The Nazi regime of Adolf Hitler tested the limits of Canada's humanity in the lead up to the Second World War and Canada's government failed that test "miserably," Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said. Trudeau made an apology in the House of Commons for the 1939 decision by the Canadian government to turn away a boatload of German Jews seeking refuge from the Nazis. Sol Messinger was one of the passengers on the MS St. Louis. He was just a boy then. And in the end, one of the lucky ones. Messinger told CBC about his memories of that time and why the prime minister's apology matters.

From the Curio.ca streaming audio-visual collection.