On Holocaust Remembrance Day, a ship carrying Jewish refugees that was denied entry into the U.S. during World War II is tweeting the names of those who would later die in concentration camps or in hiding.
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 Evelyn Greve. The US turned me away at the border in 1939. I was murdered at Italy pic.twitter.com/j8qEfw1rj3
— St. Louis Manifest (@Stl_Manifest) January 27, 2017
The MS St. Louis was a German ocean liner that set sail from Hamburg to Cuba in May 1939. The ship was carrying 937 refugees seeking asylum from Nazi persecution. After being turned away in Cuba, the ship marked Florida as its next destination. But then-Secretary of State Cordell Hull advised President Franklin Roosevelt not to accept the Jewish refugees. A failed attempt to disembark in Canada forced the ship to return to Europe, docking at Antwerp, Belgium in June 1939. Records showed that 245 passengers on the MS St. Louis would later be killed in the Holocaust.
While Holocaust Remembrance Day is a holiday dedicated to victims and survivors of Nazi persecution, the @Stl_Manifest Twitter handle appears be showing solidarity with the current refugee crisis in the Middle East. The hashtag #RefugeesWelcome is prominently displayed in the account bio.
Here are some tweets commemorating those who were "turned away at the doorstep of America":
My name is Maximilian Kohn. 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 Betty 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 Ruth Karliner. 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
In honor of Holocaust Remembrance Day, President Trump released a statement that was remarkably different than President Barack Obama's.
Trump WH statement on Holocaust Remembrance Day makes no mention of Jews or Jewish community. Last year, Obama said "We are all Jews." pic.twitter.com/SNpuhpBZ1Z
— Peter Alexander (@PeterAlexander) January 27, 2017
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