On 4 June 1939, the MS. St. Louis, a boat carrying over 900 Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi persecution, was refused access to disembark in Florida, United States. The German transatlantic liner left Hamburg, Germany, on 13 May 1939, shortly after the Nazis’ annexation of Austria in March 1938, which had led to increased personal assaults against Jews during the spring and summer, followed by the Kristallnacht (“Night of Broken Glass”) pogrom in November, and the seizure of Jewish-owned property. The refugees first attempted to enter Havana, Cuba, but the overwhelming number were denied access despite most passengers having Cuban visas....