CYPRUS DETENTION CAMPS REMEMBERED
http://www.cyprus-mail.com/jewish-detention-camps/jewish-detention-camps-cyprus-remembered/20111026
The University of Cyprus is dueto host a hotly-anticipated lecture by Professor Emanuel Gutmann entitled, The Jewish Detention Camps in Cyprus (1946-1949): the Memories of a Contemporary Witness.
In the second half of the 1940s Cyprus become the temporary refuge for tens of thousands of Jews. These events have been well documented in Israeli history but relatively untold in the history of Cyprus. The camps played a role in both the independence movement of Cyprus and the creation of the state of Israel. In this light, the testimony of Prof Gutmann is of great interest in understanding the history of the detention camps.
A Jewish Detention Camps in Cyprus (1946-1949)Fleeing post-war Europe, survivors of the Holocaust found themselves barred from entering Palestine due to British quotas. Forced to immigrate illegally, they boarded ships and ventured into the Mediterranean unsure of their fate.
The British Navy overtook 39 of these ships, carrying a total of 52,000 passengers, and sent the people to Cyprus. On the island, the British government created a series of detention camps in order to prevent Jewish refugees from another attempt at entering Palestine. These detainees, the vast majority Holocaust survivors, endured deplorable conditions in Cyprus, some for a period of years. At its peak there were nine camps in Cyprus, located at two sites about 50km apart. They were Caraolos, north of Famagusta, and Dekhelia, outside of Larnaca.
Emissaries from Palestine lived with the refugees in the camps as representatives of various Zionist movements including the underground strike force of the Haganah. Gutman, who had emigrated from Germany as a youth, was a member of the Haganah (he also served in the British armed forces during the war in His Majesty’s Jewish Brigade) and it was his job to lead refugees from Europe to Palestine.
Eventually, through the intervention of the Israeli government, the British slowly allowed detainees to leave the camps and head for Palestine. On February 10, 1949 the last Jews finally were freed from the confines of the camps, 267 days after the establishment of the state of Israel.
Those wishing to attend should reserve their place by tomorrow. The lecture will begin with welcoming remarks by H.E. Ambassador of Israel Michael Harari and Christakis Papavassiliou, Presendents of the Cyprus-Israel Business Assosiation. Professor Martin Strohmeier, chairperson of the Deprtment of Turkish and Middle Estern Studies will give an introduction of the speaker. A reception will follow and exhibition of photographs of the detention camps will also be displayed.
Gutmann was born in Munich in 1924 and immigrated with his parents to Palestine in 1936. After his stay in Cyprus he studies Political Science at Columbia University, receiving his PHD in 1958. He went on to an illustrious career first working in the Israeli consulate in New York and later as a much published professor at Hebrew University, where he taught until his retirement in 1991.
Lecture by Professor Emanuel Gutmann, who worked in the British detention camps in Cyprus, teaching Hebrew to future immigrants. October 31, reservation essential by October 27. Social Activities Building, No7, Room 012, New Campus, University of Cyprus. 6.30pm. Free. In English. Tel: 22-893950 andreou.marina@ucy.ac.cy
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