Hanukkah menorah hand-carved of wood made by a Holocaust survivor in the detention camps in Cyprus [1940s].
This Hanukkah menorah was created during the time Holocaust survivors spent in detention camps in Cyprus where they were deported after attempts to immigrate to Eretz Israel. The word "Cyprus" is etched on the front of the menorah.
On Victory in Europe Day , there were about 200,000 displaced Jews concentrated in camps in Germany and Austria, determined not to return to their countries of origin but to build new lives in Palestine or Western countries. Zionist and Jewish organizations worked to bring the survivors to Palestine despite the British Mandate government's ongoing refusal to grant entry permits. In 1946, the British government decided that all "illegal" immigrants would be deported to Cyprus and detained in camps there in order to break the illegal immigration movement to Eretz Israel. During the existence of the camps, there were about 52,000 people who arrived in 39 refugee ships that were on their way to Eretz Israel. The detainees, who had nurtured hopes of a free life in Eretz Israel, again found themselves behind barbed wire fences. They lived in tents and tin structures and had to contend with many difficulties stemming from detention conditions. In order to address unemployment among the detainees, the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee established art workshops in the camps where the imprisoned created various objects. About half a year after the state of Israel's establishment, the deportation camps in Cyprus finally closed and the detainees immigrated to the Israel.
Length: 33 cm. Maximum height: 11 cm. Signs of use, good condition.
