Letter written by Liesel Joseph to Mr. Troper while on board the MS St. Louis.
Overview
- Caption
- Letter written by Liesel Joseph to Mr. Troper while on board the MS St. Louis.
The translated text reads: The children on the St. Louis are most thankful to you for rescuing them out of deepest despair. They are praying for God's blessing for you. Unfortunately, flowers do not grow on board, we would have liked to hand you a bouquet of flowers.
Signed: Liesel Joseph. - Date
-
1939 June 17
- Locale
- Antwerp, Belgium
- Variant Locale
- Anvers
Antwerpen - Photo Credit
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, courtesy of Betty Troper Yaeger
- Event History
- The St. Louis was a German luxury liner carrying more than 930 Jewish refugees from Nazi Germany to Cuba in May 1939. When the ship set sail from Hamburg on May 13, 1939, all of its refugee passengers bore legitimate landing certificates for Cuba. However, during the two-week period that the ship was en route to Havana, the landing certificates granted by the Cuban director general of immigration in lieu of regular visas, were invalidated by the pro-fascist Cuban government. When the St. Louis reached Havana on May 27 all but 28 of the Jewish refugees were denied entry. The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) dispatched Lawrence Berenson to Cuba to negotiate with local officials but Cuban president Federico Laredo Bru insisted that the ship leave Havana harbor. The refugees were likewise refused entry into the United States. Thus on June 6 the ship was forced to return to Europe. While en route to Antwerp several European countries were cajoled into taking in the refugees (287 to Great Britain; 214 to Belgium; 224 to France; 181 to the Netherlands). Only those who were accepted by Great Britain found relative safety. The others were soon to be subject once again to Nazi rule with the German invasion of western Europe in the spring of 1940. A fortunate few succeeded in emigrating before this became impossible. In the end, many of the St. Louis passengers who found temporary refuge in Belgium, France and the Netherlands died at the hands of the Nazis, but the majority survived the war.
Rights & Restrictions
- Photo Source
-
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Copyright: United States Holocaust Memorial MuseumProvenance: Betty Troper YaegerSource Record ID: Collections: 1997.36.12
Keywords & Subjects
Administrative Notes
- Artifact Photographer
- Max Reid
- Biography
- Liesel Joseph is the only child of Josef (b. 1882) and Lilly Salomon Joseph (b. 1901). She was born in Rheydt, Germany on June 17, 1928 where her father was a successful lawyer and a member of the SPD (Social Democratic Party). After the Nazi rise to power, Josef was blacklisted for his membership in the SPD and barely escaped arrest. On the night of Kristallnacht, the Joseph family home was one of only two houses vandalized in Rheydt. The damage was so extensive, that the Josephs were compelled to leave Rheydt for Bonn where they lived with relatives until the sailing of the St. Louis in May, 1939. The Josephs were very involved with life on board the ship and after the passengers were denied permission to debark in Havana, Josef, by virtue of his abilities as a lawyer and negotiator, was asked to chair the four-member self-appointed passenger committee. He served in this capacity through the end of the voyage. Later, other individuals joined the committee. Josef spent a great deal of time talking to passengers, trying to allay their concerns and consulting with Captain Schroeder. As chairman, Josef gave speeches to the other passengers to inform them of negotiations and boost their morale. He served as a public spokesman for the passengers and sent telegrams to the press and the Joint Distribution Committee. Once the passengers received permission to disembark in Europe, a gala party was planned for the passengers. After disembarking in Antwerp, the Josephs joined the Tropers (the head of the Joint Distribution Committee) and came to England on board the Rhakotis. The family rented a one-room apartment in London, but once the blitz began, Liesel was evacuated to the town of Clifton where she attended a Jewish secondary school and boarded with a family by the name of Whittington. In August 1940, Josef was sent to the Isle of Man where he was interned as an enemy alien. Liesel came back to England to live with her mother until the family succeeded in obtaining US visas. They traveled to North America, third class, on board the Camaronia and settled in Philadelphia with Kurt and Jane Blum, relatives of Lilly.
Morris Carlton Troper (1892-1962), American Jewish lawyer and communal leader, who from 1938 to 1942 served as chief of European operations for the American Joint Distribution Committee. During his tenure he focused his efforts on promoting Jewish emigration from Nazi Europe, organizing relief efforts and channeling funds to Jewish communities and welfare organizations. During the St. Louis affair Troper was instrumental in convincing the governments of the Netherlands, Belgium, France and Great Britain to offer safe haven to the stranded Jewish refugees. He also organized the "Camp Commission" to aid Jewish refugees imprisoned in French internment camps and unofficially supported efforts by the Jewish Agency to organize the illegal immigration of Jews to Palestine. After the fall of France and the transfer of JDC headquarters to Lisbon, Troper spent most of his time in the US gathering support for European relief efforts. In 1942 soon after the entry of the US into World War II, Troper resigned from the JDC to enlist in the US Army. From 1942 to 1946 he headed the Office of Fiscal Direction, attaining the rank of Brigadier General. After leaving the army in 1946, Troper returned to Jewish communal work, lending his efforts to the resettlement of Jewish displaced persons and projects related to the founding of the State of Israel. He retired in 1949.
- Record last modified:
- 2013-05-17 00:00:00
- This page:
- https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/pa1109460
