Hello! The Chinese man at the ticket counter greets us in English.
Two, please.
OK. Can I ask, are you Jewish?
I am, I reply.
Shalom! A huge grin comes across the man’s face.
Of all of the countries we’ve traveled to, China isn’t one where I expected to be greeted in Hebrew. Sure, for Jews in the States, Chinese take out and Christmas Eve go hand in hand, but that’s usually where the connection between Jews and China ends. Amazingly, it was at the Shanghai Jewish Refugees Museum where I received this warm welcome. We have come to see the site of the former Ohel Moshe Synagogue, where Jewish refugees gathered for religious rites during World War II. The guidebooks had warned us not to expect much, but like a lot of what we experienced in China, the guidebooks were completely out of date. The Museum consists of the former Synagogue and two very recently renovated exhibition halls that describe the history of the Jews in Shanghai and testimonials of many of those who lived and worshiped there.
Ohel Moshe Synagogue
The Synagogue is at the center of the Shanghai Jewish Ghetto, an area of approximately one square mile in the Hongkou District of what was Japanese-occupied Shanghai. Approximately 30,000 Jews fleeing the atrocities in Europe found a safe haven here, one of the few places in the world accepting Jewish refugees without visas. Despite orders from the Nazis to exterminate the Jews of Shanghai, the Chinese and Japanese protected this small Jewish community and most survived the harrowing wartime conditions. The stories of narrow escapes from tragedy are juxtaposed with awkward Bar Mitzvah photographs and tales of friendships and romances between the Jewish refugees and local Chinese residents that bloomed in the 1940s.
The Chinese government recently restored the Synagogue using the original blueprints, which are on display in the former sanctuary. The Museum also contains works of art celebrating the relationship between the Jews and the Chinese, including this print of two Jewish scholars deep in discussion as they stroll in front of a pagoda.
While most Jews left Shanghai during the Cultural Revolution in 1949, the brief history of the Jews in Shanghai is a small but fascinating tale of survival that is elegantly told at the Museum. It is well deserving of a place on any itinerary in Shanghai.
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To see more photos of the Shanghai Jewish Refugee Museum check out the slide show below.
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Hi Amy and Keith! So good to meet you both over dinner on Doutonbori Street in Osaka! I look forward to following your traveling adventures. I’ve only read 2 posts, but I love your blog already!!
I guess that’s another reason for me to go back to Shanghai. I only stumbled on the oldest synagogue in Shanghai (which is now a government office).
Wow! Didn’t even know there was a sizable community in Shanghai, somehow that was missed at the Diaspora museum in Tel Aviv! Definitely adding this to the list when we get to Shanghai.
Dear Sirs.
I am writing a completely uncommon book on PETER MAX, the POP ICON, obviously, I found that 9 years of his youth were spent in the Jewish Relocated refugees (Ghetto) of Shanghai. I desperately need some images of the actual Ghetto like the one above. Can anyone of you kind participants let me jave a few High Resolution images? I appreciate.
Ed Gugliotta
Miami
themaxcollector@gmail.com