The German transatlantic liner SS St. Louis sailed from Hamburg, Germany en route to Havana, Cuba on May 13, 1939 with 937 passengers, most of whom were Jews fleeing Nazi persecution and oppression. The Cuban government, however, refused entry to all but 28 passengers who had valid U.S. visas. Diplomatic efforts and attempts to prevail upon President Roosevelt were to no avail. Roosevelt and his state department stuck to an absurdly low quota on all immigrants from Austria and Germany that had easily been exceeded. Cordell Hull, Roosevelt's Secretary of State, and his assistant Breckenridge Long ensured that saving Jews by relaxing immigration quotas, issuing visas, or sending money to agencies working to rescue Jews was simply not a priority. The general sentiment in the U.S. after the Great Depression was against immigration to be sure, but strong antisemitic currents existed both in the state department and nationally, fueled by the lunatic ranting of Father Coughlin, and Hitler-admirer Charles Lindberg, isolationist spokesman for the America First movement. There was no willingness to relax restrictions on immigration even when it involved taking in 20,000 children whose lives were also in mortal jeopardy. The St. Louis was thus forced to return to Europe. As the Nazi juggernaut continued its rampage across Europe, more than 250 passengers on the "Voyage of the Damned" were caught in the dragnet and perished.
Gustav Schroeder, the non-Jewish German captain of the St. Louis, was posthumously honored by Yad Vashem as a Righteous Among the Nations for his efforts at securing a safe haven for his Jewish passengers and his refusal to return the St. Louis to Germany.
While four European countries together were willing to take in many of the St. Louis refugees returning to Europe, 254 members of the St. Louis were ultimately murdered in the Holocaust.
--Michael D. Bulmash, K1966
Browse the Bulmash Family Holocaust Collection.
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Menu from St. Louis Cruise Liner
2014.1.103
Recto: White paper with menu printed in black. Includes the ship's seal and a swastika.Back: Top portion is a black and white photograph of a row of houses next to a beach, with people near boats by the water. The bottom portion includes black printed text and lines.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: The inability of the Jews on the transatlantic liner St. Louis to disembark in Havana, the United States, or any of the chosen destinations was a great propaganda victory for the Nazis. On the 1939 voyage were 937 passengers, almost all Jews fleeing Nazi Germany. This postcard advertises the St. Louis in the mid-thirties, four years before the "Voyage of the Damned". The menu displays the Nazi swastika.
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Press Photograph of Cordell Hull with Henry Morgenthau
2019.2.197
Black and white photograph of three men in suits (Henry Morgenthau, Arthur de Sousa Costa, Cordell Hull) in front of three other men, none looking at camera. Back of photo includes “U.S. – BRAZIL SIGN FINANCIAL TREATY”
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:
Cordell Hull with Henry Morgenthau, Jr., Secretary of the Treasury, 1937.
Cordell Hull was Secretary of State under Franklin Delano Roosevelt, as well as a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize for his work in facilitating the creation of the United Nations. He was also instrumental in refusing any action that might have helped Jews persecuted by the Nazis.
When Secretary of Treasury Henry Morgenthau, Jr. recommended that passengers aboard the refugee ship SS St. Louis be allowed to debark with temporary tourist visas, Hull rejected the idea, citing the technicality that the passengers had no return address, thus consigning them to the fate of having to return to Europe where many would be murdered by the Nazis. When French and German government officials complained about the rescue activities of Varian Fry, Hull demanded that Fry return stateside immediately. When Fry refused, Hull had his passport revoked. Indeed, Eleanor Roosevelt had to circumvent Hull to help Jews board the Portuguese ship SS Quanza and receive visas. Roosevelt’s State Department under Hull and his assistant Breckinridge Long ensured that saving Jews being slowly crushed under the Nazi boot would not be a priority. Many more were allowed to perish who could have been rescued.
