Article in the Toronto Star
![Picture](/uploads/1/6/3/6/16362068/9595761.jpg)
Voyage of the SS St. Louis Journey toward a better future; Canadian government points the way forward by commemorating blights on our history
Author: Farber, Bernie M
27 May 2008
Abstract (Abstract): During the ship's time at sea, Cuba's newly elected pro-fascist leaders invalidated almost all the visas. Unable to disembark at the island nation, the stateless refugees then set sail for Florida, where an American Coast Guard vessel shadowed the ship, even firing a warning shot across its bow in case the message wasn't clear It was not wanted in America.
Desperate, he headed for the shores of Canada outside Halifax Harbour, where the luckless Jewish passengers encountered the anti-Semitic Frederick Blair, director of the immigration branch of the Department of Mines and Resources, who not only refused the refugees entry, but later bragged about keeping Jews out of Canada (it was Blair's infamous "none is too many" stance on Jewish immigration that was to metastasize into government policy).
In 1957, the West German government honoured [Gustav Schroeder] for having saved Jewish lives. Shortly before his death in 1959, the State of Israel honoured him as a "Righteous Among the Nations." It will be his memory we honour as we educate future generations.
"Are you a Jew?" asked one of the guards.
"Yes," answered the child at the barrier.
"Jews are not admitted," snapped the guard.
"Oh please let me in. I'm only a very little Jew."
Such was a game played by children aboard the doomed SS St. Louis, the ship that set sail May 27, 1939, with 937 Jews from Germany headed for Cuba. All of them had valid Cuban visas, and were hoping to be saved from Hitler's coming madness.
During the ship's time at sea, Cuba's newly elected pro-fascist leaders invalidated almost all the visas. Unable to disembark at the island nation, the stateless refugees then set sail for Florida, where an American Coast Guard vessel shadowed the ship, even firing a warning shot across its bow in case the message wasn't clear It was not wanted in America.
The New York Times wrote at the time "Off our shores she (the St. Louis) was attended by a helpful Coast Guard vessel alert to pick up any passengers who plunged overboard and thrust them back ... The refugees could even see the shimmering towers of Miami ... the battlements of another forbidden city."
Gustav Schroeder, captain of the ill-fated ship, was a man of great humanity, despite his loyalty to the Nazi state. His sense of responsibility led him to determine that these refugees should not be abandoned.
Desperate, he headed for the shores of Canada outside Halifax Harbour, where the luckless Jewish passengers encountered the anti-Semitic Frederick Blair, director of the immigration branch of the Department of Mines and Resources, who not only refused the refugees entry, but later bragged about keeping Jews out of Canada (it was Blair's infamous "none is too many" stance on Jewish immigration that was to metastasize into government policy).
Eventually, after weeks at sea and rampant sickness aboard, despair and disillusionment overtook most of the passengers. A second editorial in The New York Times lamented, "We can only hope that some hearts will soften somewhere and some refuge be found. The cruise of the St. Louis cries to heaven of man's inhumanity to men."
Captain Schroeder remained resolute and, with the assistance of the Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, negotiations with Britain, Belgium, Holland and France were successful, with each country accepting a total of some 900 passengers (29 had managed to get into Cuba). Tragically, with the exception of Britain, the Jewish passengers granted temporary asylum in mainland Europe were caught in the Nazi blitzkrieg. More than one- third of them were murdered in the Nazi gas chambers and internment camps.
This past week, the government of Canada made a series of important announcements, acknowledging errors of past governments and providing resources to commemorate these blights on Canadian history.
Along with an announcement of funds for an educational program related to the St. Louis, recognition was also given to the Komagata Maru ship incident, where more than 350 potential immigrants from India were denied entry into Canada in 1914.
In the past, the Canadian government has recognized historical wrongdoings on the Chinese head tax and the dreadful internment of Japanese Canadians during World War II. History must be a vehicle of education, heartfelt lessons to future generations. Canada's actions on these matters are to be commended.
