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

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.”

You make NHPR possible.

NHPR is nonprofit and independent. We rely on readers like you to support the local, national, and international coverage on this website. Your support makes this news available to everyone.

Give today. A monthly donation of $5 makes a real difference.