Gustav Schröder
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Gustav Schröder (September 27, 1885 - 1959) was a sea captain, who is best known for attempting to save 937 German Jews, who were passengers on his ship, the MS St. Louis, from the Nazis in 1939.
Voyage of the Damned
The story of the 1939 sailing of the MS St. Louis to North America with over 900 Jewish refugees is told in the 1974 book Voyage of the Damned written by Gordon Thomas and Max Morgan-Witts, which was later the basis of a 1976 film drama of the same name.
Honors and tributes
Schröder received much praise for his actions during the Holocaust, both while he was alive and posthumously. In 1957, he was awarded the Order of Merit by the Federal German Republic "for services to the people and the land in the rescue of refugees". In March 1993, Yad Vashem honored Schröder with the title of "Righteous Among the Nations" by the State of Israel. In 2000 The German city of Hamburg named a street after Schröder and unveiled a detailed plaque at the landing stages.
Later life
Gustav Schröder died in 1959 at the age of 74.