What happened when China took Jews in during World War II?

Humanitarian aid, the most important thing is that China was stormy at that time, with simple entry and almost no sovereignty constraints!

The Shanghai Jewish Refugees Memorial Hall and the American Jewish Committee once held a photo exhibition "Jewish Refugees and Shanghai" in Washington, DC. During World War II, the old story of "saving Jews" reappeared in the public opinion field. Most domestic reports are titled "Holocaust Witness Thanks China with Tears", which emphasizes the kindness and helpfulness of the people in China, and some even convey the cruelty and arrogance of the Japanese.

From 1933 to 194 1, 30,000 Jews fled to Shanghai to escape Nazi persecution, while the United States only accepted 200,000 Jews in the same period. Palestine, the homeland of Jews-1939 The British colonial authorities announced that they would only accept 75,000 Jews in the next five years. Especially1After the "Crystal Night" that persecuted Jews broke out in Germany on October 9, 1938, 165438, Shanghai is almost the only city in the world that opened its doors to Jews.

In a large number of memory documents left by Jewish refugees in Shanghai, many people show their attachment to Shanghai, but rarely see their words expressing their gratitude to Shanghai or Shanghainese. This is quite different from the relevant reports in China.

Why Shanghai?

Shanghai has inadvertently become a "port of hope" for Jews.

1933 After the Nazis came to power, Jews who were pessimistic about the future fled Germany in succession. Strictly speaking, they are expatriates, not refugees. After the "Crystal Night", Nazi Germany suddenly accelerated the elimination of Jews. Those Jews who stayed and watched in the comfort of "things won't be so bad" suddenly found themselves refugees, and there was almost no place in the world.

1938 In July, Roosevelt took the lead in organizing an international conference on accepting Jewish refugees in Evian-Leban, France, but the 32 countries attending the conference, except Dominica, were unwilling to accept Jews, and the United States was no exception. At that time, anti-Semitism prevailed in the West. Even in America, which is the most friendly to Jews, there are hundreds of anti-Semitic groups.

Anti-semitic pressure made it impossible for Jews to enter the country even if they fled to the United States. The most typical example is the tragedy of the cruise ship St. Louis. 1939 in may, 900 Jewish refugees were sent to Cuba by Nazi Germany on the cruise ship "St. Louis". As a result, they were rejected by Cuba and the landing in Miami was also rejected by the United States, so they had to return to Europe. 600 of them later died in concentration camps. The American film The Suffering of the Rest of My Life, which was introduced by China in the1980s, was adapted from this event.

Although Dominica claims to accept 654.38 million Jews, it is unable to raise huge resettlement fees, and Jews are unwilling to go to countries with poor living environment and far from Europe. At this time, China and Shanghai, thousands of miles away, became the only choice because of the superposition of multiple factors.

The first is the unique position of Shanghai Concession as a "country within a country". 1845 After the establishment of the Shanghai Concession, the public concession and the French concession formed by the merger of the British and American concessions gradually took shape. They are independent of the China government, especially the public concession, not under the jurisdiction of any foreign consul, and belong to a unique local entity managed by foreigners.

Due to the special status of the concession, foreigners did not need any formalities to live in Shanghai in the Qing Dynasty and the early years of the Republic of China. 1932, the government of the Republic of China began to add passport and visa inspection procedures for foreigners who landed in Wusongkou and Shanghai. Due to traditional habits, Shanghai has actually implemented landing visa for all and become the most famous open city in the world.

1937 When Shanghai fell, the National Government was unable to exercise its administrative jurisdiction, and Japan had not yet established a puppet regime to manage Shanghai, so it falsely established visa jurisdiction to enter Shanghai, and the concession inadvertently played the role of a refugee shelter (during the Battle of Songhu, the northern and eastern parts of the public concession were controlled by the Japanese army, which was later called the "Japanese concession").

Therefore, from1August, 937 13 to1September, 939, the Shanghai Concession opened the door for Jews: no visa, no oath, no police certificate and no guarantee of economic independence.

Shanghai not only has the convenience for Jews to enter the country, but also has the financial resources to settle Jews in advance. At that time, there were two Jewish groups in Shanghai. One is a British businessman in Baghdad, including famous rich people such as Sassoon family, Cardori family and Hatton family. The other is a Russian Jew. Although they are not as rich as the former, they are numerous and have considerable financial resources.

Jews who landed at the Bund Pier 16 are not like refugees. At least the flight from Europe to Shanghai is not awkward, even luxurious. They buy first-class tickets, have parties on ships and eat high-end western food. In the memory of many Jews, ribbons, Japanese bands, special flight attendants and cakes are the main impressions of their journey.

However, leaving home during the war is different from traveling. After landing, they quickly pawned their furniture, clothes and luggage, just waiting for relief. Rich Jewish businessmen in Baghdad were the first to lend a helping hand. 1938, they set up the first coma Committee to help Jews. They not only provide apartments, but also provide 5 cents to each refugee every day, which is enough to ensure the basic life of refugees.

1939, the number of Jews entering Shanghai surged from 1938 to 12089. At this time, JDC, an American Jewish organization, joined hands with charitable forces to become the main organization to help refugees.

Documents issued by JDC for assisting Jewish refugees in Shanghai

In any case, the life of Jewish refugees is far better than that of Shanghainese, and they are deeply impressed by Asian-style poverty: "The rickshaw pullers in China who drag the rich all day long are simply human beings. In winter, they have no heating, and many people in China freeze to death in the street. The next day, the garbage truck came and the body was thrown directly into the car. "

The misfortune of China people under Japanese occupation also left a deep impression on them: "The Japanese treat Jews and China people very differently. Whenever China people cross the bridge, they are always insulted by the Japanese. Japanese soldiers stabbed them with bayonets or burned them with cigarette butts, and China people were even worse. They turned around and smiled at the Japanese who had hurt themselves. In my opinion, this is a sign that China defeated the Japanese. "

Of course, Jews are a grateful and kind people.

During World War II, He Fengshan, Consul General of the Republic of China in Vienna, and Chiune Sugihara, Acting Consul of Japan in Lithuania, issued a large number of visas to Jews, saving many lives-in Austria and the Soviet Union at that time, Jews could not leave the country without visas. He Fengshan and Chiune Sugihara were awarded the title of "International Righteousness" by the Israeli government.

A widely circulated saying is that there is a monument in the center of Tel Aviv, the second largest city in Israel, which reads "People of China, we will never forget your kindness!" No one seems to have seen this monument. Jews are not as kind as advertised at home. Of course, it is even more impossible to have "Japanese, we will not forget your kindness!"

As businessmen, Jews are always proficient in all aspects, and the rejection of them can be said to be both pitiful and hateful.