Letter to the Assistant Secretary of State Regarding the Ship Quanza
9/7/1940
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Eliot Coulter, Acting Chief of the Visa Division in the State Department, sent this letter to Assistant Secretary of State Breckinridge Long regarding the status of the ship Quanza.
The SS Quanza was a Portuguese ship that sailed from Lisbon, Portugal, bound for Veracruz, Mexico, with more than 300 passengers on board. Many of the passengers were Jewish refugees from Nazi-controlled Europe. Desperate to leave Europe, some of them carried forged visas for the United States and Mexico. When the ship arrived in New York, only 196 were allowed to disembark. When the remaining 121 arrived in Veracruz, the Mexican government would only admit the 35 whose visas they accepted as valid. The ship was ordered back to Europe with a stop in Norfolk, Virginia, to refuel.
This letter provides an update on the refugees aboard the Quanza, who were asking to land at Norfolk after being denied entry to Mexico. Portugal was refusing the ship's return. Coulter recommends just a few individuals be considered for entry to the United States.
This primary source comes from the General Records of the Department of State.
Full Citation: Letter to Assistant Secretary of State from Eliot Coulter Regarding the Status of the Ship Quanza; 9/7/1940; General Visa Correspondence, 1914 - 1949; General Records of the Department of State, Record Group 59; National Archives at College Park, College Park, MD. [Online Version, https://www.docsteach.org/documents/document/coulter-long-quanza, March 29, 2024]