Jewish Shanghai

This is a map of Jewish historical spots in Hongkou district in northern Shanghai.

Shanghai was a safe haven for Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi occupied Europe during the Holocaust. It was one of the very few places in the world where visas were not required. By 1941 close to 20,000 European Jews found refuge in Shanghai.

Jewish community existed in Shanghai since the late 19th century when thousands of Russian Jews fled the Bolshevik Revolution.

In 1930's Nazi Germany encouraged the German and Austrian Jews to emigrate, but most countries closed the borders to them or had very low Jewish refugees quotas. There were very few options for the refugees. The Evian Conference (1938), was held at the urging of Franklin D. Roosevelt to discuss the increase in the numbers of Jewish refugees fleeing persecution. The conference was attended by representatives from 32 countries and 24 voluntary organizations. At the end, only Costa Rica and Dominican Republic increased their quotas and Shanghai remained visa free. Visas were needed to enter other parts of China. The Jewish refugees made their way to Shanghai through European ports or trans-Siberian railway.

Ohel Moshe Synagogue was the primary place of warship for the Jewish refugees. It was established by Russian immigrants in 1907, and it quickly grew to 250 families. The current structure was created in 1927. In 1949, shortly after the communist takeover, the synagogue was confiscated and turned into a psychiatric hospital. It was restored and opened as a museum in 2007.

This is a very interesting museum commemorating the Jewish refugees who lived in Shanghai during WWII.

This entire area was part of the Jewish Ghetto, about 2.68 square km (about one square mile), it was cordoned off by the Japanese who controlled the city. About 100,000 Shanghainese lived in the area as well. In 1945 the European Jewish refugees slowly left Shanghai.

This was the home of Michael Blumenthal and his family. Blumenthal was born in Germany in 1926, was able to, along with his family, flee his homeland in 1939. While living in the Shanghai Ghetto, he worked at a chemical factory earning $1.00 per week, and learned English during a brief time attending a British school. When the American troops entered Shanghai in 1945, Blumenthal managed to find a job as a warehouse helper with the U.S. Air force. He got a visa, settled in the U.S., and became The United States Secretary of The Treasury under Jimmy Carter.