On October 1, 1940, three vessels, the Atlantic, the Milos, and the Pacific, sailed from the Romanian port of Tulcea carrying some 3,500 Jewish refugees from Germany, Austria, Czechoslovakia, Vienna, Danzig, and other parts of Nazi-occupied Europe. They were trying to reach safety in Mandatory Palestine. In early November, the Pacific and the Milos arrived in Haifa, and their approximately 1,800 passengers were transferred by the British authorities to the Patria, a 12,000-ton ship. On November 20, the Atlantic also reached Haifa, and 100 of its passengers were transferred to the Patria. The British government, seeking to stop illegal immigration to Palestine, announced that the refugees would be deported to Mauritius, a British colony in the Indian Ocean about 1,800 kilometers off the East African coast. Their fate was to be decided only after the war. Haganah leaders attempted to prevent the Patria from leaving Haifa by sabotaging the ship. On November 25, 1940, Haganah liaison officers detonated a mine aboard the vessel, but the explosion tore a larger hole than expected. The Patria sank, killing some 250 people, including about 200 Jews and several British soldiers. The survivors of the Patria disaster were eventually permitted to remain in Eretz Israel, but 1,584 passengers from the Atlantic were deported by the British to Mauritius. Between December 1940 and August 1945, they were detained in the prison camp of Beau Bassin. The men were held in a former jailhouse, while the women were housed separately in nearby iron huts. Married couples were separated, and contact between men and women was initially restricted. These restrictions were gradually eased, limited visitation was allowed, and after the ban on interaction between the sexes was lifted, 60 children were born in the camp. Although the refugees were not deliberately maltreated, they suffered from tropical diseases, inadequate food, insufficient clothing, and uncertainty about their future. They had no idea how long their incarceration would last and remained deeply worried about relatives left behind in Europe. Jewish organizations, including the South African Jewish Board of Deputies, the Jewish Agency, the Zionist Federation, and the Zionist Association of Mauritius, sent aid in the form of food, clothing, medicine, and religious items, while also working for the refugees’ release and transfer to Palestine. In all, 128 refugees died during their detention in Mauritius, most from diseases such as typhoid and malaria. They were buried in the Jewish section of the cemetery of St. Martin, near Port Louis and about a mile from the camp. At the end of World War II, the refugees were allowed either to return to their former homes or immigrate to Eretz Israel. Most chose aliyah, and on August 26, 1945, 1,320 former detainees landed in Haifa.
Under the Deed of Grant in 1946, the Board of Deputies gained ownership of the Mauritius Jewish cemetery. For a number of years, Jacques Desmarais, a non-Jew Mauritian, voluntarily maintained the cemetery. In 1958, the Board, along with a few individual sponsors, donated their time and money to repair the Jewish section of the cemetery. Other major restorations were carried out during the 1980s, 2000, and 2001. On April 26,1999, under the leadership of Rabbi Moshe Silberhalft, the Congress along with 50 former refugees again restored and consecrated the cemetery. Another special ceremony was held in May 2001 by the South African Jewish community to unveil 66 graves. A visit to the prison and a Shabbat service and dinner were attended by the small Jewish community, Jewish tourists, and former detainees. The delegation also met with President Cassim Utim of Mauritius. Today, approximately 40 Jews live on the predominantly Hindu and Christian island, though they are unrelated to the World War II refugees. There is also a significant Muslim population. In 2000, Rabbi Silberhalft officiated at the first bar mitzvah in Mauritius since World War II. A consul general represented Israel until Mauritius gained its independence from Britain in 1968 and joined the United Nations. In 1960, Israel gave Mauritian students scholarships to study medicine in Jerusalem. After independence, full diplomatic relations were established and Israel's ambassador in Tananarive (Malagasy) served as non-resident ambassador to Mauritius. Mauritians received numerous scholarships and agricultural expert assistance from Israelis. Many Mauritians went to Israel for professional training and founded a Mauritius-Israel Friendship Society. Though an Indian and Pakistani Muslim anti-Israel influence exists in the country, Mauritius is generally friendly toward Israel, and those who can remember the Jewish detention during World War II still extend their sympathy. Sources: “Mauritius,” Encyclopedia Judaica |
