On May 13, 1939, the St. Louis sailed from Hamburg, Germany to Havana, Cuba. More than 983 Jewish passengers were on board, expecting to stay in Cuba for a while until they could leave to the United States. But once the ship has already sailed, there were political conditions in Cuba that would keep passengers from being able to stay there. The US State Department in Washington and some Jewish agencies knew about the situation, but none of the passengers on the ship were informed. The German Foreign Office and the Propaganda Ministry wanted to exploit the unwillingness of other countries to admit large numbers on Jewish refugees. The passengers also didn't know that a week before the ship sailed, the Cuban President, Frederico Laredo Bru, has issued a decree that would invalidate all recently issued landing certificates (which were what the passengers had to be admitted to Cuba). Once the St. Louis arrived on May 27, only 28 passengers were accepted into the country. After several trials of trying to have all of the passengers admitted into Cuba, they ended up having to sail back June 6. They were all split into different countries, but none returned back to Germany.
Passengers aboard the St. Louis. -US Holocaust Memorial Museum.
Photo album containing photographs taken by a passenger aboard the St. Louis. -US Holocaust Memorial Museum.