| On October 1, 1940, over 3500 refugees set sail from Romania hoping to reach Israel. The refugees were aboard three ships, the Atlantic, the Milos, and the Pacific.
In early November, the Pacific and the Milos reached Haifa where British officials refused to allow the refugees to disembark. Instead, the refugees were put on the ship Patria for deportation to Mauritius, a tropical island in the Indian Ocean.
When the Atlantic arrived in Haifa a couple of weeks later, about 100 of its passengers were also transferred to the Patria.
The Haganah planned to sabotage the ship to prevent the Patria from leaving port. A bomb was smuggled aboard the ship. The explosive was intended to damage the ship's engines, but instead, when it detonated on November 25, 1940, it created a large hole in the ship's hull. The ship sank quickly. About 250 people, mostly Jewish refugees, died.
The survivors of the Patria were allowed to remain in Palestine, though they were interned at a detention camp in Athlit for up to a year. The passengers still on the Atlantic (about 1600) were deported to Mauritius and interned there until August of 1945. Links: |
