Customer Reviews

Refuge Denied: The St. Louis Passengers and the Holocaust

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I had heard about this event in history before reading the book but I didn't know the details. While it saddened me to know that these people were denied refuge in Cuba and also the United States by President Roosevelt, I was happy to see that intensive research on the part of determined people did indeed find some but not all who went on to survive in spite of the odds against their survival. It was a well written book that I would recommend. It is also a wake up call to all of us to see how the fear of our own economic conditions caused many to turn their backs on the plight of these Jewish people.

The story of the S.S. St. Louis and that tragic voyage in 1939 is an important turning point in the early Holocaust experience. This book is an exceptionally well done treatment of the subject and the incredible effort expended to determine the destiny of every passenger on board. The result is a fascinating learning experience. Scott Miller's knowledge and commitment about this subject is astounding. In reading every chapter you become exposed to not only the chronology of the journey of those who left Hamburg with such positive expectations but how he and his co-author found and interviewed so many of the survivors and their families. This book should be in the library of any serious student of the Holocaust.

People traditionally assumed that most, if not all, of the passengers of the St. Louis who had been turned away from refuge in Cuba, and then returned to France, Belgium and The Netherlands, had perished in the Holocaust. This book reads like a detective story; it tells of the ten year search made by two researchers from the US Holocaust Museum to determine with certainty the fate of each and every passenger on the St. Louis, to find out if the traditional assumption was accurate. In so doing, they learned that considerably more people survived than had previously been assumed, but that many of those denied safe haven in Cuba and the United States did return to Europe to be murdered by the Nazis. The book is a compelling read about the researchers' daunting and important task; it reveals the many challenges faced by those who try to trace the history of individuals who were swept into the horror of the Holocaust. I highly recommend this book. I read it easily in one day, and despite having read many other books on the Holocaust, I learned a lot I had not known before.