Fiszman, Joseph R., The Quest for Status: Polish Jewish Refugees in Shanghai, 1941-1949, (1998)

Title : The Quest for Status: Polish Jewish Refugees in Shanghai, 1941-1949,

Author(s) : Fiszman, Joseph R.

Year : 1998

Type : Journal article

Subject : History

Keywords : foreigners;jews;Poland;

Journal : Polish Review,

Volume : 43

Number : 4

Start page : 441

End page : 460

Language:Name : English

Support : Print

Abstract : After fleeing Nazi and Soviet occupation during 1939-41 and being turned away from Japan after the start of the Pacific War in 1941, roughly 1,200 Polish refugees, many of them Jewish, settled into relatively better conditions in Shanghai under Japanese occupation. During the war, the Poles were generally able to conduct business and artistic activities in selected sectors, which were overseen by the Japanese-controlled Shanghai Ashkenazi Collaborating Relief Association. Though not subject to the severe Nazi and Soviet policies they escaped from, most Poles desired to return either to their native country or to Israel rather than remain in Shanghai after World War II. The refugees, who did not return with the help of the UN Internal Refugee Organization, emigrated to North America and Australia or were evacuated to the Philippines after the Chinese Communists took control of Shanghai in 1949.