Seventy-six years after the closure of British-run Cyprus internment camps, descendants of Holocaust survivors gathered in Nicosia to honor a chapter of resilience and unexpected solidarity. Snunith Shoham, born in a camp-turned-military-hospital, returned to Cyprus to commemorate the 76th anniversary of the camps’ 1949 shutdown. “The homeland wasn’t just Israel—Cyprus became a sanctuary when the world turned away,” she said.
From 1946 to 1949, over 52,000 Jewish survivors were detained in Cyprus under British colonial rule. Official records reveal:
- Over 2,200 babies born in squalid camp conditions
- Hundreds of families allowed early departure due to health risks
- A four-year ordeal bridging tragedy and hope
“Local Cypriots did small yet life-saving acts—sharing food, smuggling letters,” Shoham emphasized during the ceremony at the former Karaolos camp site. British authorities initially struggled to manage the refugee influx, but ordinary Cypriots—many working as camp laborers—quietly defied restrictions to aid detainees.
“Cyprus offered security in a world that denied them both,” said Cypriot Defense Ministry official Anna Aristotelous, highlighting the island’s role as a temporary haven.
The 1960 film Exodus brought global attention to the camps, but recent ceremonies underscore their living legacy. Israeli Ambassador Oren Anolik noted the camps forged an enduring Cyprus-Israel bond, while 87-year-old Irinoulas Loizou recalled her father, Capt. Paul Rossides, guiding refugee ships into Famagusta port. “He worked nights, fueled by my mother’s coffee and his conviction,” she shared.
In 1949, Rossides received a plaque from Haganah commander Ephraim Gilan, inscribed with gratitude for his covert aid—a testament to courage that transcended borders. Today, as survivors’ descendants lobby for broader recognition of Cyprus’s role, this overlooked history reminds us: even in darkness, humanity finds light.
