Friday, January 7, 1977 37-' THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS Shanghai:Where European, Jews Found Refuge in War 0 BY FRANK L. THEYLEG (Editor's Note: Mr. Theyleg is a retired Ford Motor Co. engineer and is active in the Detroit chap- ter of the American Soci- ety for Technion.) Mike Blumenthal's ap- pointment to the Secre- tary of the Treasury re- newed the interest in the situation of the Jewish refugee's in Shanghai, who found a temporary haven, staying from about 1938 to 1947. . Like the Blumenthal family, we fled Berlin in late 1939 via Italy. Like most, we travelled aboard an ancient Japanese semi-freighter for some 30- days. This was because Japanese and Italian ships were the principal age, housed themselves carriers between Italy 'privately by rebuilding and the Far East which, war-damaged structures as Nazi allies, could con- and usually occupying - duct business in Hitler's one room per family in Germany. them. Most of these also Most if not all refugees drew their food rations arrived penniless, except from the camps, along for minor possessions, with basic health care and became totally de- and schooling, religious pendent on Joint Dis- needs and general tribution Commitee aid socialities. upon arriving as well as All JDC aid was ad- during their stay in ministered by fellow ref- Shanghai. This aid was ugees who were the only mainly the complete sup- contact the JDC had with port with minimum cal- most refugees-. The iden- ory rations, less than tity of -the "foreign Joint 1,500 calories per day, and people"; rumored to be in shelter in dormitories of Shanghai, was generally some five camps in the unknown. Hongkew district. Even Chuck Jordan, These shelters, con- who arrived (to my recol- verted former schools and lection) after World War factories vacated because II, sometime in late 1945, of the effects of the 1937- was known by name only 38 Chinese-Japanese War, to most. Therefore it is housed up to one half the questionable that Chunk liztEzman entire refugee population, sought out or made the in very primitive condi- acquaintanceship of the Orchestra tions. then teen-age Blument- 399-1301 Those who could' man- , hal. Very few refugees ar- rived by trans-Siberian railroad, this route being not available to German Jews. The few I met who travelled that lyay origi- nated their voyage from either eastern Austria or Poland, after the outbreak of the war in September, 1939. The feasibility of this route ended by 1940. JDC aid was available HOURS: MON.-SAT. 10:30 TO 4:30 to all needy refugees. Un- doubtedly, it prevented a major catastrophy matter now minimal this aid was. Since Hitler's definition of being Jewish was the infamous Nuremberg Laws, some Jews were so classified by virtue of a Jewish grand parent, a Jewish spouse, and so on. Since survival assurance was the major function of the JDC, reli- gious requirements were frequently subordinated by sheer necessities. These necessities be- came extremely acute with the bombing of Pearl Harbor and thereafter when the Japanese oc- cupiers of Shanghai not only stopped all commer- cial activities but also the flow of JDC funds. Had it not been for the intervention of some neutral countries, re- GROUP OF DESIGNERS ‘16 portedly Switzerland, and some of the wealthy Shanghai Jews, notably the Sassoons and Khadoories, along with a REG. PRICE UP TO $45 number of Chinese, the majority of the refugee population would have perished. This extreme situation became further aggra- vated with the creation of the "Shanghai Ghetto" by the Japanese in about 1943. This ghetto was formed by concentrating all Hitler refugees of JUST ARRIVED! Jewish definition into a populated area, soIne COME SEE OUR NEW SELECTION three square miles in size, ' OF CRUISE WEAR- of the Hongkew district. No considerations were given to commercial or survival opportunities. The ghetto was ad- ministered by the Japense authority, repre- SPORTSWEAR It sented by two officers named Goya and Okura who behaved as though ', L _L-,En n y (ESTHER and ESTELLES SPORTSWEAR 2838 Coolidge Berkley, Mich. . CLEARANCE SALE! ENTIRE STOCK of FALL and WINTER MERCHANDISE las 0 75% AND M RE UP TO F SWEATERS ii NOW ALL. SLACKS h. 50%? ESTHER and ESTELLES they were trained by the SS, with Goya playing the tough guy and Okura "Mr. Nice guy". Both dis- apPeared without trace on V-J day, along with several of their subordi- nates. They successfully eluded our search, which was aided by the U.S. Mil- itary Police, as well as the Chinese intelligence' or- ganization. They were wanted because they were responsible for and often carried out severe brutalizations of the ref-' ugees. I am hesitant in reciting specifics, some of which I personally bear. By 1945, the health of the refugee population had deteriorated to the point where an adult man weighing 120 pounds was considered normal if not overweight. Health care had diminished to little more than aspirins or bandages, except when ad-ministered by the Japanese for the preven- tion of epidemics to the general population with public innoculations. The-refugees, generally too fatalistic by now, found some hope in the daily air raids conducted by the U.S. Air Force. Many stood on roofs, cheering-Me planes; disregarding the hazards - of falling anti- aircraft shrapnell and the usually absent Japanese MP. In one such air raid, the ghetto was erroneously General Decorates MDA Workers TEL AVIV — At a ceremony held recently in Tel Aviv, Brig. Gen. Yit-' zhak Zaid, commanding officer of Israel's civil.de- fense corps presented the Yom Kippur War Ribbon to the v-olunteers and staff of Magen David, Adom (MDA). bombed due to equipmRut failure. A number of ref- ugee houses , were de- stroyed; many were killed by direct hits or, as my late fat-her, succumbed from their injuries, often some years later because of poor health and inade- quate care. By 1947, most refugees had been evacuated by the JDC. Most came to the USA, landing in San Francisco on troop trans- ports, and received by local JDC activities. From there, they dispersed into cities all over the U.S. Some remained. Some be- came successful, some failed. Most prevailed in some manner. Some continued to re- main Jewish and practice their religion by adapting their religious needs to American Jewish cus- toms. Some converted for whatever reasons. Some were embittered, some were grateful. In short, they began to behave like people in nor- mal circumstances which, I think, is the happy con- clusion of a very dark period and the ultimate purpose of, the JDC. In writing these lines, I am beginning to realize..., that very few facts ever became known about the Shanghai re,fugees. I al- luded to the role played by some Chinese along with the Sassoons, etc. There were also Chinese Jews who pitched in as well as some Japanese Jews who literally risked their lives to help their co-religionists. Perhaps, the present:. generation should be bet- ter informed about this • period. There have been some papers published by writers who had either secondary or superficial knowledge only. The pre- sent generation here and abroad would benefit much by learning the ac- tual and down-to-earth facts. DISCO PARTY by Infinity Disco latest equipment call Dan Sandberg 353-6699 COMPLETE SUPPLIES AT EXTRA SAVINGS DESKS-CHAIRS FILES - RUBBER STAMPS PLASTIC SIGNS YEAR END SALE PRE-INVENTORY 30% 'OFF WEST SIDE MOST ITEMS EAST SIDE 968-2620 731-6200 26000 GREENFIELD LINCOLN CENTER OAK PARK 8186 23 MILE RD. SHELBY PLAZA SHELBY TWP. 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