Human Rights A Day

Captain of St. Louis informs Jewish passengers they must return to Europe. In Germany on November 9 and 10, 1938, Nazi troops went on a rampage, killing 91 Jews, arresting 30,000, sending many to concentration camps and destroying thousands of Jewish homes, businesses and synagogues. Following this event, known as Kristallnacht, Jews tried desperately to flee Germany. However, very few countries were willing to take more than their allotted quotas. On May 13, 1939, 937 men, women and children – 900 of them Jewish – set sail on the S.S. St. Louis for Cuba. The United States was their ultimate destination, but having obtained only Cuban visas, they were willing to wait until the Americans would let them in. Unfortunately for them, the Cuban administration changed while the boat was still at sea. Fearful of Jews taking precious jobs, and with Nazi propaganda saying the ship was loaded with criminals, 40,000 Cubans demonstrated against Jewish immigrants. When the ship arrived on May 27, the government claimed tha