Special Envoys Rosenthal and Davidson Commemorate the MS St. Louis with Survivors
Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism Hannah Rosenthal and Special Envoy for Holocaust Issues Douglas Davidson will honor surviving passengers of the MS St. Louis on Monday, September 24, at 11 a.m. in the George C. Marshall Conference Center Auditorium at the U.S. Department of State.
Deputy Secretary of State William Burns will deliver remarks. Survivors of the St. Louis will attend this event and will present to the Department of State Archives a signed copy of Senate Resolution 111, which recognized June 6, 2009 as the 70th anniversary of when the MS St. Louis returned to Europe after its passengers were refused admittance to the United States. They will also present a “Proclamation of Gratitude” to the Ambassadors of Belgium, Britain, France, and the Netherlands. A special theatrical presentation, The Trial of FDR, will be performed, allowing the audience to reflect on the difficult decisions leaders faced at the time. Following the presentation, a panel of survivors will answer questions about their experiences.
The German steamer MS St. Louis set sail in 1939 carrying 937 German Jewish refugees bound for Cuba. They were denied entry to Cuba, as well as to the United States and Canada. Forced to return to Europe, nearly one third of the passengers ultimately died in Auschwitz.
The remarks will be open to the press.
Final access time for press: 10:15 a.m. from the 21st Street entrance.
Media representatives may attend this event upon presentation of one of the following:
(1) A U.S. Government-issued identification card (Department of State, White House, Congress, Department of Defense, or Foreign Press Center),
(2) a media-issued photo identification card, or
(3) letter from their employer on letterhead verifying their employment as a journalist, accompanied by an official photo identification card (driver's license, passport).
PRESS CONTACTS:
Office of Press Relations Evan Owen
U.S. Department of State Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights & Labor
Phone (202) 647-2492 owene@state.gov 202-647-4747
PRN: 2012/1476
