Atlit detention camp

Atlit detention camp Review

Atlit is a peninsula with the jagged remains of an important Crusader castle. Of more recent vintage, to the west (about 1,500 feet from the highway), is the Atlit detention camp. It was used by the British to house refugees smuggled in during and after World War II. The reconstructed barracks, fences, and watchtowers stand as reminders of how Jewish immigration was practically outlawed under the British Mandate after the publication of the infamous White Paper in 1939. More than a third of the 120,000 illegal immigrants to Palestine passed through the camp from 1934 to 1948. The authenticity of the exhibit is striking: it was re-created from accounts of actual detainees and their contemporaries; you'll see the living quarters, complete with laundry hanging from the rafters. The camp is 15 km (9 mi) south of Haifa.