Why were Jewish refuges on the SS St. Louis denied entry to Cuba and Essay

For what reason were Jewish shelters on the SS St. Louis denied section to Cuba and what chose their destiny - Essay Example The Nazi belief system and strategies focused on above all else Jews, who were considered as the most â€Å"inferior races† of all, on a progression which incorporated the â€Å"Herrenvolk† (Master race) of the â€Å"Volksgemeinschaft† (German national network) at the top and Jews at the base. In November 1938, the savage enemy of Semitic crusade, called Kristallnacht, or â€Å"night of the wrecked glass† or otherwise called â€Å"Pogromnacht† began, in which Jewish homes and business were devastated and up to 200 Jews were slaughtered in Germany. After this occurrence, Germany’s 600,000 concluded that the time had come to leave and numerous European Jews fled for their lives. Many boats set their journey crossed the Atlantic conveying a great many workers to new lives, fundamentally in the United States. The S.S. St. Louis, claimed by the Hamburg-American Line (Hapag) was one such boat (Stahl, 1999, para.1-12) On May 13, 1939, the German tra nsoceanic liner St. Louis began its journey from Hamburg, Germany, to Havana, Cuba. On the journey, there were 937 travelers, practically all traveler were German Jews residents, escaping from the Third Reich and, some were from eastern Europe, and a couple were formally â€Å"stateless†. In spite of the fact that most of the Jewish travelers had just applied for U.S. visas, and they had wanted to have a transitory remain in Cuba until they could get their visa endorsement from the United State Department, yet there were signals that political conditions in Cuba may shield the travelers from arriving there.