Yaffe, James The Voyage of the Franz Joseph

Earnest — if stiff — fictional treatment of the infamous 1939 voyage of the Hamburg-Amerika Line steamship ST. LOUIS which sailed from Europe with over 1,000 Jewish German refugees aboard hoping to find safe haven in the New World. Despite earlier official promises, the ship’s passengers were refused entry to Cuba. A similar refusal from the United States government forced the vessel back to Europe, where the refugees were, finally and begrudgedly, parceled off to various countries. Sadly, most died in the World War which engulfed Europe later that year. Yaffe changes the ship’s name to the FRANZ JOSEPH, but otherwise fairly faithfully follows the true story of this shameful episode of anti-Semitism.