Shanghai Jewish Refugees Museum
By: George Xu
Tags: Jewish Refugees, World War II, Museums, Shanghai

Shanghai Jewish Refugees Museum

It was a rainy night when I met with Mr. Duldner for the first time in his Upper East Side apartment. To my surprise, Mr. Duldner greeted me with my hometown dialect, Shanghainese. Witnessing my shock, he burst into a laugh. Mr. Duldner had lived in Shanghai for more than 10 years as a World War II refugee. His stories have intrigued me, especially since I have never known this part of history when I grew up in Shanghai. The Shanghai Jewish Refugees Museum attracted me immediately when I heard about it.

Shanghai Jewish Refugees Museum

The museum is located on 62 Changyang Rd, Hongkou District (上海市虹口区长阳路62号), in the north-east part of Shanghai residential area. Due to its small footprint and plain façade, the museum can be easily overlooked. It documents the lives of the Jewish refugees who escaped from Nazi occupied Europe during World War II. Mr. Duldner emigrated from Poland while his relatives who stayed in Poland perished during the war.

Museum entrance

The museum is made of a statue of Jewish refugee family at the entrance, a 3-story brick building, and two 1-story flats for the additional exhibition halls. One side of the wall is a striking monument that runs the length of the museum’s courtyard. It engraves the names of more than 13,000 Jews who took refuge in Shanghai during the war.

Statue of Jewish refugees

3-story brick building — Ohel Moshe Synagogue

Monument of 13,000 Jews refugeed in Shanghai during WWII

Ohel Moshe Synagogue

The 3-story brick building was the former Ohel Moshe Synagogue (摩西会堂). Over 20,000 Jewish refugees had worshiped there. The synagogue was confiscated by the communist government. In 2007, the synagogue was restored to its original architectural form based on the drawings in the archives, and it was then reopened as a museum to commemorate the Jewish refugees in World War II.

The downstairs area is a place of worship and it is opened to the visitors who can listen to a brief introduction of the museum. The upstairs, however, are closed to the public. They are devoted to the special occasions that require pre-arrangement.

The resorted Ohel Moshe Synagogue worship area

Exhibition Halls

Two additional exhibition halls are at the back of the courtyard. “S[s]mall collection of artifacts” includes hundreds of documents, copies of “Shanghai Jewish Chronicle” newspaper, photographs, films, artworks, and personal items that chronologically depict tens of thousands Jewish refugees who fled Nazi occupied Europe and their life in Shanghai during the war.

“Fleeing to Shanghai”

In the 1930s, Nazi encouraged German and Austrian Jews to emigrate, but most countries closed their borders to them. Many European Jews were able to flee from the fate of Holocaust with the help of Mr. Ho Feng-Shan (何鳳山 or 何凤山), who was the consul-general of Republic of China in Vienna during World War II. He issued travel papers to thousands of Jews by disobeying the instruction of his superiors. He risked his career to save “perhaps tens of thousands”. Mr. Ho was well recognized as the “Schindler of China”.

“Fleeing to Shanghai” depicts Jewish refugees’ journey and their passports and travel documents

Statue of Mr. Ho Feng-Shan in the museum courtyard

“Hongkou Ghetto”

After the Pearl Harbor attack, Japan invaded Shanghai’s foreign concessions and occupied the entire city. The Japanese imposed restrictions on the Jews and established the Restricted Sector for Stateless Refugees in the Hongkou district, known as Shanghai Ghetto or Hongkou Ghetto, in 1943.

“Hongkou Ghetto” depicts Jewish refugees’ life, and their travel restrictions during the Japanese occupation

Other Memorable Artifacts

A stone wall inscribed the words from former Israel Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, while visiting the former Ohel Moshe Synagogue in 1993: “To the People of Shanghai for unique humanitarian act of saving thousands of Jews during the Second World War thanks in the name of the government of Israel”

Former Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin’s inscription

“Affectionate Neighborhood” depicts connection between Jewish refugees and their Shanghainese neighbors

For years, I was deeply moved by Mr. Duldner’s affection when he described his Shanghainese neighbors who hosted and helped him. Some Jewish refugees, Mr. Duldner included, were attached to Shanghai and they stayed under the communist government after 1949. Then, the political environment changed. Mr. Duldner immigrated to United States in early 1950s and became a successful businessman. For years, Mr. Duldner contributed both financially and laboriously to document the Jewish refugee experiences in World War II. I would never forget his deep affection to his “second hometown”, Shanghai.

Shanghai Jewish Refugees Museum 上海犹太难民纪念馆 was reopened after the expansion in December 2020. I look forward visiting the renovated museum again.