Indeed, Canada has transformed itself in many ways in the last 70 years, not the least of which has been the evolution of our national attitudes toward the "other" - from intolerance to tolerance of difference, and now, in many cases, to a celebration of our diversity. The road so far travelled has been steep. Marking the errors of the past is the only way to safeguard our gains and prevent their erosion.
But what of an apology to the Jewish community for the hateful actions of Frederick Blair and Mackenzie King's government in denying entry to the Jewish refugees of the St. Louis?
It is not up to Canadian Jewish Congress to ask for - or to accept - such a thing. Words of apology, however sincere, can only be accepted by those who have endured the insult or affront, and it is only from the victims that forgiveness be granted.
But even as that door has been closed by the passage of time, we can work together to ensure that the errors of the past are never repeated. And perhaps for the departed, that will be sufficient.
In the end, perhaps the best lesson one can glean from such tragic events (beyond the obvious) is to look at what happened to the captain of the St. Louis, Gustav Schroeder. Having sustained much damage during the war, the ship was sold for scrap. Schroeder, who never commanded another vessel, struggled to make a living. The few remaining Jewish survivors of his ship saw to it that he and his family were looked after.
In 1957, the West German government honoured Schroeder for having saved Jewish lives. Shortly before his death in 1959, the State of Israel honoured him as a "Righteous Among the Nations." It will be his memory we honour as we educate future generations.
Bernie M. Farber is chief executive officer of the Canadian Jewish Congress.
Farber takes an interesting stance on this issue as an individual looking back many years later. Farber makes a lot of important points in this article. He speaks of the change in the attitudes of the Canadian government from the hateful and anti-Semitic ways of the past, to the present, whereby the government embraces "diversity." The way that Farber writes about this incident includes the historical perspective. He explains that our values and our morals as a nation have changed and the fact that the Canadian government has taken steps to try and heal the wrongdoings of the past is a way to understand that we have moved past it. There are many questions raised in this article: is apologizing enough? What can be done for those who had died as a consequence of the actions taken (or not taken) by the Canadian government? Do we really need to focus on what the Canadian government did not do rather than on what Schroeder, the captain DID do for these refugees? This article is a good point to begin a discussion as we go back and explore these issues from an historical perspective point of view.
Author: Farber, Bernie M
27 May 2008
Abstract (Abstract): During the ship's time at sea, Cuba's newly elected pro-fascist leaders invalidated almost all the visas. Unable to disembark at the island nation, the stateless refugees then set sail for Florida, where an American Coast Guard vessel shadowed the ship, even firing a warning shot across its bow in case the message wasn't clear It was not wanted in America.
Desperate, he headed for the shores of Canada outside Halifax Harbour, where the luckless Jewish passengers encountered the anti-Semitic Frederick Blair, director of the immigration branch of the Department of Mines and Resources, who not only refused the refugees entry, but later bragged about keeping Jews out of Canada (it was Blair's infamous "none is too many" stance on Jewish immigration that was to metastasize into government policy).
In 1957, the West German government honoured [Gustav Schroeder] for having saved Jewish lives. Shortly before his death in 1959, the State of Israel honoured him as a "Righteous Among the Nations." It will be his memory we honour as we educate future generations.
"Are you a Jew?" asked one of the guards.
"Yes," answered the child at the barrier.
"Jews are not admitted," snapped the guard.
"Oh please let me in. I'm only a very little Jew."
Such was a game played by children aboard the doomed SS St. Louis, the ship that set sail May 27, 1939, with 937 Jews from Germany headed for Cuba. All of them had valid Cuban visas, and were hoping to be saved from Hitler's coming madness.
During the ship's time at sea, Cuba's newly elected pro-fascist leaders invalidated almost all the visas. Unable to disembark at the island nation, the stateless refugees then set sail for Florida, where an American Coast Guard vessel shadowed the ship, even firing a warning shot across its bow in case the message wasn't clear It was not wanted in America.
The New York Times wrote at the time "Off our shores she (the St. Louis) was attended by a helpful Coast Guard vessel alert to pick up any passengers who plunged overboard and thrust them back ... The refugees could even see the shimmering towers of Miami ... the battlements of another forbidden city."
