The MS St Louis Virtual Program

By the Florida Holocaust Museum

The Florida Holocaust Museum’s virtual program: The MS St Louis will be presented on February 4th from 6:30-7:30 p.m. This is a free on-line event. The Florida Holocaust Museum welcomes Robert Krakow, Esq., creator and producer of the award-winning documentary film “Complicit,” and Ms. Eva Wiener, a child refugee passenger on the ship The MS St. Louis. Viewers will have access to screen the award-winning documentary film “Complicit” beginning Sunday, January 24th and can engage with Mr. Krakow and Ms. Eva Wiener during our live Q&A on February 4th.

“Complicit” is a fascinating blend of drama, survivor interviews, and actual footage retelling the story of the MS St. Louis, a German luxury ocean liner, that set sail from Hamburg, Germany to Havana, Cuba in the spring of 1939. The 937 mostly Jewish passengers were attempting to escape Nazi persecution. Turned away by the Cuban government and then thwarted by American and Canadian authorities, the captain was forced to return the ship and its passengers to Europe where more than 250 passengers perished in death camps. The Hollywood Reporter, in reviewing the film, observed that “A shameful piece of WWII history is recounted firsthand” and a critical history lesson—not found in students’ textbooks today—is laid bare by the filmmaker.

For additional details on this event and more, please visit: www.thefhm.org

More About MS St. Louis:

During the build-up to World War II, the Motorschiff St. Louis (MS St Louis) was a German ocean liner which carried more than 900 Jewish refugees from Nazi Germany in 1939 intending to escape anti-Semitic persecution. The refugees tried to disembark in Cuba but were denied permission to land. The captain, Gustav Schröder, went to the United States and Canada, trying to find a nation to take the Jews in, but both nations refused.

He finally returned the MS St Loius to Europe, where various countries, including the United Kingdom, Belgium, the Netherlands and France, accepted some refugees. Many were later caught in Nazi roundups of Jews in the occupied countries of Belgium, France and the Netherlands, and some historians have estimated that approximately a quarter of them were killed in death camps during World War II. These events, also known as the “Voyage of the Damned”, have inspired film, opera, and fiction.

More on the Florida Holocaust Musuem:

The Florida Holocaust Museum is a Holocaust museum located at 55 Fifth Street South in St. Petersburg, Florida. Founded in 1992, it moved to its current location in 1998. Formerly known as the Holocaust Center, the museum officially changed to its current name in 1999. It is one of the largest Holocaust museums in the United States.

The Florida Holocaust Museum was founded by Walter and Edith Lobenberg both of whom were German Jews who escaped persecution in Nazi Germany by immigrating to the United States. Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel served as Honorary Chairman and cut the ribbon at the 1998 opening ceremony. The Florida Holocaust Museum is one of three Holocaust Museums that is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums. The museum works with the local community and survivors of the Holocaust to spread awareness and to educate the public on the history of the Holocaust.

Content provided by the Florida Holocaust Museum and other historical resources. All photos are for editorial use only. For other events held at the Florida Holocaust Museum click here.

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