Saint Martin Jewish Cemetery

On December 26, 1940, 1581 Jews, mainly from Austria and Germany, arrived in Mauritius - deported by the British Mandate from Palestine, which they had finally reached after fleeing from Europe under great hardship. They were immediately sent to an internment camp in Beau Bassin, men and women strictly separated and in poor hygienic conditions. Typhus, malaria, polio, more than 50 people died in the first year in Mauritius. The survivors were interned here until the end of the war, without charge, with no prospect of an end to their imprisonment. Over the years, a cultural microcosm developed in the camp, there was a camp newspaper, the prisoners set up a school and various small craft businesses. After the end of the war, some of the people were allowed to leave for Palestine and if it were not for a Jewish cemetery in Mauritius and the commitment of some organizations and authors, their fate would probably be forgotten. In St. Martin, a small village on the west coast of Mauritius, there is a well-maintained Jewish cemetery with 128 graves, and the information center next door commemorates the history of the interned people.