On the 9th of December 2025, former detainees, their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren gathered together with representatives of the African Jewish Congress, the Island Hebrew Congregation, and The Johannesburg Holocaust & Genocide Centre at the St Martin Jewish Cemetery, Mauritius.

The commemorative event included remarks from:

• Owen Griffiths, President, Island Hebrew Congregation
• Written message from Naphtali Regev, Honorary Consul of the Republic of Mauritius in Israel
• Tali Nates, Director,  Johannesburg Holocaust & Genocide Centre and the South African Holocaust & Genocide Foundation
• Rabbi Moshe Silberhaft, African Jewish Congress
• Sarah Ansbacher, author writing a historical trilogy about the Jewish refugees deported to Mauritius
• Shlomo Gradmann, grandson of Louis Gradmann
• Recorded message – Professor Shula Porush, granddaughter of Louis Gradmann

This was followed by the launch of the English translation of the book, “The Story of the Jewish Cemetery in Mauritius” by Louise (Eliezer) Gradmann and Shula Parush née Gradmann.

The commemoration concluded with the unveiling of two plaques honouring the 16 Jewish refugees who perished during their 1940 journey fleeing Nazi-occupied Europe. Seeking safety in Eretz Israel, these refugees travelled from Bratislava to Haifa, where the British refused to let them remain and deported 1,581 of them to Mauritius.

Those 16 who died on the way were buried at sea or in anonymous graves. For 85 years, they had no memorial to honour their memory. On this day, memorial plaques were unveiled to give them back their names and ensure their stories will never be forgotten.

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