Approximately half of these refugees [among the 620 who were returned to continental Europe] ended up being murdered by the Nazi death machine over the course of the war.

Norwood: Did Hitler know about this group and target them specifically?

Neiss: No, this is actually at a time, in 1939, when the Nazis weren’t engaged in the mass killings of Jews. This voyage was actually used as a massive propaganda tool by Hitler and the Nazis to say: “Look, nobody wants these Jews; these people are really undesirable.”

Norwood: So what was the motivation for this project?

Neiss: On the one hand, it is International Holocaust Remembrance Day. It is important to remember the victims of the Holocaust—not just the six million Jews that were murdered, but the 10 million victims of Nazism and Hitlerism in general. The other thing I think makes this story particularly timely is the talk we’ve seen this week of a Trump executive order banning refugees. People always say that if you forget history then you will be doomed to repeat it. This is one of those moments where history gives us an opportunity to think about where we are now. When folks say “never again” or “we remember,” it is important for us to actually do so. The MS St. Louis is an interesting story in particular because we literally had hundreds of refugees waiting outside the Port of Miami to get in, and they were turned away and sent to their deaths, because of politics and all sorts of other issues.

There were legitimate concerns about immigration in the 1930s and 1940s, but people forget sometimes that those legitimate concerns often have real life or death implications for people.

Norwood: I see currently that you are tweeting out information about the passengers on this ship. Are there plans to expand the project beyond Twitter?

Neiss: Not at this moment since this was really dreamed up last night, but if people are really interested in this issue then there are other things they can do. First of all, if they haven’t visited the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, then they should do so. If they haven’t donated to an organization that supports refugees, then they should donate to those organizations. If people think this is important, then they should keep speaking out, not just on International Holocaust Remembrance Day, but on every day of the year.

Norwood: How close do you feel the similarities really are between what happened with the MS St. Louis voyage and what’s happening with refugees today?

Neiss: I’m not saying they are the same, but I’m a member of the Jewish faith, and my grandfather was a refugee from Poland. He was an orphan who was taken in by the British government and who gained his citizenship in the U.S. by fighting against Korea. My grandmother was a refugee. She fled Austria to Shanghai before she came to America. Shanghai was the only port open during World War II for Jews trying to get out. For me, on the one hand, this is a personal issue because this country welcomed my family in their greatest time of need. This is a country that’s built by immigrants. This is a country that is made stronger because of immigrants and refugees. This story is an opportunity to remember when the American government, I think, did not live up to its ideals. And if we’re not living up to our ideals today, then that’s something to think about. That’s the one connection I would make.

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