Remembering Refugees Turned Away From The U.S. In 1939

NPR

Published January 30, 2017 at 1:25 PM EST

Refugees arrive in Antwerp on the MS St. Louis on June 17, 1939, after over a month at sea, during which they were denied entry to Cuba, the United States and Canada. The St. Louis had originally sailed from Hamburg to Cuba, carrying over 937 mainly German-Jewish refugees from Nazi persecution. (Three Lions/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

On the same day President Trump signed his new immigration ban, a Twitter account launched to shine the spotlight on what happened to a group of refugees that were turned away from the U.S. in 1939.

About 900 Jewish people had attempted to escape Nazi Germany on the MS St. Louis. But the ship was turned away by the U.S. because of immigration restrictions. Later, more than 250 of those passengers were killed during World War II and the Holocaust.

Here & Now’s Jeremy Hobson speaks with Russel Neiss (@russelneiss), co-founder of the Twitter account “St. Louis Manifest.”

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SOMOS CONNECTICUT is an initiative from Connecticut Public, the state’s local NPR and PBS station, to elevate Latino stories and expand programming that uplifts and informs our Latino communities. Visit CTPublic.org/latino for more stories and resources. For updates, sign up for the SOMOS CONNECTICUT newsletter at ctpublic.org/newsletters.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

Federal funding is gone.

Congress has eliminated all funding for public media.

That means $2.1 million per year that Connecticut Public relied on to deliver you news, information, and entertainment programs you enjoyed is gone.

The future of public media is in your hands.

All donations are appreciated, but we ask in this moment you consider starting a monthly gift as a Sustainer to help replace what’s been lost.

Donate