the journey, recalled the thrill of hearing an orchestra play Strauss, something denied to Jews in Germany.
They didn’t yet realize that the “Benitez visas” that virtually all of the St. Louis’ passengers held were worthless.
Unbeknownst to the Jewish passengers, anti-immigrant and anti-Jewish feeling was running high in Cuba, and the authorities were under intense pressure to stop allowing Jewish refugees to settle in the island. An anti-Jewish rally in May drew 40,000 Cubans, the largest crowd ever assembled in the country. On May 5, eight days before the St. Louis even set sail, Cuba’s President Frederico Laredo Bru stopped honoring Benitez’s landing rights. They didn’t yet realize that the “Benitez visas” that virtually all of the St. Louis’ passengers held were worthless.
Early in the morning on May 27, 1939, bells rang out on the St. Louis alerting passengers that they’d arrived in Cuba. At first, nobody was worried about the fact that instead of pulling up to a dock, the ship was anchored in the middle of the harbor. By afternoon, however, Cuban police officers stood guard at the harbors piers and the passengers began to realize something was horribly wrong.
Later on, Cuban officials boarded the ship and marked the refugees’ passports with a big “R” for return. The passengers panicked. Many had relatives already living in Cuba and their worried friends and relations chartered boats to come up to the St. Louis so they could shout messages at the passengers trapped on board. Four Spanish citizens and two Cubans were allowed off, as well as 22 Jews who had full Cuban visas enabling them to settle permanently on the island. For the over 900 Jews without the right papers, Cuba seemed like a distant dream.
Liesl Joseph Loeb, who travelled on the St. Louis as a child, later recalled the passengers’ despair: “At the time we were in the harbor of Havana and things just weren’t moving along. We had some suicide attempts, and there was near panic on board because...many of the men all had to sign they would never return to Germany and if we had returned to Germany, the only place where we would have ended up was in a concentration camp because we had no homes left. We had no money left and we had nothing left… The world just didn’t care.”
One of those passengers contemplating suicide rather than go back to Germany was Max Loewe. On the night of May 30, 1939, while the St. Louis was still docked in Havana’s harbor, he slit his wrists then jumped overboard. Miraculously, he was fished out of the water by another passenger who jumped in after him and was rushed to the Calixto Garcia Hospital in Havana, the only visa-less Jew to reach Cuban soil.
A group of passengers formed a committee to negotiate with the Cuban authorities, and a representative of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee travelled to Havana to offer President Bru funds if he would take in the refugees. For a while, it seemed that Bru might accept money in exchange for the Jews. The Joint Distribution Committee had offered $125,000 to accept the Jews. President Bru insisted he wanted four times that, then broke off negotiations abruptly, declaring he would not allow the refugees to disembark.
Cpt. Schroder didn’t want to give up. Instead of steering his ship back towards Germany, he headed north, to Florida. He anchored off the coast of Miami, hoping that negotiations could continue and that America would agree to take in his passengers.
The St. Louis passengers went into action. The ship’s children mailed stacks of letters to First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt begging her to take them in. The adult passengers sent a telegram to President Roosevelt reading “Most urgently repeat plea for help for the passengers of the St. Louis. Mr. President help the nine hundred passengers among them over four hundred women and children.”
American newspapers covered the plight of the St. Louis extensively. Many noted that the ship was running low on food and water. Hollywood stars sent telegrams to Pres. Roosevelt urging him to accept the refugees, to no avail. The only official response from the US Government was to send Coast Guard ships and airplanes to follow the St. Louis to make sure it didn’t make landfall.
Cpt. Schroder continued to try and find local islands in which to dock, but his search proved fruitless. For a while it seemed that the St. Louis might be allowed into the Dominican Republic, or into an island off the coast of Cuba. But he was never given permission and finally, on June 7, he started travelling - slowly and circuitously to prolong his journey - back to Germany.