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SS St. Louis in Havana Harbor, Cuba
2015.2.59
Front: Black and white photograph of a large ship surrounded by smaller boats in water. To the left of it is a harbor where people stand and look at the large boat. Back: Large stamp with an eagle.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:
The SS St. Louis ("The Voyage of the Damned") had anchored 12 miles out, and now is escorted by Cuban government boats toward the open sea. Her captain, Gustav Schroeder, is concerned about mass suicides from the beleaguered passengers. Cuba, having initially refused to allow the refugees to debark, ultimately consents to allow only passengers with valid Cuban visas to enter. Only 22 passengers are able to meet this standard; moreover, efforts of Franklin D. Roosevelt and his cabinet, and the pleas of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (the "Joint"), are not successful in persuading Cuba to accept the refugees. Captain Schroeder, a non-Jewish German, tries desperately to find safe haven for the remaining passengers. The U.K., Belgium, France, and the Netherlands each agree to take some of the passengers; however, when the Nazis overrun Europe the following year, all Jews are placed at risk, including the passengers of the St. Louis. Approximately 254 passengers of the SS St. Louis will ultimately perish in the Holocaust.
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Passport for Margarete Philippi, a Passenger on the St. Louis, "The Voyage of the Damned"
2016.1.15
Cover: 'DEUTSCHES REICH, REISEPASS', 32 pages total, no markings on pages 10-32, photograph adhered to top left of page 2, St. Louis stamp on page 7.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:
This passport was issued to Margarete Philippi, a passenger on the St. Louis - the so-called “Voyage of the Damned” - which set sail from Hamburg, Germany on May 13, 1939 for Havana, Cuba, with 937 Jewish refugees from Nazi Germany seeking asylum after Kristallnacht. Margarete was accompanied by her husband and two sons. The Cuban government, however, refused entry to passengers, and the St. Louis was thus forced to return to Europe. Belgium eventually agreed to take 200 passengers, and the British, French and Dutch governments agreed to temporary asylum for some of the passengers. The Philippi family were among those passengers able to disembark in Holland. They were able to survive the Holocaust and eventually emigrated to America.
Sadly, as the Nazis overran the European countries, more than 250 of the passengers of the St. Louis were caught in the Nazi dragnet and perished. Gustav Schroeder, the non-Jewish German captain of the St. Louis, was posthumously honored by Yad Vashem as a Righteous Among the Nations for his efforts at securing a safe haven for his Jewish passengers and his refusal to return the St. Louis to Germany.
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SS St. Louis in Havana Harbor, Cuba
2015.2.60
Front: Black and white photograph of large ship on the left. Next to it are several smaller boats filled with people. Behind it is the edge of the island with a lighthouse. Back: Pasted newspaper clipping which includes the photo on recto.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:
From news clipping attached to wire photo verso: "Escorted by numerous Cuban government boats, the liner St. Louis sails from Havana harbor toward the open sea, its cargo of 917 German refugees denied admittance to Cuba. The ship anchored twelve miles out, the captain fearing mass suicides. Meanwhile, an American committee is attempting to find a haven for those on board."
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Press Photograph of German Jewish Refugees Aboard Liner St. Louis to Antwerp
2019.2.195
Black and white photograph of large group of men, women, and children on ship, smiling and waving. Back marked “1810 ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO CAUTION: USE CREDIT,” in black print, “MAR 04 1994” stamped in top right corner in red ink.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:
This period photo shows German Jewish refugees who returned to Antwerp June 17, 1939 aboard the Liner St. Louis after having been denied entrance to Cuba: “Part of the 907 refugees are shown here, smiling in the face of the adversity, as they arrived at Antwerp after their long voyage.” The photo is hand-stamped “6-25-1939.” Cubans were fearful that more immigrant Jews would constitute more competition for scarce jobs as Cubans themselves were struggling with the effects of the Great Depression. Roosevelt as well was unresponsive to the plight of these Jews, as the quota on immigrants from Austria and Germany had already been exceeded. This fear of competition for scarce jobs was no less acute in the United States, but sympathy in some quarters for the plight of the refugees notwithstanding, there were antisemitic factions in the State Department that all but sealed the fate of these passengers. Thus, the hostility toward immigrants, strong antisemitic sentiments, and the growing popularity of isolationism-represented by the America First Movement of which popular hero Charles Lindbergh was an outspoken proponent (nor did he hide his evident Nazi sympathies) meant that Americans were unwilling to relax restrictions on immigration even when it involved taking in 20,000 children whose lives were in mortal jeopardy. While four European countries together were willing to take in most of the St. Louis refugees returning to Europe, 254 passengers of the St. Louis were ultimately murdered in the Holocaust.
