The Wiener Holocaust Library and the Holocaust Research Institute at Royal Holloway, University of London, were delighted to host The Legacy of the St Louis Virtual Panel as part of its of Holocaust and Genocide Partnership activities. This online event followed a screening of the documentary film, Complicit, and included the creator and producer of the documentary, Robert Krakow, Esq., as well as former child refugee passengers on the MS St Louis.

Complicit is a fascinating blend of drama, survivor interviews, and actual footage retelling the story of the MS St. Louis, a German luxury ocean liner, that set sail from Hamburg, Germany to Havana, Cuba in the spring of 1939. The 937 mostly Jewish passengers were attempting to escape Nazi persecution. Turned away by the Cuban government and then thwarted by American and Canadian authorities, the captain was forced to return the ship and its passengers to Europe where more than 250 passengers perished in death camps. The Hollywood Reporter, in reviewing the film, observed that “A shameful piece of WWII history is recounted firsthand” and a critical history lesson—not found in students’ textbooks today—is laid bare by the filmmaker.