... to illegal immigration in Palestine

La Bricha (the leak)

As soon as the war ended, survivors of the ghettos founded a structure, the Bricha (the escape in Hebrew), whose purpose was to find escape routes to Eretz Israel, mainly by helping the populations of Eastern Europe to reach displaced persons camps and, more generally, Western regions. In September and October 1945, emissaries of the Haganah structured this network which became, in 1947, the branch of a larger clandestine organization, Mossad Lé Alyah Beth or "Organization for parallel immigration". This organization is divided into four branches: the Bricha, responsible for the escape of Jews detained in camps for displaced persons, the Haganah-Europe, for supervising convoys to boarding areas, the Haapala, for crossing the Mediterranean and the Réchek, for arms purchases.

The boats

Before the war, illegal immigration was carried out on boats chartered by the Haganah. But the British threats have a chilling effect on boat owners and, after the war, Mossad is forced to acquire its own boats. The situation improved somewhat with the purchase in the United States of boats used during the Second World War.

Often in bad condition, these boats sometimes have to be completely refitted because they are mostly cargo ships unfit to accommodate passengers. many of whom are women, children, and the elderly.

The crew consists of volunteers motivated by the Zionist cause, the others are paid for their work. Most of the boats were intercepted by the British. Also, the disembarkation of passengers is an extremely delicate operation that takes place on a few beaches, easily accessible, such as Naharia in the north, Caesarea, Shefayim, Tel Aviv, the estuary of Wadi Rubin and Nitzanim. The boat comes as close as possible to the beaches and the passengers reach the shore, for the most able swimmers, the others by means of canoes led by members of the Haganah. A unit of the Haganah is responsible for informing ships about the activities of British troops in order to avoid arrests. Others take care of the new immigrants and are responsible for dispersing them in Palestine, carrying false identity papers. The first French ship, the Tel Haï, left for Eretz Israel on 17 March 1946. It transports 732 people who have crossed France in trucks from the Haganah to reach the Côte d'Azur. From April 1946 to May 1948, about fifteen boats carrying a total of 20,000 people left France for the Jewish National Home.

Cyprus: the camps for repressed persons

Wishing to intensify its fight against illegal immigration, the British government announced on 12 August 1946, the creation of camps for deported persons on the island of Cyprus. The first passengers to be transferred there were those of the Yagour and the Henrietta Szold, from France and Greece respectively. They are usually forcibly disembarked from the boat on which they arrive and transferred directly to the one that will take them to Cyprus. The passengers try to resist the British troops who come in large numbers and do not hesitate to use their batons or tear gas. These operations take place under the gaze of the international press and sometimes under the booing of Jewish demonstrators who come to support their companions.

Transfers to Cyprus took place over twenty months, from August 1946 to April 1948. A total of 52,260 people, or half of the total number of illegal immigrants, pass through these camps. About 2,000 children are born there. At the end of 1946, a small number of detainees were released for humanitarian reasons. Later, half of the 1,500 monthly certificates granted by the Mandatory power were awarded to internees from Cyprus. At the end of 1947, orphans as well as young children and their parents (nearly 4,000 people) were allowed to emigrate to Palestine.

The first camp, consisting of tents, is built in Famagusta. After November 1946, another camp located 26 km from the first was opened, surrounded by a double row of three-meter high barbed wire. Food is insufficient and living conditions are very rudimentary. The Jewish Agency and humanitarian organizations try to improve the daily lives of internees, especially children. The Haganah infiltrates some of its members in order to organize resistance from within. Escape attempts, demonstrations of protest, the internees do not admit defeat. Despite their promise, the British did not release the last internees until January 1949.

Camp of Poppendorf, Germany. Demonstration by former Exodus passengers. "From one camp to another. Until when?" August-September 1942
© Shoah Memorial / CDJC

The passengers of the Exodus 47 were disembarked in the port of Haifa, after their ship was intercepted by the British, July 1947.
© Shoah Memorial / CDJC.

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