ecns [expanded by feedex.net]
ecns
Exhibit honors Shanghai's aid to European Jews
http://www.ecns.cn/2015/09-11/180893.shtml
Sep 11th 2015, 07:53
Zhang Qiyue, the Chinese consul general in New York, spoke at the private reception celebrating the opening of the AJC Jewish Refugees & Shanghai Exhibit in Philadelphia on Thursday evening. (Photo for China Daily)
Seventy-six years ago, Michael Blumenthal, the former US treasury secretary, fled with his parents from Berlin to Shanghai, where he made a living delivering bread.
"We may not have our secretary of the treasury if the Chinese didn't open their arms," said Fred Strober, president of AJC Philadelphia/Southern New Jersey, at the opening reception for the AJC Jewish Refugees & Shanghai exhibit on Thursday evening in Philadelphia.
"Between 1933 and 1941, nearly 30,000 Jews came to Shanghai and found shelter in Shanghai," Zhang Qiyue, the Chinese consul general in New York, said at the reception. "With this number, actually, Shanghai and China took more Jews than Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and India combined," she said to applause.
The six-part photo exhibit highlights the story of the Jewish refugees who fled the horrors of the Holocaust, finding refuge in Shanghai at a time when few countries were willing to admit European Jewish refugees.
The only place in the world that didn't require entrance visas was the international city of Shanghai.
Most of the Jewish refugees were penniless getting off the ship. They settled, went to schools, got technical and professional training and started dozens of newspapers and magazines.
Though life was hard, no Chinese ever complained that we were there, said Betty Grebenschikoff, a Holocaust survivor who shared her account of 11 years of life in Shanghai. She met and married her husband in the city and had her wedding dress made by her Chinese tailor.
"It was a very difficult life, but had we not been able to go to China, we never would have lived at all," she said.
Many of the Jewish refugees joined the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, such as Jakob Rosenfeld, a doctor whom Chinese will always remember, said Zhang.
Zhang shared the news that the Shanghai government is going to expand the Shanghai Jewish Refugees Museum, invest in the repair of the synagogue in Shanghai, and further expand the Jewish research and study center.
"We have warm sentiments toward each other that can be traced back to thousands of years," said Zhang. "I firmly encourage the Chinese community and the Jewish community to work more closely together."
The ties also will enrich the Sino-American relationship, Zhang added. And she hopes more Americans can go to China and go to Shanghai to learn about the country.
Grebenschikoff has been back for four times. "Every time I go back, I feel that I'm coming home."
Last year, she brought her wedding dress back, and donated it to the Shanghai Jewish Refugees Museum.
Film honors Shanghai's role in sheltering Jews
Chinese visas to Shanghai save thousands of Jews in Austria before WWII
Shanghai opens Jewish Memorial Park to honor Chinese-Jewish ties in WWII
China to stage musical about Jewish refugees in Shanghai
Unforgettable memories of Chinese-Jewish solidarity during WWII
PLA to clear mines along China-Vietnam border
Deflation risks prompt more stimulus measures
Xi's U.S. trip to 'chart course' for ties
China is verifying abduction of its national by IS
China collects 28 million yuan daily pollution penalty in seven months
China demines areas bordering Vietnam to keep residents safe
Beijing airport applies to prolong visa-free stay to one week
China forex reserve won't burn out: central bank advisor
Tianjin blasts death toll rises to 165, eight missing
Cross-border police co-op facilitates China's overseas fugitive hunt
You are receiving this email because you subscribed to this feed at https://blogtrottr.com
If you no longer wish to receive these emails, you can unsubscribe here:
https://blogtrottr.com/unsubscribe/qhG/Zc7fXt
No comments:
Post a Comment