Gustav Schroeder, captain of the ill-fated ship, was a man of great humanity, despite his loyalty to the Nazi state. His sense of responsibility led him to determine that these refugees should not be abandoned.
Desperate, he headed for the shores of Canada outside Halifax Harbour, where the luckless Jewish passengers encountered the anti-Semitic Frederick Blair, director of the immigration branch of the Department of Mines and Resources, who not only refused the refugees entry, but later bragged about keeping Jews out of Canada (it was Blair's infamous "none is too many" stance on Jewish immigration that was to metastasize into government policy).
Eventually, after weeks at sea and rampant sickness aboard, despair and disillusionment overtook most of the passengers. A second editorial in The New York Times lamented, "We can only hope that some hearts will soften somewhere and some refuge be found. The cruise of the St. Louis cries to heaven of man's inhumanity to men."
Captain Schroeder remained resolute and, with the assistance of the Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, negotiations with Britain, Belgium, Holland and France were successful, with each country accepting a total of some 900 passengers (29 had managed to get into Cuba). Tragically, with the exception of Britain, the Jewish passengers granted temporary asylum in mainland Europe were caught in the Nazi blitzkrieg. More than one- third of them were murdered in the Nazi gas chambers and internment camps.
This past week, the government of Canada made a series of important announcements, acknowledging errors of past governments and providing resources to commemorate these blights on Canadian history.
Along with an announcement of funds for an educational program related to the St. Louis, recognition was also given to the Komagata Maru ship incident, where more than 350 potential immigrants from India were denied entry into Canada in 1914.
In the past, the Canadian government has recognized historical wrongdoings on the Chinese head tax and the dreadful internment of Japanese Canadians during World War II. History must be a vehicle of education, heartfelt lessons to future generations. Canada's actions on these matters are to be commended.
Indeed, Canada has transformed itself in many ways in the last 70 years, not the least of which has been the evolution of our national attitudes toward the "other" - from intolerance to tolerance of difference, and now, in many cases, to a celebration of our diversity. The road so far travelled has been steep. Marking the errors of the past is the only way to safeguard our gains and prevent their erosion.
But what of an apology to the Jewish community for the hateful actions of Frederick Blair and Mackenzie King's government in denying entry to the Jewish refugees of the St. Louis?
It is not up to Canadian Jewish Congress to ask for - or to accept - such a thing. Words of apology, however sincere, can only be accepted by those who have endured the insult or affront, and it is only from the victims that forgiveness be granted.
But even as that door has been closed by the passage of time, we can work together to ensure that the errors of the past are never repeated. And perhaps for the departed, that will be sufficient.
In the end, perhaps the best lesson one can glean from such tragic events (beyond the obvious) is to look at what happened to the captain of the St. Louis, Gustav Schroeder. Having sustained much damage during the war, the ship was sold for scrap. Schroeder, who never commanded another vessel, struggled to make a living. The few remaining Jewish survivors of his ship saw to it that he and his family were looked after.
In 1957, the West German government honoured Schroeder for having saved Jewish lives. Shortly before his death in 1959, the State of Israel honoured him as a "Righteous Among the Nations." It will be his memory we honour as we educate future generations.
Bernie M. Farber is chief executive officer of the Canadian Jewish Congress.
Farber takes an interesting stance on this issue as an individual looking back many years later. Farber makes a lot of important points in this article. He speaks of the change in the attitudes of the Canadian government from the hateful and anti-Semitic ways of the past, to the present, whereby the government embraces "diversity." The way that Farber writes about this incident includes the historical perspective. He explains that our values and our morals as a nation have changed and the fact that the Canadian government has taken steps to try and heal the wrongdoings of the past is a way to understand that we have moved past it. There are many questions raised in this article: is apologizing enough? What can be done for those who had died as a consequence of the actions taken (or not taken) by the Canadian government? Do we really need to focus on what the Canadian government did not do rather than on what Schroeder, the captain DID do for these refugees? This article is a good point to begin a discussion as we go back and explore these issues from an historical perspective point of view.