Survivor Of The S.S. St. Louis To Speak At Bucks Holocaust Program

NEWTOWN, PA — Ronnie Breslow, a survivor of the S.S. St. Louis and the Holocaust, will share her story with the public during a special program presented by the Bucks County Community College's Social & Behavioral Science Department in collaboration with the Holocaust Awareness Museum and Education Center.

The conversation with Ronnie Breslow takes place on Thursday, October 24 beginning at 11 a.m. in the Gallagher Room on the Newtown Campus, 275 Swamp Road, Newtown 18940. The event will also be live streamed via Zoom.

Presented in conjunction with the Holocaust and Genocide Studies Certificate Program at Bucks County Community College, the program will provide a detailed account of Breslow's life and experience in Nazi Germany as well as on the S.S. St. Louis in 1939.

On May 13, 1939, Ronnie Breslow and her mother boarded the St. Louis en route from Hamburg, Germany to Havana, Cuba. They sailed with 936 other passengers seeking refuge from Nazi Germany. Cuba's government refused to allow the ship to dock, as did the United States, and Canada. Turned away, the St. Louis returned to Europe, where 254 passengers of the St. Louis perished in the Holocaust.

Refugees aboard the St. Louis wait to hear whether Cuba will grant them entry, off the coast of Havana, Cuba, June 3, 1939. (National Archives)

The discussion will be moderated by Education Director Fabulous Flores from the Holocaust Awareness Museum and Education Center in Elkins Park and Professor Paula Raimondo, Bucks County Community College, Holocaust and Genocide Studies Certificate Program.

Admission to the in-person and online event is free. The Gallagher Room is located within the Rollins Center on the Newtown Campus.

To learn more about the Holocaust and Genocide Studies certificate program at Bucks County Community College or the event, contact the Department of Social and Behavioral Science at sb@bucks.edu or 215-968-8270.