Snunith Shoham recalls being just a few months old in February 1947 when her family was allowed to leave one of the dozen internment camps in Cyprus, facilitated by the British authorities. These camps held tens of thousands of Holocaust survivors. At that time, Cyprus was under British colonial rule. Shoham, a professor at Israel’s Bar-Ilan University and chair of an organization for Jews interned in Cyprus, traveled to Nicosia for a ceremony commemorating the 76th anniversary of the camps’ closure in February 1949.
The ceremony took place at a Cypriot National Guard base, the former site of a British military hospital where Shoham was born. According to records, approximately 2,200 babies were born in these internment camps, which housed around 52,000 Holocaust survivors over their nearly four-year operation.
Shoham notes the dire conditions in the camps, particularly for children, which led the British to allow several hundred families with infants and young children to leave in search of a better life. The number of people seeking to make this journey was so large that British authorities attempted to limit it. Despite this, ordinary Cypriots working in the camps offered support and assistance to the survivors.
Speaking at the ceremony, Shoham highlighted the contributions of Cypriot workers, stating, “The Cypriot workers did many small, yet significant services for the [camp] detainees. We will never forget the assistance of the local Cypriots.”
Although the internment camps in Cyprus are not widely known, the 1960 Hollywood film “Exodus,” featuring Paul Newman and Eva Marie Saint, brought attention to the subject.
During the ceremony, Cypriot Defense Ministry official Anna Aristotelous remarked, “On their path to their new homeland, Cyprus became a temporary haven for these survivors, offering them security and care in a world that had so often denied them both.”
Israeli Ambassador Oren Anolik described the camps as “a fundamental link between Israel and Cyprus,” which “forged an enduring bond between our peoples.”
Among those who aided Jewish survivors was Capt. Paul Rossides, a harbor pilot at Famagusta port who volunteers; he helped guide refugee-filled ships for refueling and restocking. His daughter, Irinoulas Loizou, 87, attended the ceremony and recalled her mother’s late-night efforts to keep her father alert with pots of coffee.
“My father was a very courageous man who always offered his help to those in need, regardless of the situation or potential risks to himself,” Loizou said.
Loizou mentioned that her father’s work was recognized by Israeli officials, including a plaque presented by Ephraim Gilan, the camp commander of the Jewish paramilitary organization Haganah, in July 1949. The plaque was inscribed with: “In recognition for outstanding services rendered to the internees of Karaolos and Xylotympou camps during the years 1946-1949.”