German Jewish Families in Shanghai (1946)

Original title : German Jewish Families in Shanghai (1946)

Year : 2008

Author : Christian Henriot

Cartographer : Isabelle Durand

Map support : Digital

Topic : Virtual Shanghai

Transliteration : German Jewish Families in Shanghai (1946)

Digitized file : Yes

Map type : eAtlas

Comments : The present map is based on a sample of German and Austrian, refugee families in post-war Shanghai. The list was published in "Almanac, Shanghai 1946/47", a publication by the German newspaper "Shanghai Echo". The list was defined as of "those present" (Anwesenheits-Liste) [in Shanghai]. It comes under “German language section” in the table of contents, with papers on Germans and Jews. It is not clear which community this actually covers, as there is also a separate paper on the Austrian community. This source was found in the 'Sino-Judaic Institute' collection at the Hoover Archives. The map shows clearly the concentration of Jewish refugees in the eastern district of the International Settlement where the Japanese military had imposed their gathering and confinement in a so-called 'designated area'. In Jewish memories, this area is remembered as the "Hongkew Ghetto". In fact, although severe restrictions were imposed on those who were dragooned into this area, the "Hongkew Ghetto" never became a ghetto as in European cities. Moreover, only the stateless Jewish refugees who had come from Germany and Central Europe were targeted by this policy. One can also observe that the "Honkew Ghetto" actually extended far into the Yangshupu district. This small sample is probably not fully representative of the distribution of the 24,000-some Jewish refugees during the war, but it reveals the impact of the edict of geographical segregation by the Japanese army on the life of this population. After the trauma of the flight from Europe, Jewish refugees had to endure a second displacement within the city where they had hoped to find a haven. The list includes 462 individuals, of which 86 are not provided with a physical address (instead a p.o. box is given). We were able to exploit 376 actual addresses. The sample is also gender-biased with 369 men and 89 women (and four unknown cases). The vast majority of Jewish individuals came from Vienna (132) and Berlin (128), followed by Breslau (22), Francfort (12), Hamburg (10) and a long list of various cities and towns. Selected readings: Kranzler, David H., Japanese, Nazis and Jews: The Jewish Refugee Community of Shanghai, 1938-1945 (1974) Kreissler, Françoise, “Exil ou asile à Shanghai? Histoire des réfugiés d’Europe centrale (1933-1945)” (2000) Kreissler, Françoise, “Exil ou asile à Shanghai? Histoire des réfugiés d’Europe centrale (1933-1945)” (2000) Kreissler, Francoise, « Retour ou rapatriement de shanghai? specificites des contextes politiques (1945-1949) » [Return or repatriation from Shanghai? The specific factors of the political contexts, 1945-49] (2003) Ristaino, Marcia R., Port of Last Resort: the Diaspora Communities of Shanghai (2002) Memoirs: Krasno, Rena, Strangers always : A Jewish family in wartime, Berkeley, Pacific View, 1992. Lincoln, Anna, Escape to China (1939-1948), New York, Maryland Books, 1982. Patent, Greg, Shanghai passage, New York, Clarion Books, 1990. Ross, James R., Escape to Shanghai : A Jewish community in China, New York, Free Press, 1994.

Place of publication : Lyon