Wartime Shanghai and the Jewish Refugees from Central Europe: Survival, Co-Existence, and Identity in a Multi-Ethnic City 3110267977, 9783110267976

Table of contents :
Acknowledgments
Abbreviations
Introduction
Chapter 1: Shanghai
Beginnings of the Treaty Port
Shanghai until the Sino-Japanese War of 1937
Baghdadi (Sephardi) and Russian (Ashkenazi) Jews
Shanghai’s Russian and Japanese Communities
Aftermath of the 1937 Hostilities
Shanghai-Harbin-Tianjin
Chapter 2: Germany’s China Policy, Forced Emigration and the Search for Alternative Destinations
The First Jewish Arrivals in China, 1933–1934
Germany’s East Asian Politics between China and Japan
Money, Trade, Arms, and Military Missions
Forced Emigration
Alternative Destinations: Manchukuo, the Philippines, Yunnan
Chapter 3: “To Suffer a Martyr’s Death Rather than Perish in Shanghai” or to “Die as Free Men in Shanghai”
The Journeys
The Refugee Flood and its Cessation
Factors Limiting Sea Travel
Responses in Shanghai
The Permit System
Legitimate and Forged Permits
Overland Routes
Chapter 4: Strangers in Shanghai
Getting Settled: Flats and Heime
Entertainment
Litigation
Publishing
Institutional Development: Synagogues, Burial Societies and Cemeteries, Hospitals and Schools
To Leave Shanghai
Chapter 5: Years of Misfortune: 1941–1945
Eastjewcom, Laura Margolis, and the Polish Jews
The Pacific War and the Jewish Communities
Anti-Semitism, The Proclamation, and The “Designated Area”
Life in the Ghetto
Chapter 6: End of War and the Jewish Exodus
The Disaster of July 1945
Leaving China
Shanghai Remembered
Some Final Remarks
Appendices
Appendix 1: Old and New Street Names Mentioned in Text
Appendix 2: Journals and Newspapers Published in Shanghai for the Jewish Communities 1939–1946
Appendix 3: Documentary Films about Shanghai
Appendix 4: Partial List of Published German and English Language Memoirs and Autobiographies
Appendix 5: A Biographical Sketch of the Karfunkel Family
Appendix 6: List of German Refugees Entering Shanghai Since 1937, Registration Made by Zangzou Police Station
Glossary of Chinese Names and Terms
Bibliography
Archives
Newspapers
Interviews
Books
Articles
Index of Persons

Citation preview

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Survival, Co-Existence, and Identity in a Multi-Ethnic City

DE GRUYTER

An electronic version of this book is freely available, thanks to the support of libraries working with Knowledge Unlatched. KU is a collaborative initiative designed to make high quality books Open Access. More information about the initiative can be found at www.knowledgeunlatched.org

ISBN 978-3-11-021808-4 e-ISBN (PDF) 978-3-11-021809-1 e-ISBN (EPUB) 978-3-11-021806-2 ISSN 0179-0986 e-ISSN 0179-3256

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 License, as of February 23, 2017. For details go to http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data A CIP catalog record for this book has been applied for at the Library of Congress. Bibliografische Information der Deutschen Nationalbibliothek Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek verzeichnet diese Publikation in der Deutschen Nationalbibliografie; detaillierte bibliografische Daten sind im Internet über http://dnb.dnb.de abrufbar. ISBN 978-3-11-021808-4 © 2016 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston e-ISBNund (PDF) 978-3-11-021809-1 Druck Bindung: Duck & Co., Ortsname e-ISBN (EPUB) ♾ Gedruckt auf978-3-11-021806-2 säurefreiem Papier ISSN 0179-0986 Printed in Germany isbn 978-3-11-026797-6 e-ISSN 0179-3256 e -isbn 978-3-11-026818-8 www.degruyter.com issn 2192-9645 This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 License, as of February 23, 2017. For details go to http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

A CIP catalog record for this book has been applied for at the Library of Congress. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data A CIP catalog record for this book has been applied for at the Library of Congress. Bibliographic information published by the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek

The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek this publication in the Deutsche Bibliografische Information derlists Deutschen Nationalbibliothek Nationalbibliografie; detailed bibliographic datadiese are available in theinInternet Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek verzeichnet Publikation der Deutschen Nationalbibliograat http://dnb.dnb.de. fie; detaillierte bibliografische Daten sind im Internet über http://dnb.dnb.de abrufbar. © 2012 Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co. KG, Berlin/Boston Printing: Hubert & Co. GmbH & Co. KG, Göttingen © 2016 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston ∞ Printed on acid-free paper Druck und Bindung: Duck & Co., Ortsname Printed in Germany

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www.degruyter.com

To Professor Paul Mendes-Flohr, Friend and Colleague With Much Gratitude

$FNQRZOHGJPHQWV Many years were spent in writing Wartime Shanghai and the Jewish Refugees from Central Europe. The project began with the encouragement of Harold Z. Schiffrin, then chairman of the Department of East Asian Studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Eventually Avraham Altman, also of the department, joined the research project and we collaborated fruitfully for many years. I am grateful for their encouragement to persevere with this project, despite the lack of materials in Israeli libraries at the time. At an early stage of research and writing, when I enjoyed the hospitality of Harvard’s Fairbank Center, my friends there helped me define this history as part of Holocaust history. The many good talks we had are a cherished memory. I thank friends and colleagues who have read long portions of the text, Eli Joffe (deceased), Maisie Meyer, Yitzhak Shichor, Barbara Johnson and Paul Mendes-Flohr. To Paul Mendes-Flohr my debt of gratitude is boundless. Without his help and unfailing support this book would continue to languish in a dark corner. To him I gratefully dedicate this volume. My friends’ useful comments were extremely helpful and I am grateful for the time they invested in reading these pages. Yitzhak Shichor especially saved me from a number of serious mistakes. Among scholars who have sent me often much needed materials, special thanks are due to Hartmut Walravens and Knut Walf. Over the years Wolfgang Kubin has patiently listened to my tirades about Shanghai. Nitza Wu, translator and dear friend, never failed to inquire about my progress and did not miss an opportunity to cheer me on. A number of archives opened their doors in my search for materials and to these I express my gratitude. They include YIVO, Yad Vashem, the American Joint Distribution Committee, and the Central Archive for the History of the Jewish People. Above all, I am grateful to Joan Hill and Itamar Livni. Joan Hill’s research in Harvard’s Widener Library has brought to light materials I did not suspect existed. Her help at every stage of writing is deeply appreciated. I am also vastly indebted to Itamar Livni, who read all of the chapters with a critical eye. He pointed out a number of crucial problems that needed correcting and clarification. He also prepared Appendix One of street names and Appendix Four of English and German language memoirs. He has my utmost gratitude for his friendship and his tireless help. Last but certainly not least, I am deeply grateful to Dr. Albrecht Doehnert and to Professor Wilhelm, editor of this series of Modern Jewish History, for her kind words of support. Dr. Doehnert’s encouragement to persevere has made possible the publication of this book. For Dr. Julia Brauch’s unstinting

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encouragement and support I am more grateful than I can ever express. Her warm letters and sage advice accompanied me every step of the way in the process of seeing the volume into print. The skillful and painstaking copy editing by Ms. Marcia Rothschild has led to untold improvements of the text. Old friends and new – I owe all of them a huge debt of gratitude.

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