The Trial of Franklin D. Roosevelt

Author(s): Robert Krakow
A play about the ill-fated voyage in 1939 of an ocean liner, the SS St. Louis. On board were more than 900 Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi persecution. Having traveled from Hamburg, Germany to Havana, Cuban officials only allowed a couple dozen passengers to disembark. In desperation, passengers asked the United States to give them sanctuary, but President Franklin D. Roosevelt chose not to override the United States' strict immigration quotas. When they were also refused entry to Canada, the refugees were forced to return to Europe where 254 of the passengers died in the Holocaust. In The Trial of Franklin D. Roosevelt the audience serves as the jury.
Format: Drama

Snapshot

Original or Prominent Production:
Premiered on December 13, 2009 at the Eden Roc Hotel, Miami, Florida at the 70th Anniversary of the SS St. Louis Voyage, Passenger Reunion and Commemorative Event.
Nationality of Author: U.S.
Original Language: English
Production Rights Holder:

See The SS St. Louis Project website.

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