The Joint Distribution Committee continued to work feverishly to prevent the passengers from returning to Germany. On June 13, with the St. Louis still at sea, they announced a deal. The Committee had pledged $500,000 to four countries, and in return the Governments of Britain, France, the Netherlands, and Belgium agreed to take in the refugees. The ship was nearly back in Europe, and the passengers felt they’d had a sudden reprieve from near-certain death. Instead of Nazi Germany, they would surely now be able to build new lives elsewhere. On July 17, the St. Louis docked in Antwerp; from there the passengers were sent to their new homes.
England agreed to take in 287 refugees. One of these was Max Loewe; once he’d recovered enough to travel, he was forced to leave Cuba and moved to Britain. France took in 224 passengers, Belgium took in 214 and the Netherlands took 181. The refugees had no way of knowing that soon most of these countries would be part of the Third Reich and their Jewish communities destroyed.
The passengers of the St. Louis weren’t entirely typical of European Jews, and their survival rate was higher than for many of their compatriots. Many had relatives abroad and some were able to receive visas to other countries. 87 of the original passengers were able to emigrate out of Europe before Germany took over most of the continent in 1940. Virtually all of the passengers resettled in Britain survived the war, and they were aided by the American Joint Distribution Committee financially so they did not become a burden on the state. However the passengers forced to live in France, the Netherlands and Belgium faced the full fury of the Nazi killing machine. 254 St. Louis passengers were murdered in the Holocaust, most in Auschwitz and Sobibor.
My grandfather lived in Vienna and was only able to escape Nazi Europe after going into hiding in 1940. He was in Germany in July 1939 when the St. Louis was forced to return to Europe and he always used to tell me that was the worst day of his life. He listened to Hitler on the radio, ranting and raving that it wasn’t just him, it wasn’t only Nazis, who hated Jews. “See, the whole world hates the Jews” my grandfather recalled Hitler screaming.
Knowing that the St. Louis with its cargo of over 900 Jews had been rebuffed, not only by Cuba and the Dominican Republic, but by the United States as well, my grandfather, for the first time, felt that the whole world was indeed turning its back on Europe’s Jews.
(22) Adolfo Gomez, November 29, 2019 8:29 PM
Dominican Reoublic possibility
What didn't the ship go to Dominican Rep. which the previous year at the Evian conference was the only country willing to accept the Jewish immigrants.
Who didn't allowed the ship to go? , the Line owners?
(21) solly Ganor, March 4, 2019 11:46 PM
I wrote a poem called :"Ship of Doom" having in mind the St. Luis.
you published some of my essays and articles for which I thank you. If you want to send you my poem "Ship of Doom. " By the way, I am of the last few Holocaust survivers of the concentration "Dachau". I wrote three books on the Holocaust ipublished in English German and Japanese.
The English book is called "Light One Candle-from Lithuania to Jerusalem." the German book " Das Andere Leben" was given patronage by two German presidents for the schools of Germany. The publishers, Kodansha and the Fischer Verlag. Shalom , Solly Ganor
(20) Richard Goldfarb, March 4, 2019 3:37 PM
Incredibly powerful article.Author made me feel the pain of being a passenger on the St. Louis
Just goes to show how ignorant American Jews were.They all thought FDR was such a good friend to the Jews and voted for him in all four of his Presidential elections.FDR a friend of the Jews who has the blood of approximately 650 Jewish men,women and children on his hands
(19) Kerry Cohen, March 4, 2019 2:06 AM
The best argument for the need to support Israel.
Human nature does not change and human memories fade. Every Jewish person should support Israel.
(18) Marny Fair, March 3, 2019 8:29 PM
Not much has changed
As a Jew whose mother and father were both foreign-born, like Melania Trump and one other First Lady, and they were good citizens, as were my grandparents, all born in Europe ala Hitler - not much has changed in the world, or the USA.
I continue to get anti-Semitic comments.
The president has done more than his share of anti-everybody.
