On the 27th of January 2022, on the commemoration of the International Holocaust Remembrance Day, B’nai B’rith Europe, together with HIAS Europe and CCLJ, organized an event surrounding a screening of a movie strongly connected to the Holocaust – ‘Complicit’.

The program commenced with an introduction offered by the German Ambassador to the Kingdom of Belgium, Martin Kotthaus. Opening remarks from the event’s organizers followed. The event continued with a screening of the movie and then there was a panel discussion with survivors from the ship and the director of the movie, Robert Krakow. The evening concluded with a reflection on the contemporary relevance of the film, including the plight of refugees today.

In 1939 the SS St. Louis left Germany and set sail for North America. Among her passengers were 937 Jewish refugees desperate to escape Nazi persecution and gain entry into the United States through Cuba. But upon her arrival the ship and her passengers were denied entry. After weeks at sea pleading with the US, Canada and Cuba governments, the SS St. Louis had no choice but to return to Europe where it is estimated over one quarter of her passengers perished in German concentration camps. The film contains rare footage and candid interviews with the heroic Jewish refugees from Germany who were turned away by the United States in June, 1939 and who returned to the US to make extraordinary contributions to American society.