Lisa Avedon

Lisa Avedon was four and a half years old when she was aboard the St Louis, but has many vivid memories of it, including seasickness and docking at Havana. Her family was eventually permitted to enter England, with the understanding that their stay there would be short; after a few months, they left for the United States. Lisa describes how her work against plant closures and downsizing was impacted by the way the adults in her family made huge adjustments in their lives as they emigrated; formerly wealthy, they survived by cleaning houses and working in factories.

Lisa has been an active leader in Canada’s National Organisation of Women and has published many articles on labour issues, women, and education.

Inge Spitz

Inge Spitz was a hidden child during the Holocaust; her parents were sent to the camps. She met her husband, a St Louis survivor, in England. Her husband’s father had gone ahead of the St Louis to Cuba, to establish residency and make their hopeful arrival easier. Of course, this didn’t happen; Inge described her father-in-law in a boat rowing around the St Louis, trying to wave to his family before the ship was turned back. Her husband was fifteen years old during the voyage, and able to come to England because his aunt, a citizen of Australia, vouched that he would not be a burden on the state. They left for Canada in 1948, following the lead of Ursula Spitz Miller, Inge’s sister in law. 

Inge finds it important to mention the good work of Gustav Schroeder, the captain of the St Louis, who did everything in his power not to allow the ship’s passengers to return to Germany.  For his efforts to save the people on his ship, he was stripped of his captaincy.

Ursula Spitz Miller

Ursula Spitz Miller disembarked the St Louis at England, where she met her husband, who was in the British army, and had her eldest daughter. Her husband was in the army. However, after the war, increasing English antisemitism made them feel uneasy – the appearance of swastikas in Liverpool, among other things, was troubling, and in 1947 they emigrated to Canada. This time it was easier to enter the country, because her husband was a British subject. Their second daughter was born in Canada. Today, Ursula has seven grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.