The only reason he moved the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem: so HIS NAME is now on the plaque on the front of the building.
Anti-Semitism continues to GROW, not to wane. How can that be?
Because clergy continue to spew hatred against Jews - in their sermons. Carefully worded but still against Jews. How they talk, dance, look, pray. All made fun of to the congregants!
Even as a child being raised orthodox I could not understand how Christians called me a "dirty Jew" when they pray to a Jew.
As an adult octogenarian, I still do not understand how too many Christians continue to spew hatred against Jews and then pray to a Jew.
How can that continue? Where is the education?
Have Jews never helped them in their lives? Medically? How about clothing? Jeans, for instance - by Levi Strauss, a Jew.
How many non-Jews use cell phones? Invented by a Jew!
(17) Mario, March 3, 2019 8:05 PM
Let’s not harden our hearts
Often I talk to Jews than don’t care about people who are fleeing from countries like Venezuela arguing its their countries and they should stay there. Jews showing no compassion, interest in understanding their desperate plight, or sympathy at least for those innocent who are escaping violence and extreme danger need to check the history of Jews. I can’t believe there could be Jews who harden their hearts toward the innocent seeking a safe place in other lands.
(16) Rey Sinena, March 1, 2019 1:44 PM
Thank God my country “The Philippines” is ready to accept the European Jews!
The European Jews commit a big mistake by not going directly to Asia or to Southeast Asia, where people are kind and treated equal.
(15) Nalinaksha Mutsuddi, March 1, 2019 7:27 AM
Felt aghast
I felt aghast by reading the story. I'm not able to find why so much of antisemitism still persist in the world.
(14) Anonymous, March 1, 2019 4:52 AM
Just got "Barred-The Shameful Refusal of FDR's State Dept. to Save Tens of Thousands of Europe's Jews From Extermination" by Carl L. Steinhouse
Seemed appropriate after reading this article.
(13) Merle, March 1, 2019 2:35 AM
Zakhor! A Yiddishe Neshumah cares.
If you have a Yiddishe neshumah you will care about all refugees. Look at the compassionate work the Jewish agency HIAS does in rescuing refugees. Zakhor! Remember! Because Jews have been persecuted for centuries, for millennia, we know that we must protect ourselves, and we must protect the stranger too. No more! Bias, discrimination, prejudice, leads to persecution, to murder, to death. Stand with the righteous. We must devote ourselves to life. L'Chaim! We must survive....
Me, March 1, 2019 3:52 AM
Jews were not proven threats to others!
Jews were not bent on killing others! All over europe jews suffer mainly from violent moslems! Idiots would blindly welcome reasonably potential threats without solid tough screening, especially after al qeda and isis, to the us!
Anonymous, March 1, 2019 6:07 AM
The anti-Semites would disagree
The respectable excuses were that the US could not absorb refugees during the Depression, and that Communists might be among Europeans refugees. Then there are the centuries old excuses-- they killed our lord, they are greedy and take all the money, etc.
When you carry on about "violent Muslims" I hear echoes of those who hated Jews based on stereotypes and untruths.
Me, March 1, 2019 5:27 PM
Maybe try living as a jew in france first!
Maybe you should first experience life in france and england and sweden and germany as an open jew before you shout at us! We will not allow you to endanger us here. Theres a difference between anti jew lies and hate versus true current events!
(12) William Price, March 1, 2019 1:50 AM
it makes me cry
i would rather read this than hide it. i am not a jew, and i would rather hear of the autrocities than hide from them. we who did not live this horror must learn of it and think of it often. may god bless israel and her people.
(11) Mario Zamora, March 1, 2019 1:36 AM
God also loses battles.
When humanity is defeated God loses. When Jews lose God loses too. God lost so much against evil during the Holocaust and in many other times. We hope at the end God wins the war.
