»Keine Zuflucht. Nirgends: Auf dem Land und auf dem Meer.«

In the organizer's words:

"No refuge. Nowhere: on land and at sea."

The Evian Conference and the odyssey of the MS St. Louis

In July 1938, representatives of 32 states were unable to agree on the admission of 500,000 German citizens of Jewish faith. In May 1939, the MS St. Louis set sail from Hamburg for Havana with 937 Jewish refugees on board, but was refused permission to land in Cuba. Just a few days later, President Roosevelt announces that the USA will also remain closed to passengers. The captain had no choice but to return to Europe. In mid-June 1939, the St. Louis landed in Antwerp and the refugees were distributed among Great Britain, France, Belgium and the Netherlands. Quite a few of them were murdered in German extermination camps. Testimonies about this journey, about the fates of the passengers, in particular the Rosenberg family from Bassum and Bremen, are given a voice.

"Ship of Cuba ship with the human cargo that it offers to the coasts like a peddler offers his wares. Who will crave the refugees? Where is the country that buys, exchanges, rents people? Where will a harbor open to receive the outcast thousands who take refuge in the cabins? Who boarded from a world of merchants and henchmen?" (Berthold Viertel, Aufbau 15.6.1939)

The staged reading, based on original documents, will link the history of migration and flight with the present. The aim of the project is to contribute to the insight called for by Göran Rosenberg: "While the Europeans are sleepwalking straight towards Evian, they should at least know that they are doing it. And make a united effort to wake up."

Cast

From the series "From the files to the stage. Cooperation of the Department of History at the University of Bremen. The project was awarded by the Foundation "Remembrance, Responsibility and Future" (EVZ) in the 2018 theater competition. Set-up text/scene: Peter Lüchinger. With: Simon Elias, Peter Lüchinger, Michael Meyer, Petra-Janina Schultz, Erika Spalke.

Duration: 2:30 incl. intermission

Performance language: German

Price information:

normal: 15 € reduced: 8 € Students of the University, HS and HfK Bremen and HKS Ottersberg: Free admission