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(Lu Xun Jinianguan; 6540 2288; Lu Xun Park, 2288 North Sichuan Rd;, 2288 9am-4pm; Hongkou Football Stadium) An excellent museum, this modern hall charts the life and creative output of Lu Xun with photographs, first editions, videos and waxworks. Detailed English captions throughout.

Shanghai’s Jews

Shanghai has two centuries of strong Jewish connections. Established Middle Eastern Sephardic Jewish families such as the Hardoons, Ezras, Kadoories and Sassoons built their fortunes in Shanghai, establishing at least seven synagogues and many Jewish hospitals and schools. It was Victor Sassoon who famously remarked: ‘There is only one race greater than the Jews and that’s the Derby.’

A second group of Jews, this time Ashkenazi, arrived via Siberia, Ha’erbin and Tianjin from Russia after anti-Jewish pogroms in 1906. The biggest influx, however, came between 1933 and 1941, when 30,000 mostly Ashkenazi Jews arrived from Europe by boat from Italy or by train via Siberia. Many had been issued with visas to cross China by Ho Fengshan, Chinese consul-general in Vienna, who was recently honoured as the ‘Chinese Schindler’.

Shanghai was one of the few safe havens for Jews fleeing the Holocaust in Europe as it required neither a passport nor visa to stay. Gestapo agents followed the refugees and, in 1942, tried to persuade the Japanese to build death camps on Chongming Island. Instead, in 1943, the Japanese forced Jews to move into a ‘Designated Area for Stateless Refugees’ in Hongkou.

The Jewish ghetto (stateless Russians didn’t have to live here) became home to Jews from all walks of life. It grew to shelter a synagogue, schools, a local paper, hospitals and enough cafes, rooftop gardens and restaurants to gain the epithet ‘Little Vienna’. Those Jews who held jobs in the French Concession had to secure passes from the Japanese, specifically the notoriously unpredictable and violent Mr Goya. Poorer refugees were forced to bunk down in cramped hostels known as Heime, and had to rely on the generosity of others. As the wealthy Anglophile Jewish trading families left in 1941, the situation grew even tighter. Still, the refugees heard of events in distant Europe and realised that they were the lucky ones.

Today there are a few remainders of Jewish life in Shanghai, such as the Ohel Moishe Synagogue and the former Jewish Club (1932) in the grounds of the Conservatory of Music, where concerts are still performed. The Ohel Rachel Synagogue (Youtai Jiaotang;; 500 North Shaanxi Rd) was built by Jacob Elias Sassoon in the early 20th century. Unfortunately, it remains closed to the public. Nearby are the remains of the school founded on the grounds by Horace Kadoorie.

For information and pricey tours of Jewish Shanghai, contact the Centre of Jewish Studies Shanghai (Shanghai Youtai Yanjiu Zhongxin;; 5306 0606, ext 2476; www.cjss.org.cn; room 476, No 7, Lane 622, Middle Huaihai Rd; 622 7 476 tour US$80; 9am-4pm). The centre offers one-day tours (for groups only) of Jewish Shanghai with English- and Hebrew-speaking guides and also has a fine library of books and periodicals.

Дата добавления: 2015-11-14