Artifact Spotlight: MS St. Louis Sailor’s Hatband
May 13, 2021
Sailor’s Uniform Hatband from the MS St. Louis, on display at the Holocaust Memorial Center.
This uniform hatband came from a sailor who served on the MS St. Louis. This artifact is on display in the Rise of Nazism Gallery at the Holocaust Memorial Center.
On May 13, 1939, the MS St. Louis ocean liner set sail from Hamburg carrying 937 German Jewish refugees seeking asylum. The original destination was Havana, Cuba, but when their entry was denied the ship sailed to Florida. US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt also denied entry to the passengers, and the St. Louis sailed back to Europe. The majority of these passengers would go on to be victims of Nazi racial policies when Germany occupied Belgium, France, and the Netherlands. Approximately 254 of the passengers were eventually murdered in Nazi concentration camps, primarily Auschwitz and Sobibor.
Do you have objects of historical interest?
Our Library Archive is fast becoming a repository of historical artifacts and information. Details about each item is carefully recorded upon arrival, and it is through these personal conversations that the historical significance is often revealed. All objects are housed, stored and displayed in safe, acid-free and temperature-controlled environments under video surveillance, with museum labels acknowledging the generosity of our donors. Letters of acknowledgement are sent to our donors for tax purposes.
Tens of thousands of visitors view our museum displays annually. When our donors and their children or grandchildren come back to visit, they are gratified and often overwhelmed at how their artifacts are being used to educate the public. Donors do not have to travel or make an appointment to see what they contributed, as we are open six days a week and conveniently located.
We are always prepared to accept additional materials. If you have a question as to whether an item would be appropriate for inclusion, please call Feiga Weiss at 248.553.2834. To learn more about the HMC Library Archive, click here.
The St. Louis arrives in Antwerp, Belgium on June 17, 1939, after being turned away from Cuba and the United States. (USHMM, Bibliotheque Historique de la Ville de Paris)
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