Nearly 50 people from the Edison/Highland Park area and beyond came to the Edison Library’s Main location on Plainfield Avenue on the evening of May 12 to hear Eva Weiner speak about her family’s experience escaping Nazi Germany on the ill-fated MS St. Louis in 1939. Although only 10 months old at the time, she was able to share all the details of the harrowing trip and subsequent war years in England as told to her by her parents, along with her own childhood recollections.
Weiner began by saying that she didn’t originally consider herself a survivor of the Holocaust as she had not been in a concentration camp, or even in Nazi Germany during World War II. Her mindset changed as she sat on a stage next to Faye Dunaway at the film premiere of the movie “Voyage of the Damned” in 1976 (based on the story of the MS St. Louis) and realized she had actually been a part of history and felt obligated to share her story.
Born in Berlin to parents whose families had both left Poland for the (relative) safety of the “culturally advanced” cosmopolitan cities in Germany, Weiner’s family life “became a nightmare” after the establishment of the antisemitic and racist Nuremberg Laws enacted in Nazi Germany in September 1935 that determined Jews to be an inferior race who could not interact with anyone outside their race. Jews were not permitted to go to public schools, do business with or provide medical care to anyone not Jewish. The situation escalated on Kristallnacht on Nov. 9, 1938, followed by the arrests and deportation of adult Jewish males.
Weiner’s mother had learned that men whose families had confirmed exit visas to other countries could be released, provided they would leave immediately. She immediately requested that her brother, who had previously emigrated to Cuba, purchase visas for the family. Standing in line for days led to confirmed visas to Siam (now Thailand) that arrived at the same time as the visas to Cuba. Deciding to head to the vacation paradise of Cuba (and the opportunity to reunite with family members), Weiner’s family set off to Hamburg to board the MS St. Louis and were among the 937 Jewish passengers. The crossing of the Atlantic was very festive with musicians, photographers and parties. The first indication of a problem was when the ship was not permitted to dock in Havana. Apparently, the visas held by the majority of the passengers were considered invalid as they had been signed by a political rival of Cuban President Federico Laredo Bru, and only 28 people were permitted to disembark.
After a week in the harbor, the St. Louis departed for Miami, a mere 90 miles away. Strict immigration rules prevented the ship from stopping in Miami, and the United States Coast Guard was sent to guard the ship and prevent anyone from jumping off and attempting to swim ashore. Facing diminishing supplies, Gustav Schroeder, captain of the St. Louis, made the heartbreaking decision to return to Europe. Schroeder knew what would happen if he returned the ship to Germany and ordered his crew to continue to treat the Jewish passengers well. One crew member was reportedly placed in the ship’s jail for refusing this order. Upon his return to Germany, Schroeder was stripped of his title and position for having treated Jews humanely and was penniless, unable to get a job or earn a living. Years later, when survivors of the St. Louis heard about this, they collected money and supported him. Schroeder
was later named a “Righteous Among the Nations” by Yad Vashem for his actions.
Nations of the world could easily absorb the 900 or so people still on the ship, but only England, Belgium, Holland and France agreed to accept some, but not all of the passengers—despite the Jewish Agency offering each country money for each person they would accept. Of the 620 passengers who returned to Europe, 278 survived the Holocaust. Despite having relatives in Belgium, Weiner’s father saved his family when he chose to get off in England because it was “furthest away from Germany.” Weiner described her early years in London’s bomb shelters as the Nazis fought the Allies, how her parents were able to get work in their professions (baker and couturier) and how her family eventually came to the United States. “I got my United States citizenship and worked for the federal government as a way of saying ‘thank you’ to this country for allowing me entry and the opportunity to worship as I wished.”
Weiner noted that there are fewer and fewer Holocaust survivors and it is critical that their stories be publicized as the number of Holocaust deniers increases. “While it is mandatory to teach the history of the Holocaust in New Jersey, there are only 17 states that require it,” she said. “And of those 17, some relegate the teaching to only one paragraph in a book. If we don’t reach the next generation with this information, there may not be a next generation at all.”
The event was presented to the public as part of the Edison Library’s observance of May as Jewish History Month. According to Eric Revilla, library associate, the library was in contact with Laura Safran, director of community impact at the Jewish Federation in the Heart of New Jersey. The original request was for a suggestion of a movie that could be shown, but the library jumped on the opportunity when they learned that Weiner was available.
Library Director Allan Kleiman said, “This is an important program to be had at any time, but especially now. We need to talk about the Holocaust and the events that preceded it to learn and prevent it from happening again.”
