Twitter Bot Speaks for the Murdered Passengers of the St. Louis

By Josh Nathan-Kazis January 27, 2017

In 1939, U.S. officials turned away a passenger liner packed with 900 desperate Jewish refugees from Nazi Germany. Denied rescue, the ship turned back to Europe, where hundreds of the refugees were slaughtered in Nazi death camps.

In honor of today’s observance of International Holocaust Remembrance Day, Jewish educator and activist Russel Neiss set up a Twitter bot to tell the stories of the passengers of the St. Louis.

My name is Julius Hermanns. The US turned me away at the border in 1939. I was murdered at Auschwitz pic.twitter.com/A4nmdb8ho3

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— St. Louis Manifest (@Stl_Manifest) January 27, 2017

Over the course of the day, Neiss’s Twitter bot is posting the names of the passengers and their eventual fates, one by one.

My name is Ilse Karliner. The US turned me away at the border in 1939. I was murdered at Auschwitz pic.twitter.com/qkD7dP4pbt

— St. Louis Manifest (@Stl_Manifest) January 27, 2017

My name is Margot Hirsch. The US turned me away at the border in 1939. I was murdered at Auschwitz pic.twitter.com/uwMRFqxOya

— St. Louis Manifest (@Stl_Manifest) January 27, 2017

Contact Josh Nathan-Kazis at [email protected]

Josh Nathan-Kazis is a staff writer for the Forward. He covers charities and politics, and writes investigations and longform.

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