In July 1938, 32 countries gathered in Evian, France to try to find a home for the thousands of Jewish refugees from Germany and Austria. Between 1933 and 1947, Canada accepted 5,000 Jewish refugees, the lowest number among the allied democratic nations.
Voyage of the Damned: The Journey of the MS St. Louis
In June 1939, Canadian government officials declined to intervene when the ship MS St. Louis, carrying 907 Jewish refugees fleeing Nazism, sought refuge in Canada after being turned away by Cuba and the United States. The St. Louis headed back to Europe where many of the Jewish passengers were stranded after the outbreak of war. Of the original 907 persons, 254 were later captured and killed by the Nazis in the Holocaust.