(10) Anonymous, February 28, 2019 8:22 PM
It baffles me that Jews in America worship FDR who was an antisemetism
Jews still worship FDR and the Democratic Party Look at history FDR knew about the concertation Camps and did nothing about it Carter another antisemite who’s true color showed up Keep on voting Democratic to continue this process
Anonymous, February 28, 2019 9:04 PM
People vote based on their opinions on fiscal matters.
Anonymous, March 1, 2019 6:15 AM
Simplistic view
FDR, followed after his death in office by Harry Truman, won the war. Without America, it is unknowable how long Nazi occupation of Europe might have continued. While the UK might have been able to continue defending itself, it would certainly NOT have been able to take the fight to the enemy.
My dad and his 3 brothers were all in service in the US during 1941-46. Don't dismiss the sacrifices of the Greatest Generation. My husband (son of Holocaust survivors) might never have been born without the liberation of Europe.
(9) Anonymous, February 28, 2019 6:30 PM
When it comes to genuine refugees, there is no moral excuse not to take them in.
Mario, March 1, 2019 1:38 AM
They just didn’t care.
They didn’t care about excuses. They just flatly refused to accept Jews.
Anonymous, March 5, 2019 8:32 PM
There are non-Jewish refugees whom we are morally obligated to accept.
(8) Anderson, February 28, 2019 6:15 PM
Dominican Republic
Following the Evian conference in 1938 the only country that agreed to accept Jews was the DR which took in 1500 Jews.
Roosevelt sent Coast Guard ships to keep the St. Louis out of Miami,.
(7) Anonymous, February 28, 2019 4:22 PM
We are at war
"Nobody but a Jew cares for a Jew."-- Michael Elkins, author, Forged in Fury. Read it.
(6) Simcha, February 28, 2019 4:09 PM
The Dominican Republic!
I read that the Dominican Republic did allow Jews to enter their country thanks to a Jewish girl who befriended the daughter of the president of the DR. The daughter was tormented by other girls in her school and the Jewish girl was the only one who befriended her. Her father never forgot that therefore allowing Jews onto the island. Has anyone else heard this story? I read it a number of years ago in The Jewish Press. I also learned in a course on the Holocaust that the DR accepted the Jews but not too many entered the island.
(5) Nathan Leipciger, February 28, 2019 4:07 PM
Canada also refused to let the passengers to land.
After the US refused their entry the ship proceeded north to HALIFAX and the Canadian Jewish Congress made great attempts to convince the Canadian government to accept all or even some they refused. It is interesting that our Prime Minister on November 7 , 2018 issued an Apology for Canada refusing entry and sending over 250 of the passengers to their death in Nazi Germany.
(4) Anonymous, February 28, 2019 3:56 PM
Is this REALLY surprising?
IT seems an EXCEPTION when non-Jewish Leaders are "nice" to Jews... consider: FDR not only did not allow the St. Louis to dock, he later ignored the Rabbis who came to beg for Jewish Lives (and Stephen Wise deserves a SPECIAL place in Hell for encouraging FDR about this). He REFUSED to bomb the rail lines leading to the Concentration Camps. He refused to bomb the Gas Chambers. The War Refugee Board was only set up later when FDR was THREATENED that a report would be published showing how FDR was complicit in the murder of Jews. Yes, Truman recognized the State of Israel... but "good ol' Ike" (remember: "I like Ike"?) with his Sec'y of State: John Foster Dulles opposed Israel when Nasser closed off the Suez Canal and pressured Israel to retreat... The best that we could hope for was that the Leaders would be "decent" to the Jews and there were only a few "exceptions" -- virtually miraculous (e.g., Nixon re-arming the Jews during the Yom Kippur War). and, we all recall what a great "friend" Obama was...
The simple fact is that Jews have to realize that their true Ally is G-d and that we can "merit" such protection when we do our best to OBSERVE the Mitzvot. And, certainly taking steps that show CONTEMPT for the Mitzvot (something that Lapid both father and son have shown) is hardly the step to take when we are in such critical need of Divine Protection and Aid.
