After a conference with President Bru tonight, Lawrence Berenson of the National Coordinating Committee for Refugees in New York, said “the President expressed the deepest sympathy for the plight of refugees and the unfortunate situation of the St. Louis passengers. He said Cuba has the greatest sympathy for political and religious refugees. However, the sovereignty and jurisdiction of the Republic cannot be flouted.”
Berenson said President Bru told him he would refuse to discuss the refugee problem further until the liner was withdrawn from Cuban territorial waters.
Following a conference with Hamburg-American Line officials, customs Director Miguel Varona said he believed it impossible for the St. Louis to sail before tomorrow, because she must be stocked with food and water. He added that line officials had voluntarily agreed to comply with President Laredo Bru’s decree. He said however that clearance papers had not yet been applied for, and that the ship’s destination was therefore unknown.
Port police aboard the liner said they had witnesses many pathetic scenes among the refugees, as the latter still held hope of landing. They recounted that the women and children, tearfully huddled in groups on the deck, had hardly slept for the last two nights.
It was rumored that the St. Louis would possibly sail at midnight to avoid possible panic aboard.
Bad faith on the part of the Cuban Government was charged tonight in a note of protest to President Bru from Hamburg-American Line officials on his continued refusal to allow Jewish refugees aboard the St. Louis to land.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
