 | History of the Jews in China: Encyclopedia II - History of the Jews in China - Modern times
History of the Jews in China - Modern times
Contemporaneous sources estimated the Jewish population in China in 1940 – including Manchukuo – at 36,000 (source: Catholic Encyclopedia).
Jewish life in Shanghai had really taken off with the arrival of the British. Sephardic Jews from the Middle East came as traders via India and Hong Kong and established some of the leading trading companies. Later came Jewish refugees from Russia (and later the Soviet Union).
After the Russian Revolution of 1917, several thousand Russian Jews moved to Harbin in northern China (former Manchuria), alongside Christian Russians.
History of the Jews in China - World War II
Another wave of 18,000 Jews, from Germany, Austria, and Poland immigrated to Shanghai in the 1930s. Shanghai at the time was an open city and did not have restrictions on immigration, and some Chinese diplomats such as He Fengshan issued "protective" passports. In 1943, the occupying Japanese army required these 18,000 Jews, formally known as "stateless refugees," to relocate to a 3/4 square miles area of Shanghai's Honkew district (today known as Hongkou) where many lived in group homes called "heime." The total number of Jews entering Shanghai during this period equaled the number of Jews fleeing to Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand and South Africa combined. Many of the Jews in China later returned to found modern Israel.
Shanghai was an important safe-haven for Jewish refugees during the Holocaust, since it was one of the only places in the world where one didn't need a visa. However, it was not easy to get there. The Japanese, who controlled the city, preferred in effect to look the other way. Some corrupt officials however, also exploited the plight of the Jews. By 1941 nearly 20,000 European Jews had found shelter there. Charles K. Bliss, during his stay took inspiration from Chinese writing for his Blissymbolics.
Late in the War, Nazi representatives pressured the Japanese army to devise a plan to exterminate Shanghai's Jewish population, and this pressure eventually became known to the Jewish community's leadership. However, the War ended before the Japanese could succumb. Nevertheless, conditions in the Designated Area were abyssmal, particularly during the summer months.
History of the Jews in China - Late 20th century
After World War II and the establishment of the Communist regime in 1949, most of these Jews emigrated to Israel or the West, although a few remained. It should be noted that two of the most prominent non-Chinese Communist sympathisers to have lived in China from the establishment of the People's Republic of China to the contemporary period, Sidney Shapiro and Israel Epstein, American emigres, are of Jewish descent.
History of the Jews in China - 21st century
Synagogues are found in three cities in China today, serving mostly international Jews, in Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong.[1]
In 2005, the Israeli embassy to China held their Hanukkah celebrations at the Great Wall of China [2].
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 Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Modern times", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki |
