https://www.britannica.com/topic/MS-St-Louis-German-shipArticle History
However, before the ship departed, there were indications that the passengers would not be welcomed. In early May Cuban Pres. Federico Laredo Brú signed a decree that invalidated the passengers’ landing certificates. His decision was supported by many Cubans who feared that the immigrants would compete for jobs as the country continued to struggle through the Great Depression. Further inflaming public opinion were rumours—which some believe were spread by Nazi agents on the island—that the Jewish passengers were communists and criminals. On May 8 a large anti-Semitic rally was held in Havana.
Against this backdrop the St. Louis arrived on May 27, 1939. The Cuban government admitted 28 passengers who had the necessary paperwork but refused to let the 908 other travelers disembark; one of the elderly passengers had died during the voyage and was buried at sea. For the next several days the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) attempted to negotiate with Cuban authorities. During this time, morale among the passengers waned, and one man attempted suicide by slashing his wrists and jumping overboard; he was taken to a hospital and allowed to remain in Cuba. As the talks dragged on—with money reportedly being at issue—Laredo Brú ordered the St. Louis to leave Cuban waters on June 2.
After waiting off the coast of Cuba for several days, Schröder sailed for Florida. However, the U.S. government also refused to admit the refugees, citing the country’s yearly immigration quota. The U.S. State Department told the refugees that they must “await their turns on the waiting list”—which was several years long. The U.S. Coast Guard shadowed the vessel, though the USCG later claimed its “units were dispatched out of concern for those on board” and not to keep the ship from docking. The Canadian government also refused to admit the refugees. As the saga continued, the Nazi regime used it as propaganda to support its anti-Jewish policies.
On June 6, 1939, Laredo Brú ended the negotiations. With supplies dwindling, the St. Louis began the voyage back to Europe later that day, and it reached Antwerp on June 17. Through talks spearheaded by the JDC, England, France, the Netherlands, and Belgium agreed to take the refugees, and by June 20 all the passengers had disembarked the St. Louis. In September World War II officially started. It was later determined that of the 907 passengers who hadreturned to Europe, 255 were killed during the war;,the vast majority of them dieddyingin concentration camps.
The incident was notably chronicled in the book Voyage of the Damned (1974) by Gordon Thomas and Max Morgan Witts. It was later adapted (1976) into a film. In 2017 the ill-fated voyage received new attention through a Twitter account that listed the passengers who haddied during the war. The account was created the day before U.S. Pres. Donald Trump signed an executive order that suspended immigration from certain Muslim countries. The following year Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau formally apologized for his country’s failure to grant asylum to the Jews on board theSt. Louis.
Here you can find how the Jewish passengers of the MS St.Louis were saved:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Jewish_Joint_Distribution_Committee
Due to the efforts of the JDC, 288 passengers were admitted to Great Britain, 181 to the Netherlands, 214 to Belgium, and 224 to France. When Hitler and the Nazis overran the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg and France, those passengers who had been admitted by those countries were at risk. Tragically, in fact 254 of these St. Louis Passengers were killed in the Holocaust. Due to the JDC active efforts and connections, JDC was able to save most of the Jewish passengers aboard the St. Louis.
FULL TEXT OF JUSTIN TRUDEAU’S ST. LOUIS APOLOGY
By CJN Staff – November 7, 2018
https://www.cjnews.com/news/canada/full-text-of-justin-trudeaus-st-louis-apology
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau apologizes for the government of Canada refusing entry to the MS St. Louis in 1939, in the House of Commons in Ottawa on Nov. 7. (CPAC)