In 1939, the Hamburg-America Line launched a voyage from Germany to Cuba, attracting 937 passengers, mostly Jews seeking to escape Nazi Germany. Unbeknownst to them, their visas were invalid, courtesy of a corrupt Cuban official. Upon arrival in Havana, only 28 passengers were allowed to disembark, while the rest were stranded at sea for weeks, eventually reaching Florida and Canada in search of safety. Ultimately, the ship returned to Antwerp, and an estimated 250 refugees perished in Polish extermination camps after being forced back under Nazi rule.
Voyage of the Damned
The SS St. Louis, carrying hundreds of desperate German Jewish refugees, sets sail in 1939, only to find itself rejected by every port of call, leaving its passengers to face an uncertain fate.
