Jewish Tour in Shanghai ------- Part Two

Haven for Holocaust Victims from Nazi Europe


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From 1933 to 1941, Shanghai accepted over thirty thousand Jewish
refugees coming from Europe. Excluding those who left Shanghai for
other countries, the city contained a total of 25,000 Jewish refugees
as the Pacific War erupted. This means that Shanghai accepted more
Jewish refugees than those taken in by Canada, Australia, New Zealand,
South Africa and India combined.

The Nazis and their accessories not only killed six million Jews in
Europe but also posed serious threats against Jewish communities
outside Europe. including the Jewish community in Shanghai. In July,
1942, eight months after the Pacific War broke out. Colonel Josef
Meisinger, chief representative of the Nazi Gestapo to Japan, arrived
in Shanghai and put forward the plan Final Solution in Shanghai" to
Japanese authorities. Although "the Meisinger Plan was not put into
effect due to differences in dealing with Jews between the Japanese and
German governments, the Japanese authorities proclaimed The Designated
Area for Stateless Refugees , ordering the refugees who had arrived in
Shanghai from Europe since 1937 to move into the area within a month.
The pressure of Nazi Germany and the caprice of Japan's policy towards
Jews put Shanghai Jews in difficult, unpredictable, and sometimes
dangerous straits for nearly four years. But, at last, almost all
Shanghai Jews, not only Central European Jewish refugees but also the
Sephardic congregation and Russian Jews, survived the Holocaust and
war, mainly depending upon their own mutual aid and the great support
from American Jews and Chinese people.

Just like "Schindler" , "Wallenberg" and "Sugihara", "Shanghai" has now
become a synonym of "rescue" and "haven" in the annals of the
Holocaust.

Shanghai Ctrip Charming Int'l Travel Service
1230 Si Ping Road, Shanghai, China, ZIP 200092
Tel.86-21-65039765 Fax:86-21-55572033 Mobile:13301854858
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