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Greeting in the exhibition’s catalogue. “But it
seems that along with the difficulties and pain,
Jews who were detained in Cyprus saw their
stay there not only as something forced upon
them; many testimonies indicate that they saw
it as a preparatory and transitory period between
Europe of the Holocaust and entering the Land of
Israel. While they lived in the British detention
camps in Cyprus, they experienced a chapter of
Jewish heroism and fraternity, which became
a symbol of their determination to build new
lives; shortly after the Holocaust, the survivors
decided to take responsibility of their fates and
chose to stick to life and go on.”
To the Holocaust survivors the period spent in
Cyprus was nothing more than one last stage in
their long journey to the land of Israel; a stage
during which they were forced to spend long
months in detention camps, living under difficult
conditions. Even so, the detained Jewish people
demonstrated great endurance and vitality,
adapting to the conditions of their captivity.
They achieved successes through organised
actions, such as vocational training, educational
and cultural activities. Artists’ workshops, music
courses, theatre performances, sports events, a
choir and an orchestra were organised. After all,
the ability to create art under harsh conditions
was one way to overcome difficulties.
The artworks created by the refugees during their
stay in Cyprus depicted their experiences and
rendered the grind of daily life in the detention
camps, or portrayed the surroundings. Still,
other works followed a more classical repertoire,
characteristic of European traditions in art. Some
of the detainees were later to become established
artists in Israel – such as Shraga Weil (1918-
2009), Schmuel Katz (1926-2010) or Haim
(Heniek) Barkani (1923-2001), whose artworks
were on display in this exhibition.
The refugees produced a variety of art works;
paintings, drawings, engravings and sculptures.
There they depicted their experiences and
everyday reality or portrayed the surroundings
of the camps: the bridge over the Larnaca -
Famagusta road which connected the camps, the
double wire fences, the ditches which surrounded
the deportation camps and the watch towers.
Other works rendered the grind of daily life; the
queues for water, the round tin barracks - which
supposedly provided better protection against
weather conditions, but, in fact, were freezing in
winter and sizzling hot during the summer and
even leaked when it rained.
Artefacts and handicrafts were made from all
sorts of material that was available in the camps:
discarded beverage cans, soft limestone, wood
panels (once part of dining tables), ceramic
tiles etc. These materials were consequently
assembled into form with the help of nails, wires
and knives. Model tractors, ploughs, miniature
house furniture, books or similar artefacts
were created, even miniature slippers. They
anticipate a great yearning for warmth and what
one would call «Home». Additionally, one can
find colourful toys for children; weaving and
pictures made of threads or material cut from
the tents, decorated wooden or stone boxes,
picture albums, chess and domino sets. Shoes,
clothing and other artefacts were produced in
the same way. Finally, the immigrant ships used
to transport Holocaust survivors to Palestine,
their homeland and future State of Israel, were
depicted with every opportunity - a constant
symbol of the longing to finally reach a safe
haven.
Back then, the detainees were eager to display
their work, so in October 1947, a memorable art
exhibition was inaugurated in the Xylotymbou
camp. The exhibits were later sent to Tel Aviv
and were put on display there inApril 1948. Most
of the exhibits have been kept in the HaShomer
HaTzair Archive, where they remain until today,
covered in the dust of history.
Sixty-five years after the last of the Jewish
refugees left the shore of Cyprus, pieces of art
created back then returned to the island.
Thanks to this initiative, history treasures –works
of art hidden for decades in archives – have
come back to light. The power of creativity and
Shmuel Katz
