Editor's Note: During the World War II, more than 30,000 Jews, under attack by the Nazis in Europe, fled to Shanghai, China and 16,000 of them took refugee in this city. Meanwhile, the local Shanghai people were also in an abyss of pain inflicted by the Japanese invasion.  Though the time was difficult, gratitude and mutual friendship lived on in the heart of the Jewish and Chinese people. The Shanghai Jewish Refugees Museum and Shanghai International Studies University (SISU) launched a initiative early this year to present those touching stories in Chinese, English, German and Hebrew. This is one of the selected stories in the project to commemorate the history of Jews in Shanghai.

hanghai, especially the International Settlement and the French Concession, used to be a haven for refugees. Soon after the establishment of concessions in 1843, due to the widespread unrest caused by the Taiping Heavenly State, Shanghai became virtually the only land of peace thanks to the effective security guard of the armed forces hired by merchant societies, police and the army. Chinese refugees rushed in a massive flux into the areas governed by foreigners. Of course, Shanghai was also a natural destination for Jews fleeing the Holocaust during WWII, since there was no passport requirement for landing in Shanghai. Holding visas signed by Dr. Ho, thousands of European Jews arrived in Shanghai.

The journey from Europe to Shanghai was absolutely tough for the refugees. Most of them had met with untold hardships. It is strange, however, with just a few exceptions, most of the Jewish refugees did not share their experience, including the sufferings in the Europe and the bitterness on the journey, with the local people. The Jewish Refugee Relief Committee in Shanghai even prohibited the Jewish refugees from sharing their stories with journalists. There were quite a lot of newspapers and magazines published by the Jewish community, they had only mentioned the arrival of the refugees briefly with some very short stories, and the editors had remained neutral regarding either European and eastern issues. In name or in fact, the Jewish refugees had basically no visibility and therefore no guarantee in Shanghai.

The history is sometimes rather embarrassing. Among the Jewish refugees in Shanghai, only one in ten wished to settle in Shanghai with a new family. The living condition of the majority was miserable in Shanghai, too. Most of them had remained jobless for at least one year.

Some of them, especially those who didn’t have to support a family, had been satisfied with life in Shanghai as the relief committee gave them food and shelter, and a few even got the money to buy cigarette. Some other refugees dreamed of making a big fortune, as they had got to know that Shanghai was a paradise for adventurers and the local market environment was not very well regulated. They believed there were a lot of opportunities to get rich over night. So they tried to connect with the people in power with the hope of winning their favor and a special market edge. None of them, however, had finally become business tycoons although there were quite a few prominent Jewish business tycoons in Shanghai. Of course, most Jewish refugees in Shanghai had tried to take decent jobs.