Today is International Holocaust Remembrance Day, and it happens to come at a time when the president of the United States is making sweeping directives about immigration policy, especially with regards to refusing entry to people coming from war-torn nations.
It’s not the first time the United States has done this, and to remind people that those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it, a Twitter account is publishing pictures of Jews denied entry into America who were then killed in the Holocaust.
The account @StL_Manifest tells the tale of the 937 people aboard the transatlantic ocean liner St. Louis, mostly Jews who were fleeing Nazi Germany in May of 1939.
The ship’s original plan was to sail to Cuba and for passengers to apply for visas to the U.S. while there. Instead, due to political upheaval, the passengers were not allowed into Havana.
Aware of the situation, the U.S. did not allow the St. Louis to port in America. Instead, the ship was forced to go back to Europe, where 254 of its passengers died at the hands of the Nazis.
My name is Joseph Kaufherr. The US turned me away at the border in 1939. I was murdered at Auschwitz
— St. Louis Manifest (@Stl_Manifest) January 27, 2017
My name is Erich Dublon. The US turned me away at the border in 1939. I was murdered at Auschwitz pic.twitter.com/wlVcCiUt2P
— St. Louis Manifest (@Stl_Manifest) January 27, 2017
My name is Willi Kahn. The US turned me away at the border in 1939. I was murdered at Auschwitz
— St. Louis Manifest (@Stl_Manifest) January 27, 2017
My name is Carl Simon. The US turned me away at the border in 1939. I was murdered at Sobibor pic.twitter.com/B7f3lvWAts
— St. Louis Manifest (@Stl_Manifest) January 27, 2017
My name is Josef Köppel. The US turned me away at the border in 1939. I was murdered at Auschwitz pic.twitter.com/qREiM2XwnN
— St. Louis Manifest (@Stl_Manifest) January 27, 2017
My name is Hilmar Heinemann. The US turned me away at the border in 1939. I was murdered at Dachau
— St. Louis Manifest (@Stl_Manifest) January 27, 2017
All of the 288 passengers granted entry to Great Britain survived the war, save for one.
You can follow the account here.
