MS St. Louis Holocaust survivor on Canada’s apology

Summary

The transcript recounts a harrowing experience of a Jewish family fleeing Nazi Germany aboard a ship destined for Cuba. The narrator, who was seven at the time, recalls the shock of being treated kindly by German waiters, only for their visas to be invalidated upon arrival in Cuba. Stranded, the passengers feared returning to Germany and its concentration camps. Eventually, four European countries agreed to take them in, and the narrator’s family ended up in Belgium, where they endured harsh conditions in a refugee camp before managing to escape. The story reflects the immense luck of survival amid the horrors of WWII.

Takeaways

• 🎂 The speaker celebrated their seventh birthday on a ship, which they remember vividly.
• 🍽️ The waiters on the ship were German, and they treated the passengers like ordinary people, not as Jews, which was surprising.
• 🚢 The ship was luxurious with amenities like a pool, and it took two weeks to reach Cuba.
• ⚓ Upon arriving in Cuba, the ship was anchored in the harbor, and passengers were puzzled why they weren’t allowed to dock.
• 🇨🇺 The Cuban government invalidated their visas, leaving the passengers in shock and fear, knowing they couldn't return to Germany safely.
• 😨 The passengers feared being sent to concentration camps if they were forced back to Germany.
• 🛶 After failed negotiations, four European countries—England, France, Belgium, and Holland—agreed to take in the ship's passengers.
• 🏚️ The speaker and their family ended up in Belgium, where they stayed in a cold, lice-infested camp with poor living conditions.
• 🎄 The speaker's mother and they escaped the camp on Christmas Eve, and later reunited with the speaker's father, who had also escaped.
• 🇨🇦 The speaker reflects on their survival and the importance of Canada's apology for refusing Jewish refugees, emphasizing the lesson for Canadian youth.

Q & A

Where did the speaker celebrate their seventh birthday?

The speaker celebrated their seventh birthday on a ship.

What was unusual about the behavior of the waiters on the ship?

The waiters were Germans, and they treated the Jewish passengers like normal people, which was surprising to the speaker given their previous experiences with Germans.

What memorable experience did the speaker have for the first time on the ship?

The speaker swam in a pool for the first time on the ship.

Why were the passengers not allowed to disembark in Cuba?

The Cuban government had invalidated the passengers' visas, which were previously paid for.

What were the passengers' main concerns when they couldn’t land in Cuba?

The passengers were worried that if they were sent back to Germany, they would have no home to return to and would likely end up in a concentration camp.

How did the speaker and their family eventually avoid returning to Germany?

Four European countries—England, France, Belgium, and Holland—agreed to split the passengers, and the speaker’s family ended up in Belgium.

What were the living conditions like in the camp in Belgium?

The camp in Belgium had army barracks with no furniture, just hay on the ground. It was cold, and there were lice everywhere. The food was minimal, with only a greasy water-based soup served.

How did the speaker’s family escape the camp?

The speaker’s mother and they escaped on Christmas Eve when the French soldiers guarding the camp were drunk. The speaker’s father escaped the next day, on New Year's Eve.

What emotional connection does the speaker make when reflecting on the picture of a little boy?

The speaker sees the image of the little boy and reflects that it could have been them, thinking about the six million people who died during the war and feeling incredibly lucky to have survived.

What is the speaker’s opinion on the Canadian apology mentioned at the end of the transcript?

The speaker believes the Canadian apology is the right thing to do and that it is important for Canadian youth to hear that Canada acknowledges its wrongs and hopes never to repeat them.