Ambassador Shapiro and Ms. Julie Fisher hosted Distinguished American Speaker Scott Miller, Director of Curatorial Affairs at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM), Washington DC, and coauthor with Director of Holocaust Education Sarah Ogilvie, of the book “Refuge Denied: The St. Louis Passengers and the Holocaust.” The Ambassador welcomed the audience of government representatives, Holocaust researchers and educators, academia, filmmakers, Holocaust survivors, and four special guests whose lives were inextricably linked to the St. Louis. He emphasized the USHMM’s immense contribution to the study and interpretation of Holocaust history, its dedication in confronting genocide and strengthening democracy, and its promotion of human dignity worldwide. Scott described how he and Sarah Ogilvie succeeded in tracking down the fate of all 937 Jewish passengers of the ocean liner, which set sail from Germany in 1939 at the outbreak of WWII. He showed photographs of the passengers and life aboard the St. Louis and regaled the audience with fascinating stories of survival, heroism, and luck. Child passenger Michael Barak, now 80 years old, also spoke about his experiences on the ship and how his family arrived in Israel.
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