The Liberal government will issue an apology On Nov. 7 for Canada’s 1939 decision to turn away the MS St. Louis, a ship carrying 907 Jewish passengers fleeing Nazi persecution in Europe.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made the announcement on a conference call with with Canadian rabbis on Thursday.
“The St. Louis was carrying German Jews looking for refuge in Canada but they were turned away under the ‘None is Too Many’ policy of the time, Trudeau said later Thursday in a tweet. “254 ended up being killed.”
“This was an absolute failure on the part of the government, and though of course an apology can’t bring the victims back, we’re committed to doing what we can to right this wrong,” the prime minister added in a separate tweet.
“It will not bring back those who perished or repair the lives shattered by tragedy. But it is our hope that this long overdue apology will bring awareness to our failings, as we vow to never let history repeat itself,” Trudeau said.
The MS. St. Louis was turned away from Cuba and the United States before a group of Canadians tried to convince the government of MacKenzie King to allow it to dock in Halifax.
Ottawa refused and the ship returned to Europe where passengers dispersed to Belgium, France, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom
As the Nazis overran Europe, many of the refugees fell into harm’s way.
Many survived the atrocities of the Second World War war, but many others were sent to concentration camps where 254 of the passengers perished.
A memorial monument, The Wheel of Conscience, was created by the celebrated Polish-born American architect Daniel Libeskind and unveiled at Pier 21, Canada’s national immigration museum in Halifax in 2011.
With files from CP, CBC, RCI, Toronto Star