Eva Lassman Memorial Writing Contest: Many countries failed to help those fleeing the Holocaust

Arihana Roos, an eight-grader at North Pines Middles School, placed third in the middle school division of the Eva Lassman Memorial Writing Contest. Here is her essay:

The Holocaust was a horrible time of anti-Semitism. It was the genocide of Jews, gypsies, the disabled, communists, Jehovah’s witnesses and homosexuals. This all happened because of the National Socialist German workers party, later known as the Nazi’s. During this time period, however, the Nazi’s primarily targeted Jews. By the end of WWII, over six million Jews were dead, (United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Introduction to the Holocaust). Countries all over the world were asked for help against the Nazi’s, but most refused, including Cuba, and the U.S.

In hopes of fleeing to a better land, hundreds of German immigrants boarded the St. Louis on May 13, 1939. Most of these immigrants were Jewish. The ship would take them to Cuba where they would be allowed to live in peace. However, when the St. Louis came to Cuba’s harbor, the majority of the immigrants were refused the right to enter Cuba’s border. On its website, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum explains that, “Cuban authorities denied entry to most passengers on the ship the St. Louis.” (United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Refuge in Latin America). Out of the hundreds of immigrants on board, only thirty immigrants were allowed to leave the ship. Most of those immigrants were non-Jews and Jews with special visas. For days the ship stayed docked at Cuba’s coast. While the ship was docked, two of its passengers tried to commit suicide. One of whom, succeeded. In response, the crew of the St. Louis lowered lifeboats into the water and shone lights around the ship. Ushmm.org concludes that, “While the St. Louis carried an unusually large number of would-be immigrants and was accompanied by significant media attention, the incident was not isolated.” When the news of this suicide reached the United States, some Americans urged their government to take in the immigrants. Others sent protests to Cuba. Unfortunately, neither country was willing to admit the immigrants. So, on June 2, the ship was forced to leave Cuba’s harbor. Not knowing where to take the immigrants, the ship sailed aimlessly throughout the sea, waiting for someone to accept the immigrants. Within two days, all of Latin America had refused to permit the immigrants entry. By June 7, the ship had no choice but to sail back to Germany.

The Nazi’s took this incident and declared that this was proof that Jews were universally disliked. Many countries refused to give the Jews and millions of other immigrants help. Many Cubans resented the amount of refugees their government had already let into Cuba. This included around 2,500 Jews. In Cuba, there were few jobs to go around. Cubans struggled to find work, and with the growing population, finding a job was much harder. Ushmm.org explains that “More than money, corruption, and internal power struggles were at work in Cuba.” This forced their government to reconsider the amount of immigrants they allowed into the country. Spokesman Primitivo Rodríguez told over 40,000 Cubans to “fight the Jews until the last one is driven out.” Many supported him and agreed with his cause. Many other smaller ships were sent to Cuba, but like the St. Louis, they were sent away. Attorney Lawrence Berenson, a former president of the Cuban-American Chamber of Commerce, tried several times to negotiate with the current president, Federico Laredo Bru. Ushmm.org says “He met with President Bru, but failed to persuade him to admit the passengers into Cuba.” Even after many negotiations between Berenson and Bru, Bru would not admit any immigrants into Cuba.

However, the facts of history could have been changed if countries like Cuba decided to help the immigrants and Jews. If Cuba decided to help, thousands of immigrants would not have died. Many would have gone and shaped the Earth to have more helpful communities and less racism. Another thing Cuba could have done to help Jews, is to show people that anti-Semitism was wrong. If people believed that they needed to help, then that belief would continue to spread, and more countries would be led to help. If one country decided to help, many countries may have admitted Jewish people based on their political, social, or economic reasons. No one knows what would have happened if more countries were to help, but it is sure that the world would have been better because of it.

Throughout the Holocaust, many countries failed to help thousands of immigrants. The Holocaust was a time period that caused thousands of people pain, suffering, and death. The Nazi’s believed that people should be treated differently, depending on their beliefs and appearances. For these beliefs, the Nazi’s targeted many groups, and led the world’s largest genocide in history.