1_19: Gary Sternberg, U.S.S. General M.C. Meigs
c.1948, Front side - Photograph from the U.S.S. General M.C. Meigs.
Black-and-white photograph depicting the U.S.S. General M.C. Meigs from above. The photo was taken aboard the ship. The passengers are holding paper streamers which extend down to the crowd on the dock. At the right side, a wooden staircase for boarding has a banner which reads, "American President Lines" on the side. A row of buildings span the dock in the background. In front of the buildings, several open shelters and wooden boxes are present.
Name/Title
1_19: Gary Sternberg, U.S.S. General M.C. MeigsEntry/Object ID
2017.1.19Scope and Content
c.1948, photograph from the U.S.S. General M.C. Meigs.Context
Partial excerpt taken from exhibit page Gary Sternberg in Shanghai: Mixing Flour, Water, and German Opera: Gary (Gerd) Sternberg was born in Germany on August 25, 1931 to a Protestant mother and a Jewish father. Although he and his sister were raised and baptized as Protestants, Nazi ideology designated Gary as Jewish. Gary’s father was arrested and sent to Sachsenhausen concentration camp on June 14, 1938. When released January 28, 1939, the family managed to find refuge in Shanghai, China with about 18,000 other mostly-Jewish refugees. Gary’s family lived in Shanghai from May 1939 to July 1948. The U.S.S. General M.C. Meigs was launched on March 13, 1944. She was utilized to perform tours from the United States to Italy, Brazil, Panama, France, and Puerto Rico. She was decommissioned on March 4, 1946, and became a passenger ship in the Pacific Ocean. Recommissioned on June 25, 1950, she fulfilled 19 cruises during the Korean War. She was retired in October 1958, and remains at the National Defense Reverse Fleet in Olympia, Washington. Source: “General M. C. Meigs (AP-116).” 2026. Navy.mil. 2026. https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/g/general-m-c-meigs-ap-116.html.Collection
Gary SternbergCategory
Photograph