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Jews in Shanghai during World War 2

12/7/2019

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Header graphic featuring a photo of a map and overlay text reading
In the spring of 1938, a month after the annexation of Austria to Germany, the Anschluss, Austrian Jews were deported to Dachau and Buchenwald Concentration Camps. At the time, there were about 185,000 Jews in Austria, and they had two choices, either flee the country or be deported to the Camps. However, it was not an easy task for most as the Nazis required Jews exiting the country to hold an entry visa to the country. ​ 
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Ho Feng-Shan
Ho Feng-Shan was the consul-general in Vienna during this dark period. He went against his superior’s order and issued visas for the Jews looking to escape. It was unnecessary for anyone to get a visa to enter China, but Nazis needed the Jews escaping to get a visa to make it more difficult, and Ho Feng-Shan complied. By June 1938, he issued the 200th visa, and by October 27th, 1938, he had issued the 1906th visa. He issued thousands of visas for those who sought to escape persecution. Each person left with up to ten Deutschmarks, about $4.17 today, which was the maximum that Nazis allowed them. 
​The refugees from Vienna arrived in wartorn Shanghai and settled in Hongkou District starting 1938. Hongkou eventually became the “Shanghai Ghetto,” housing the fleeing refugees at a time when no one else would take them in. Countries such as the United States and Canada were very reluctant to take any refugees. A Canadian official stated, “None is too many,” when he was asked how many Jewish refugees his country would take. 

Although the idea of taking in Jewish refugees was noble, it was hard in practice. Resources in Shanghai was already scarce due to the Sino-Japanese War, especially after the Battle of Shanghai(August 13th- November 12th, 1937). After three months of the war, Chinese refugees moved into the International settlement as well. Along with the 20,000 Jews that fled to Shanghai, the Shanghai population peaked at 700,000. It is also documented that about 30 people would fit into a room in the Shanghai Ghetto. 

Since most refugees had so little to bring to their new homes, most required help from JDC for their livelihood, the refugee community relied heavily on the overstrained relief funds, soup kitchens, and overcrowded public accommodations facilities for their survivals. According to JDC, the soup kitchen served 8500 refugees twice a day. Eventually, they started feeding 10,000 people a day. 

Some eventually started doing business with locals and learned Chinese. However, most saw their time in China as a temporary shelter and started leaving immediately as soon as the war was over. JDC had helped 16,000 Jews emigrate from China. One can still see the remnants of the Jewish community in Shanghai in the Hongkou neighborhood. The closest metro station is Tilanqiao station. 
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References
https://archives.jdc.org/topic-guides/refuge-in-shanghai-1938-1953/
https://repository.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1111&context=phr
https://www.thedailybeast.com/how-shanghai-saved-20000-jews-from-the-nazis
https://books.google.com/books?id=u4I2DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA295&dq=%22June+1938%22+%221906%22+%22Feng-Shan%22#v=onepage&q=%22June%201938%22%20%221906%22%20%22Feng-Shan%22&f=false
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ho_Feng-Shan#cite_note-:0-4
https://www.yadvashem.org/righteous/stories/ho.html
http://il.china-embassy.org/eng/xwdt/t451331.htm
http://en.people.cn/200511/11/eng20051111_220515.html
https://theculturetrip.com/asia/china/articles/a-brief-history-of-hongkou-district-in-shanghai/
https://www.hmd.org.uk/resource/feng-shan-ho/
https://www.latimes.com/travel/la-tr-shanghai-jews-20171120-story.html
https://www.military-history.org/articles/war-zone-city-of-terror-the-japanese-takeover-of-shanghai.htm

