Tour of Jewish Shanghai

Today my dad and I went on a fascinating tour detailing the historical presence of Jewish people in Shanghai. Our guide was an Israeli who has been living in Shanghai for about 10 years and is dedicated to restoring the artifacts associated with the important, yet little known history of this period. Ultimately there three waves of immigration of Jews over a 100 year time frame. The first came shortly after the Opium war in the 1840s when a few Jewish Iraqi businessmen saw Shanghai as an opportunity to grow their companies. These men ended up creating corporate empires, producing much of the early wealth in the city. Our tour began in the Peace Hotel which was owned by the Sassoon family, one of the most prominent names involved in the Jewish history here.

This hotel is absolutely exquisite. It was built in the 1930s and has retained much of its original style. The art deco layout made me feel as if I was stepping back in time and it was also hard to believe that I was still in China. 

Many of the other old style buildings located on the Bund were also associated with the wealthy Jewish families. This area was the center of financial power at the time and the Jews were at the forefront of the innovation. 

The second wave of immigration came from Russia in the early 1900s due to growing persecution in their home country. The amazing part about Shanghai was that it was an open port, meaning that a person did not need official papers to come to the city. These Jews ended up settling in a poorer part of town. With them they brought much of their European lifestyle to the Chinese streets and began to establish their own businesses and community.

 

The third wave is perhaps the most interesting of the three sagas as it pertains to the fleeing of the Jews from Nazi rule in Europe. In the 1930s, the Jews were running out of places to resettle. Shanghai, due to its open port status, was a prime location that if they could get to the city they would be allowed to stay. Our tour guide is something of an expert of this history. He is actually compiling all his research into a book. We walked around the neighborhood that once was the central location for Jewish immigrants and what later became known as the Jewish ghetto during WWII. 

While the conditions in the Jewish ghetto were unpleasant and disease ridden, these conditions did not compare to the situations facing European Jews at the time. The Jews were for the most part confined within their neighborhood, but some were allowed work permits to leave. One of the most helpful parts was that the Japanese who had taken over Shanghai at the time did not possess anti-Semitic feelings such as those that existed in Europe. In fact, the general attitude toward the Jewish people was somewhat positive as they were seen as a way to gain future business connections with the western world. This outlook may have helped saved the Shanghai Jews from the same fate as their European counterparts. The Germans had urged for annihilation, but the Japanese never acted upon their suggestions.

It is estimated that as many as 20,000 Jews escaped to Shanghai during the pre-war period. This large number was greatly due to efforts of a few men who provided travel permits for those wanting to leave. One man in particular by the name of Dr. Ho issued such permits, saving close to ten thousand lives. The unfortunate part is that his efforts have only just been coming to light which research done by his daughter. Throughout his life he never advertised what he had done and no one knew how much he had helped. 

It truly was fascinating to hear about these stories. We were able to walk round the residential streets where the buildings that the Jews once lived in still stand. The tour concluded in an actual apartment that was bought by a Chinese man from a Jewish family in 1947. It was extremely striking to see the extreme poverty present in these tiny rooms; even more so knowing that people in this neighborhood still live like this today.

 

Keep in mind, this area is located only five minutes away from the Bund, one of the wealthiest places in the city.

One of the horrible things about this entire story is that in 1949 with the communist revolution all the foreigners were expelled and their legacy was completely destroyed. Another unfortunate part is that this area is in danger of being torn down to make room for new high rise buildings. Our guide along with the small Jewish community in Shanghai is working to preserve what is left and expose the rich and important history of this area. The Chinese government did allow for a museum to be built dedicated to the Jewish refugees so hopefully some areas of this neighborhood will be preserved, but for how long, nobody knows.