Anonymous, March 1, 2019 1:44 AM
Don’t blame Jews for Holocaust
Blaming the Jews for the Holocaust “because they weren’t faithful to the mizvots” is presposperous. It’s placing yourself on the side of the Nazis.
All humans make mistakes and don’t deserve what Jews got in Germany or anywhere else. Also, there is no way to know who was observant and who wasn’t. Many children died too. Are they at fault too?
Anonymous, March 3, 2019 9:49 AM
Don’t forget about the Kennedys
If they were Jewish, they’ be right next to Stephen S. Wise, who wasn’t so ‘wise’ after all...
I didn’t know about FDR refusing to bomb the railways.
I was under the impression that Joe Kennedy opted not to bomb the railroad tracks leading to the concentration camps. And that his family was cursed by a famous Rebbe for refusing to bomb the rail lines.
(3) Anonymous, February 20, 2019 4:07 PM
canada
Canada also rejected the Jews of the St. Louis. PM Trudeau just "apologized" this year...apology much too late, though.
(2) Dina, February 20, 2019 12:12 AM
Yet, look at Europe taking in Moslems
So, why is the world so keen in Moslems when Jews were barred from even the US? It's the anti-semitism. No one cares about Jews. Even the only place, Israel where Jews are freely accepted, has now been focus of terror and BDS. We Jews can't seem to win in the public of non-Jewish nations. That's why we must do everything to assure The Jewish homeland of Israel continues to remain strong. Sadly, too many liberal Jews have been poisoned with negative press about Israel. Hitler didn't care if a Jew was religious or not. I believe the same those liberal Hews in the US and Britain and Duripe need to wake up. Israel is our only salvation.
Anonymous, February 28, 2019 6:30 PM
Europe takes in Muslims now because those are the people traveling to Europe. The reason they're so keen to take in more immigrants is because Europeans don't produce children (by choice), and they need to boost their population somehow.
Rachel, February 28, 2019 6:59 PM
And today Americans don’t want Hispanics
People fleeing failed states in Latin America are being held in detention centers, separated from their children with no policy in place to ensure family reunification.
I thought “Never Again” meant that the civilized world would never again turn its back on desperate people fleeing persecution.
Anonymous, February 28, 2019 9:07 PM
The US has a more stable birthrate, but there is never a reason not to let in decent people who could be good citizens if given the opportunity.
Yoni, February 28, 2019 9:13 PM
No equivalencies
There is absolutely no comparison to what Hispanics are fleeing in Latin America to what the Jews where trying to escape from during World War II which was total annihillation. To make such equivalencies cheapens the Jewish holocaust.
Anonymous, March 1, 2019 1:52 AM
But you can’t be blind to injustice
No one is taking the Holocaust away from you. No one can. People have to care for others in extremely desperate situations too. What if it’s Jews again? Think.
Anonymous, March 1, 2019 5:55 AM
Excellent point
G-d forbid if Israel were defeated and Jews needed to flee, I would not be surprised if the same old stories (we can't take everyone, they don't share our values, etc) were trotted out against hypothetical Israeli refugees.
Rachel, March 1, 2019 5:51 AM
S/he who saves 1 life saves the world
No gas chambers does not change the fact that asylum seekers (not economic refugees) may end up murdered if returned to places like Honduras, Guatemala and Venezuela.
More chai and Esther were refugees too.
Anonymous, March 5, 2019 8:33 PM
Honduran gang warfare is a constant threat to residents' lives.
(1) Reicher Joanne, February 18, 2019 3:39 PM
why not
Why should Jews not remember The St Louis. Yes both Cuba and the United States when Franklym Roosevelt was president did not allow the ship to dock or to release children and people. They were sent back to Europe. 5 countries received them and I believe 4 out of the 5 were under Nazi occupation Many Jews were murdered. Never forget. Jewish lives are precious. I know of one who survived. He was8 years of age