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  • Home
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        • Summer Research Relocation Fund
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      • Black Hearts (2021)
    • Blog
    • Podcast: Forgotten History
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  • Books
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  • Resource Page
    • Supplementary Research Guides >
      • Unit 731 - Guide >
        • Background of Biochemical Warfare Development
        • Imperial Japan's Chemical Warfare Development Program
        • Map of Unit 731
        • Personnel of Unit 731
        • Duties of Unit 731
        • Human Experimentation
        • [GRAPHIC] Germ Warfare Attacks
        • Cover Ups After the War
        • [OLD] Cover Ups After the War
      • Philippines' Resistance - Guide >
        • Philippines World War II Timeline
        • The Japanese Invasion & Conquest of the Philippines
        • Bataan Death March
        • Formation of Underground Philippines Resistance
        • Supplies of the Guerrilla Fighters
        • The Hukbalahap
        • Hunter's ROTC
        • Marking's Guerrillas
        • United States Army Forces in the Philippines of Northern Luzon (USAFIP-NL)
        • The Aetas
        • Chinese and Filipino-Chinese Nationalist Guerrilla Units
        • The Female Faces of the Philippine Guerrillas
      • Rising Sun Flag - Guide >
        • History of the Rising Sun Flag
        • Atrocities Committed Under the Flag
        • Rising Sun Flag in Pop Culture
      • Pinay Guerrilleras - Guide >
        • Japanese Occupation of the Philippine Islands: Pinays Answering the Call to Arms
        • The Fierce Heneralas and Kumanders of the Hukbalahap Guerrillas
        • Amazons of the Pacific Theater
        • Filipina American Veterans: Recovering the Extraordinary Feats of the Ordinary Pinays
        • The Legacy of the Asian Women Soldier
      • Fall of Singapore - Guide >
        • Singapore World War II Timeline
        • History of World War II in the Pacific
        • History of Singapore
        • Japan's Conquest in Asia
        • Japan's Invasion of the Malay Peninsula
        • Sook Ching Massacre
        • Double Tenth Incident
        • Social Changes and Challenges in Singapore
        • Voices from Syonan
        • Return to British Rule
      • Three Years and Eight Months - Guide >
        • Hong Kong before WW2
        • Buildup to World War 2
        • The Battle of Hong Kong
        • Life during 3 Years and 8 Months
        • East River Column Guerrilla Fighters
        • Prisoners of War Camps
        • End of Japanese Occupation
        • War Crimes Trials
      • Siamese Sovereignty - Guide >
        • The Land of Smiles
        • The Thai-Japanese Relationship
        • Phibun’s Domestic and International Policies
        • The Free Thai Resistance Movement
        • Post WW2 Aftermath of Thailand
      • The Khabarovsk War Crimes Trial - Guide >
        • Defendants of Khabarovsk War Crime
        • The Japanese Empire and USSR in WW2
        • The Employment of the Bacteriological Weapon in the War
        • Planning of Japan invasion to USSR
      • Unit 731 Cover-up : The Operation Paperclip of the East - Guide >
        • Establishing Manchukuo
        • The Development of Unit 731
        • Plan Kantokuen and Bacteriological Warfare
        • The Downfall of the Japanese WW2 Era
        • Three Stages of Interrogations
        • Lasting Impacts
      • Marutas of Unit 731 - Guide >
        • How did Ishii Shiro start unit 731?
        • A Beta Testing Site
        • Establishing Pingfan
        • Experiences at the Human Experimentation Complex
        • Vivisection at the Unit 731
        • Anta Testing Grounds
        • Overall Advance from the Laboratory Creations
        • The End of the War
      • Prince Konoe Memoir - Guide >
        • Who is Prince Konoe?
        • Preparation to Tripartite Pact
        • Emperor Hirohito and Prince Konoe
        • The End of Prince Konoe
      • Competing Empires in Burma - Guide >
        • What was the China-Burma-India Theater?
        • When did the China-Burma-India Theater Happen?
        • Who Fought in the China-Burma-India Theater?
        • The Second Sino Japanese War
        • Japan in the South
        • Operation U-Go
      • Battle of Shanghai - Guide >
        • The Battle of Shanghai. Background
        • Shanghai Before War
        • The First Battle of Shanghai 1932
        • Battle of Shanghai 1937
        • Aftermath of Battle for Shanghai
      • Ishi Shiro - Guide >
        • History of Biological Weapons and The Young Ishii Shiro
        • Establishment in Manchuria
        • Pingfang District - Harbin
        • Failures and Corruption
        • Post War
      • Taiwan The Israel of the East - Guide >
        • Background of Formosa
        • Industrialization of Japan
        • China During WWII
        • Taiwan under Kuomintang
        • New Taiwanese National Identity
      • Seeking Justice for Biological Warfare Victims of Unit 731 - Guide >
        • Introduction of Wang Xuan
        • Colonel Memorandum
        • The Beginning of Biological Warfare
        • The Bacteriological Warfare on China
        • Victims in Zhejiang’s Testimonies
        • After the War
      • Rice and Revolution - Guide >
        • The French Colonial Period
        • Anti-Colonial Resistance
        • The Rise of the Communist Movement
        • Imperial Japan’s Entry into Indochina
        • The Portents of Famine
        • The Famine (1944-45)
        • Legacy of the 1944-45 Vietnam Famine
      • Clash of Empires - Guide >
        • Japan’s Imperialist Origins
        • Japan’s Competition against the West: Nanshin-ron and Hokushin-ron
        • Japanese Imperialism Through the Lens of French Indochina
        • The U.S.-Japan Relations and the Pearl Harbor Attack
      • Hunger for Power and Self-SufficiencyI - Guide >
        • The Influence of War Rations on Post-War Culinary Transformations
        • How World War II Complicated Food Scarcity and Invention
        • American Military Innovations
        • Government-Sponsored Food Inventions in Europe during World War II
        • Feeding the Army: The Adaptation of Japanese Military Cuisine and Its Impact on the Philippines
        • Mixed Dishes: Culinary Innovations Driven by Necessity and Food Scarcity
    • Lesson Plans >
      • Reparations
      • Ethics in Science
      • Writing the Narrative of a Pinay Fighter
      • Privilege Journal
      • Environmental Injustices
      • Female Guerrillas
      • Hunter's ROTC
      • Scientific Advancements
      • Seeking Justice: A Humanities Lesson Plan
      • The Hukbalahap
      • Trading Immunity
      • Bataan Death March
      • Biochemical Warfare Development
Contribute