Canada to apologize for turning away Nazi era ship of Jews
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says refusing German liner MS St. Louis carrying 907 German Jews was blight on country’s past
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TORONTO — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Canada’s government will formally apologize for turning away a ship full of Jewish refugees trying to flee Nazi Germany in 1939.
The German liner MS St. Louis was carrying 907 German Jews fleeing Nazi persecution and had also been rejected by Cuba and the United States. The passengers were forced to return to Europe and more than 250 later died in the Holocaust.
Trudeau said in speech to a sold-out Jewish fundraising event Tuesday that the decision to turn away the St. Louis was a blight on Canada’s past.
In the run-up to World War II and the ensuing Holocaust, the Canadian government heeded anti-Semitic sentiment and severely restricted Jewish immigration. From 1933 to 1945, only about 5,000 Jewish refugees were accepted.
When Canada denied asylum to Jewish refugees on board the MS St. Louis in 1939, we failed the passengers, their descendants, and the community. For this, we will deliver a formal apology in the House for this shameful chapter of our history: https://t.co/3nSCa7Hh7P
— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) May 9, 2018
Tonight, we honoured Holocaust survivors and the 30th anniversary of the March of the Living in Toronto. My thanks to Nate Leipciger, all the survivor-educators who were there, and to Shaarei Shomayim synagogue for the welcome. pic.twitter.com/fXDdlDgvpK
— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) May 9, 2018
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