Jugoslavenski zbjeg u Italiji

Fleeing the German offensive in late 1943 and early 1944, when Germany occupied Dalmatia, a large number of civilians (over 30,000), fearing reprisals, took refuge on the island of Vis. As Vis already housed the General Staff of the Partisan army and the allied British army, it was not able to accept and feed so many people. Therefore it was decided that the non-combatant population of the island be evacuated as refugees to South Italy, first to Bari and then to Taranto. Refugees mostly consisted of people from the Makarska area (around 6000), as well as from Vodice, the islands of Hvar, Vis, and Korčula, and some people from the Dalmatian interior. As Italy was still experiencing heavy fighting between Allied forces and the Germans, it was decided to transfer these people to Egypt, then under the direction of the British forces. Among these people was a group of Yugoslav Jews who had fled to the island of Korcula prior to the exodus of almost the entire civilian population of the island to Vis/Egypt. Most of these Yugoslav Jews then stayed in Palestine and did not return to Yugoslavia (or elsewhere) in 1946/1947.

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