Module 5: Memory and the Holocaust
Case Study: Annette Wildgoose
Here we focus on Annette Wildgoose. Annette’s mother was a survivor of the MS St. Louis. As the eldest child in the family, Annette’s mother was chosen to leave Germany and boarded the MS St. Louis to do so. We listen to Annette’s detailed recounting because it helps us better understand what happened to Jews aboard the St. Louis, and helps us understand the nuances of memory and learning through oral history.
Oral History: Annette Wildgoose
In this oral history, Annette explains how her mother’s family made the decision to send Alice on the MS. St Louis. She also addresses the ambiguity related to her mother’s evacuation and memory of the MS. St Louis.
Interactive Map
This interactive map of Alice’s emigration journey to Southampton, England aboard the MS St. Louis was created by Nicola Woodhead, a PhD candidate in History at the Parkes Institute at the University of Southampton, UK.
To effectively use this map, press on the menu button on the top left. You will then be able to scroll down and see Alice’s journey in the form of a list. Click on the different icons to view pictures from her life and a few clips from the oral history conveyed by her daughter, Annette.
Oral History: Annette Wildgoose
Learn about the role of Gustav Schröder, the captain of the MS St. Louis, in refusing to treat his passengers as second-class citizens and refusing to return to Germany until having found refuge for them along the coast.
On March 11, 1993, Yad Vashem decided to recognize Captain Gustav Schröder (posthumously) as a Righteous Among the Nations.
According to Yad Vashem, “Had the St. Louis headed straight back to a German harbor, its Jewish passengers would have all certainly ended up in Nazi concentration camps. It was, thus, primarily thanks to Captain Schroeder’s courage and determination not to abandon his Jewish passengers to their fate that many of them were able to escape the Nazi death trap.”
‘‘Gustav Schroeder’’ The Righteous Among the Nations: Featured Stories. Yad Vashem. Accessed March 24, 2022. https://www.yadvashem.org/righteous/stories/schroeder.html
Oral History: Annette Wildgoose
In this clip, Annette describes the ways in which she learned the history of the MS St. Louis and of her mother’s evacuation.
Oral History: Annette Wildgoose
In the following clip, you will learn about the Statement of Apology to the Passengers of the MS St. Louis on behalf of the Government of Canada by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and the importance of this apology for Annette and her family.
