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Chinese export trade serving tray with a floral design acquired in Havana from a Jewish refugee on board the St. Louis

Object | Accession Number: 2009.363.1
2009.363.1 top Chinese export trade serving tray with a floral design acquired in Havana from a Jewish refugee on board the St. Louis Click to enlarge

One of two serving trays acquired from a passenger on the ocean liner, St. Louis, in May 1939 by the parents of Bertha Loret de Mola, Luis and Maria Luisa, while the ship was docked in the harbor in Havana, Cuba. The de Molas offered to donate money to some of the passengers, but rather than accept charity, passengers sold some of their belongings. The ship left Hamburg, Germany, for Cuba on May 13, 1939. On board were 937 passengers, nearly all Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi controlled territories. The plan was to wait in Cuba for permission to enter the US, but Cuban authorities denied entry to all but 28 passengers. On June 2, the ship was ordered to leave Cuban waters. Despite urgent pleas to the United States government, the US President and Congress chose not to make any special exceptions to the stiff US quota limits and the refugees were denied permission to enter the US. The St. Louis sailed back to Europe on June 6. Jewish aid organizations had negotiated with European governments to admit the passengers rather than return them to Germany; 254 passengers would perish during the Holocaust.

Date
1939 May 27-1939 June 02  (received)
Geography
received : St Louis (Ship); Havana Bay (Cuba)
Classification
Household Utensils
Category
Tableware
Object Type
Painted trays (lcsh)
Credit Line
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Ignacio Sosa
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About This Object

Physical Description
Rectangular wooden tray with brass decorative metal plates riveted to the corners. There is a floral design with a stylized circular cut out on the sides. The center has a circular indentation with a round brass plate engraved with Asian characters attached by a rivet and glue. On the reverse is an oval branded maker’s mark with illegible letters and the same design as the corner plates. The wood is split on the back of the tray
Dimensions
overall : 16.500 x 9.375 x 1.125 in. (41.91 x 23.813 x 2.858 cm.)
Materials
overall : wood, metal, adhesive
Markings
reverse : maker's mark (illegible)
Inscription
front, engraved on plate : Asian characters
Contributor
Subject: Bertha Loret de Mola
Biography
Bertha Loret de Mola (1910-2000) was the daughter of Luis Loret De Mola (1880-1960), a Senator in Cuba from the province of Camaguey, and Maria Luisa Bettencourt (1880-1954). They lived in Havana with her two sisters. When the German passenger ship, St. Louis, docked in the Havana harbor on May 27,1939, her parents were moved by the plight of the refugees and managed to meet persons associated with the ship and offer to help. The passengers would not accept charity but one passenger in need of cash sold the Loret de Solas two serving trays.
By October 1960, Bertha had had all of her assets frozen or confiscated by the Communist authoritarian regime established by Fidel Castro. Bertha and members of her extended family decided that they must leave Cuba and they emigrated to the United States. These trays were among the few personal belongings that Bertha brought with her on that journey. As her son wrote in 2009: "Why she took these bulky trays with her, I don't know. I can only assume my mother felt a certain kinship with the German Jews who were also forced to leave their homeland involuntarily and on short notice.”

Keywords and Subjects

Administrative History

Legal Status
Permanent Collection
Provenance
The serving tray was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2009 by Ignacio Sosa, the son of Bertha Loret de Sola.

Rights and Restrictions

Conditions on Access
No restrictions on access
Conditions on Use
No restrictions on use
 
Record last modified: 2018-10-24 14:08:56
This page: https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn39860

Also in Bertha Loret de Mola family collection

The collection consists of artifacts associated with the 1939 voyage of the MS St Louis acquired by Bertha Loret de Mola from her parents, Luis Loret de Mola and his wife, Maria Luisa Bettencourt, in Havana, Cuba.

Date: 1939 May 27-1939 June 02

Chinese export trade serving tray with a floral design acquired in Havana from a Jewish refugee on board the St. Louis

Chinese export trade serving tray with a floral design acquired in Havana from a Jewish refugee on board the St. Louis

Object

One of two serving trays acquired from a passenger on the ocean liner, St. Louis, in May 1939 by the parents of Bertha Loret de Mola, Luis and Maria Luisa, while the ship was docked in the harbor in Havana, Cuba. The de Molas offered to donate money to some of the passengers, but rather than accept charity, passengers sold some of their belongings. The ship left Hamburg, Germany, for Cuba on May 13, 1939. On board were 937 passengers, nearly all Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi controlled territories. The plan was to wait in Cuba for permission to enter the US, but Cuban authorities denied entry to all but 28 passengers. On June 2, the ship was ordered to leave Cuban waters. Despite urgent pleas to the United States government, the US President and Congress chose not to make any special exceptions to the stiff US quota limits and the refugees were denied permission to enter the US. The St. Louis sailed back to Europe on June 6. Jewish aid organizations had negotiated with European governments to admit the passengers rather than return them to Germany; 254 passengers would perish during the Holocaust.

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