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Notice of Registration from the American Consulate in Rotterdam
2020.1.5
Slip of paper with printed and typewritten text in English. Stamped with "American Consulate of Rotterdam, Netherlands." Name "Herbert V. Olds, American Vice Consul." printed at bottom right.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:
Notice of Registration from the American Consulate in Rotterdam, Netherlands, acknowledges both Margarete and Hans-Heinrich Glucksmann.
[Related items: 2020.1.4a-d, 2020.1.6]
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Breckinridge Long Signed Letter on U.S. Department of State Letterhead, with Embossed Crest
2016.1.18
Typewritten letter to Mr. Basil O'Connor, singed by Breckinridge Long.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:
Long sends his thanks to Basil (Doc) O'Connor, FDR's law partner and close personal advisor, for a congratulatory note regarding Long's recent appointment as Assistant Secretary of State. Long's responsibilities in his new role included overseeing immigration policy, including the admission to the United States of refugees from Germany and Nazi-occupied Europe. However, Long obstructed rescue efforts, restricted immigration of European refugees - especially Jews - seeking to avoid persecution and murder in Europe, and falsified figures of refugees actually admitted to the United States. He forbade consuls to accept information from unofficial sources on what was in fact happening to the Jews in Europe under Hitler. Josiah DuBois, Jr.'s heroic exposure of Long's obstructionist efforts to deny American visas to Jews led ultimately to his demotion in 1944. It is estimated that under Long's tenure, 90 percent of the quota places available to these immigrants were never filled, placing 190,000 people in jeopardy who might have been saved from the Nazi atrocities. Long retired to his Laurel, Maryland, Georgian Manor house where he bred horses, rode to hounds and was an active participant in Southern Maryland society.
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Postcards Sent from Berlin to Westerbork Transit Camp in Holland Following the Return of the SS St. Louis
2020.1.4a-d
a: Postcard postmarked 18.2.41 with German text printed in red and handwritten letter on opposite side. Address written in pencil. Markings on front in blue and red pencil.
b: Postcard postmarked 21.3.41 with German text printed in red as well as handwritten text in purple ink and letter written in pencil on opposite side.
c: Postcard postmarked 25.3.41 with German text printed in red and handwritten letter on opposite side.
d: Postcard postmarked 12.4.41 with German text printed in red and handwritten letter on opposite side.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:
Margarete and Hans-Heinrich Glucksmann had been passengers aboard the ship SS St. Louis in 1939 (“Voyage of the Damned”). The St. Louis and its Jewish passengers fleeing Nazi Germany were refused entry to Cuba and subsequently the United States and was forced to return to Europe. These four postcards were sent by Margarete in Berlin to Hans-Heinrich following the return of the St. Louis to Holland. She signs her name with the obligatory “Sara.” At the time of writing, Hans-Heinrich was being held in the Westerbork transit camp in Hooghalen in the Netherlands. The postcards bear German censor marks and stamps.
[Related items: 2020.1.5, 2020.1.6]
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Post-War Document to Hans Glucksmann, a Former Passenger on the St. Louis
2020.1.6
Letter with "Centraal Registratiebureau Voor Joden" printed at top with typewritten message below. Typewritten address on back.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:
Post-WWII typed document from the Central Registration Bureau for Jews, Amsterdam, Oct. 23, 1946 to Hans Glucksmann advising him that there has been no sign of Dr. Richard Marcuse since he had been “transported” in October, 1942. In all probability Dr. Marcuse perished in Auschwitz after a period of internment at Theresienstadt since early March 1942. The Glucksmanns became Dutch citizens after the war.
[Related items: 2020.1.4a-d, 2020.1.5]
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Transatlantic Liner St. Louis
2014.1.102
Front: Black printed postcard lines. Includes a green postage stamp, handwritten message and black circular hand stamp.Back: Black and white photograph of a large ship.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: The inability of the Jews on the transatlantic liner St. Louis to disembark in Havana, the United States, or any of the chosen destinations was a great propaganda victory for the Nazis. On the 1939 voyage were 938 passengers, almost all Jews fleeing Nazi Germany. This postcard is of the St. Louis in the early thirties.