‘None is too many’

As a historian, I have learned about many disturbing and upsetting events over the years. I have studied wars, famines, genocides, and everything in between in an attempt to understand more about our world and how we fit into it as people.

It was while in high school that I learned about the M.S. St. Louis for the first time.
In 1939, 907 Germans Jews were refugees on the ship. They travelled first to Cuba, then along the Florida coast, and finally headed for Halifax Harbour in an attempt to escape the persecution they faced at home in Europe.

Under pressure from Ottawa, the M.S. St. Louis was denied entrance into Canada. An immigration officer cited what would become an infamous catch phrase as the reason for their dismissal...

“None is too many.”

The ship had no other option but to turn around and cross the Atlantic Ocean a second time. One third of the passengers – 254 innocent Jewish people – died during the Holocaust in the years of war that followed.

The M.S St. Louis in Havana, Cuba. June 1939.

Now, more than 70 years after the passengers were denied refuge, a memorial has been erected in their honour. The Wheel of Conscience sits at Halifax’s Pier 21, the port where the ship would have docked had its passengers been allowed to disembark.

The wheel is the first of its kind and is a reminder of what atrocities have taken place in the past. It is important to remember the mistakes that have been made in our world so they aren’t repeated. That’s why I’m so passionate about history. I don’t ever want to forget...

If you’re interested, you can read the entire National Post story here. There are also quite a few clips from different news stations across the country. It was a big story that garnered a great deal of media attention.

As it should have.

*Image taken from the National Post.