The Mauritian shekel: the story of the Jewish detainees in Mauritius, 1940-1945

Author Geneviève Pitot, Donna Edouard, Helen Topor
Publication information Rowman & Littlefield, 2000, 259 pages

Narrative

In 1940, thousands of Jews were trying to flee Nazi persecution in Europe.
The Mauritian shekel: the story of the Jewish detainees in Mauritius, 1940-1945 is the story of 1,600 Jewish refugees who, having escaped from Nazi-occupied Europe, were refused entry into Palestine by the British in 1940, because they were considered illegal immigrants.
Their deportation after landing in the Promised Land, was unique, because, as a deterrent to others, they were deported to Mauritius, a remote island in the Indian Ocean, where they were detained in a Mauritian prison until the end of the war, and were deprived of all basic human rights-even that of family life.
The book shed light on the British government's lack of understanding of the critical problem of Jewish refugees.

References

  1. Αυγερινός Avgerinos Avgherinos Avggerinos, Socrates Sokrates