Uploaded December 2025 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago

---

This video explores the Cyprus Emergency of the 1950s and how it created the conditions for the division of Cyprus in 1974.

VISIT IWM

Visit Emergency Exits: The Fight for Independence in Malaya, Kenya and Cyprus, open now at IWM London: iwm.org.uk/events/emergency-exits-the-fight-for-independence-in-malaya-kenya-and-cyprus

TIMECODES

00:00 The real reason Cyprus is divided
01:00 A brief history of Cyprus
02:01 Greek Cypriots
03:26 EOKA
05:04 The revolt begins
06:06 The British response
07:31 From bad to worse
08:27 Divide and Rule
09:26 Turkish Cypriots
10:33 The turning point
12:39 Intercommunal violence
13:55 Peace?
14:49 The Cyprus problem

FILM CLIPS

Explore and licence the film clips used in this video: film.iwmcollections.org.uk/collections/_VA4Nqb2m

FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA

https://x.com/I_W_M
instagram.com/imperialwarmuseums
facebook.com/iwm.london
tiktok.com/@imperialwarmuseums

CREATIVE COMMONS ATTRIBUTIONS

Taksim graffiti in Nicosia late 1950s by Don Christie. CC BY-SA 4.0.
Deed - Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International - Creative Commons

Turkish rally Nicosia 1950s by Don Christie. CC BY-SA 4.0.
Deed - Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International - Creative Commons

Turkish Flag Flying by Ahmet Baris Isitan. CC BY-SA 3.0.
Deed - Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported - Creative Commons

UNFICYP peacekeepers patrolling the buffer zone by Thaizacastilho. CC BY-SA 4.0.
Deed - Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International - Creative Commons