PM to apologize for Canada’s 1939 rejection of Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi Germany
TORONTO — Canada will formally apologize for turning away a boat full of Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi Germany in 1939, resulting in scores of them dying, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday.
In a speech to a sold-out Jewish fundraising event, Trudeau said Canada’s decision to force the German ocean liner MS St. Louis to return to Europe was a blight on our collective past.
“An apology in the House of Commons will not rewrite this shameful chapter of our history,” Trudeau said. “It will not bring back those who perished or repair the lives shattered by tragedy. But it is our hope that this long overdue apology will bring awareness to our failings, as we vow to never let history repeat itself.”
In the run-up to the Second World War and the Holocaust, the Canadian government heeded anti-Semitic sentiment by severely restricting Jewish immigration. From 1933 to 1945, only about 5,000 Jewish refugees were accepted due to what Trudeau called “our discriminatory ‘none is too many’ immigration policy” in place at the time.
He called the turning away of the ship a “most egregious” example of the misguided policy.
MS St. Louis carried 907 German Jews fleeing Nazi persecution. Its captain, Gustav Schröder, tried in vain to find homes for his passengers. Cuba and the U.S. also turned away the refugees.
Forced to return to Europe, 254 of those aboard eventually were killed in the Holocaust.
“We cannot turn away from this uncomfortable truth, and Canada’s part in it,” Trudeau said. “We must learn from this story, and let its lessons guide our actions going forward.”
Trudeau said he looks forward to offering the apology himself on the floor of the House of Commons, but he gave no date. The audience applauded loudly at the announcement.
Tuesday’s event was the first official recognition of May as Jewish Heritage Month, a designation passed by the House if Commons this year.
Trudeau said recent figures indicate 17 per cent of all hate crimes in Canada target Jewish people. He said it pains him that Jews “more than any other religious group” are the victims of hate crimes.