The SS Quanza, Jewish Refugees, and the Port of Hampton Roads, 1940.

REFUGEES; JEWISH refugees; CHINESE Exclusion Act of 1882; PETITIONS; HOLOCAUST, 1939-1945

It is confirmed by an article published in a Tennessee newspaper about three Spanish sailors from the Quanza who had "jumped ship" in New York and were arrested in Norfolk attempting to board another ship ("Mystery of Three Spanish Aliens", Kingsport Times, 12 Jan. 1942, 3). 46. In 1987, forty-seven years after the last of the Quanza passengers disembarked in Norfolk, Morewitz's youngest son David began investigating Judge Way's unreported Quanza decision, eventually drawing in his nephew Stephen, who, in turn, collaborated with neighbor and playwright Susan Lieberman to produce an historical account (unpublished) and a fictionalized dramatic production, Steamship Quanza, which was staged in various locations between 1991 and 2014 to generally positive reviews. "Refugee Ship is Target of Many Suits", Norfolk Virginian-Pilot, 12 Sept. 1940, 22; "Most of the Refugee Passengers on Quanza May Land Today", Norfolk Virginian-Pilot, 14 Sept. 1940, 7; Razovsky, "RE: S.S. Quanza", 4; "Refugee Ship Here for Coal", Norfolk Ledger-Dispatch, 11 Sept. 1940, 1; "Refugee Ship Due to Reach Norfolk Today", Richmond Times-Dispatch, 11 Sept. 1940, 8; Edward R. Crews, "Sanctuary: Admiralty Lawyer J. L. Morewitz, L '16, Helped Save Refugees from Nazism", Richmond Law (Summer 1997): 13. 22. Later that evening, Leon Seawell, the attorney representing the Quanza and its owners, reported that he had not yet received word regarding any payment of the bond that was keeping the ship in Norfolk.[31] On Saturday, 14 September, Morewitz filed a supplementary action alleging that the ship's captain and crew had "put the libellants in such abject fear as to leave them in an impaired mental and physical state.". [Extracted from the article]