Gustav Schröder

Gustav Schroeder ( born September 27, 1885 in Haderslev (Northern Schleswig ); † January 10, 1959 in Hamburg ) was a captain. In 1939, he saved his ship MS St. Louis 906 German Jews for the time being from the grasp of the Nazis.

Life

Before St. Louis

Schroeder came from an old rich Danish / German culture dedicated family native to the border between Germany and Denmark, which was in the course of history times to Germany / Prussia or Denmark.

As a student he was interested in many things, but his passion was sailing and seafaring. In 1902 he left despite his transfer to the Obersekunda the German school, because he had grabbed the " wanderlust ". With the consent of his father Professor Nis Ankjær Schröder Gustav Schröder studied in Hamburg on the sail training ship Grand Duchess Elizabeth.

He left the ship with the patent for ordinary seamen. He then signed on as a deck seaman on the fast steamer Germany and it was followed by several circumnavigations.

After sailing ship time he went under Hong Kong shipping companies as Second Officer. In 1914, he was interned in Calcutta for six years. In 1921, he hired HAPAG and earned twelve years to " tramp " his stripes. In 1935, Gustav Schröder officer on the Hansa.

In August 1936 he received a captain's license at age 50 and took over the motor ship Oceana. Schroeder led numerous KdF cruises to the Mediterranean and Scandinavia and took holiday cover on ships between Hamburg and New York, among other things, on the St. Louis.

St. Louis

On May 13, 1939 Schroeder took the Hapag steamer St. Louis (about 17,600 GRT) from the port of Hamburg to Cuba. Of the 937 Jewish passengers who were fleeing persecution in Germany and wanted to wait for the entry permit for the United States in Cuba, only 23 were allowed to go ashore in Havana, despite the painfully acquired landing papers. Also, all negotiations Jewish organizations were not successful.

The St. Louis cruised before Florida. Since the United States abwiesen the ship, Captain Schröder received orders to drive back. The Canadian government refused to take the passengers. For fear of deportation to concentration camps, the passengers came then panicked and threatened mass suicide and mutiny. Only shortly before the arrival opened by Schroeder efforts the opportunity to let the passengers threatened to go on June 17, 1939 in Antwerp on board.

About a quarter of the refugees was, France and the Netherlands distributed in saving England, the other in Belgium, where she again reached during the German occupation in the hands of the Nazis and were later taken to the extermination camps.

1957 Captain Schroeder was awarded " for services to people and land in the rescue of exiles " with the Federal Cross of Merit. From the State of Israel, he was posthumously added to Yad Vashem in the circle of the " Righteous Among the Nations ".

The Hanseatic City of Hamburg was later named a street after him, since 2000, there are at the jetties a detailed plaque.