Life in Shanghai wasn't always the easiest but it was probably better than the lives they would have lived had they remained in Germany. Up until Kristallnacht, things were relatively non-violent towards Jews in Germany. After November 9, 1938 Jews began to be treated more violently. November 9, 1938 is know as "Kristallnacht"or 'the night of broken glass'. This event is a violent pogrom that took place against Jewish people living in Germany. During this event Jewish houses were broken into in the middle of the night and Jews were forcefully taken from their homes and taken to the Marktplatz where they were then shipped off to concentration camps not limited to but including Buchenwald, Dachau, and Sachsenhausen. Once they reached these camps they were either killed or forced to perform hard labor.
As antisemitism towards Jews rose during the 1930's people began to look for ways to leave the country and seek shelter in other places. Some of the places that people looked at included the United States, other places in England, Russia, South America, and Australia. Once the highly sought after places met their quota of Jewish people who could enter the country was met they needed to find other places. The process of entering those countries wasn't the easiest as you needed extensive documentation to enter those countries. As the desire to leave Nazi ruled Germany grew people began to hear about Shanghai, China. Most Jews couldn't believe that you only needed assurances to be let into Shanghai. A downfall about going to Shanghai was that Jew couldn't leave directly from Germany and needed to take a train such as the Trans-Siberian Railway to Genoa, Italy where immigrants would board the Contebiancomo, an Italian steamship to go to Shanghai.
Once refugees reached Shanghai they didn't have the best quality of life but it was better than the one they would have lived had they stayed in Germany. The Jews migrated to the Hongkou (formerly spelled Hongkew) district of Shanghai. The Jews lived in Hongkew, the French Concession which was operated by the French government, or the International Settlement which was owned by the British. The Jews lived relatively quiet undisturbed lives until the Japanese came into ownership of China and the proclamation was issued. On February 18, 1943 the Japanese military in Shanghai issued a proclamation that stated all stateless refugees i.e. Jews had to live in the designated area in Hongkew. In this designated area the Jews were forced to live with other Jews and the poorest Chinese people in a small, dirty, dingy area that was monitored 24/7 and they needed permission to go outside of the designated area.
After the war ended in 1945 Jewish refugees were yet again faced with this question of whether they wanted to return to Germany, remain in Shanghai or migrate to another location and uproot their lives. Some Germans chose to make the journey back to Germany, others chose to remain in Shanghai and those who remained in Shanghai were going to be forced to adopt the Chinese culture and ways of living with the growing influence of communism in China or they made the decision to migrate to another country. A large number of the refugees migrated to the United States because they were able to be allowed into the country this time as migration policies in the United States became more welcoming.
As antisemitism towards Jews rose during the 1930's people began to look for ways to leave the country and seek shelter in other places. Some of the places that people looked at included the United States, other places in England, Russia, South America, and Australia. Once the highly sought after places met their quota of Jewish people who could enter the country was met they needed to find other places. The process of entering those countries wasn't the easiest as you needed extensive documentation to enter those countries. As the desire to leave Nazi ruled Germany grew people began to hear about Shanghai, China. Most Jews couldn't believe that you only needed assurances to be let into Shanghai. A downfall about going to Shanghai was that Jew couldn't leave directly from Germany and needed to take a train such as the Trans-Siberian Railway to Genoa, Italy where immigrants would board the Contebiancomo, an Italian steamship to go to Shanghai.
Once refugees reached Shanghai they didn't have the best quality of life but it was better than the one they would have lived had they stayed in Germany. The Jews migrated to the Hongkou (formerly spelled Hongkew) district of Shanghai. The Jews lived in Hongkew, the French Concession which was operated by the French government, or the International Settlement which was owned by the British. The Jews lived relatively quiet undisturbed lives until the Japanese came into ownership of China and the proclamation was issued. On February 18, 1943 the Japanese military in Shanghai issued a proclamation that stated all stateless refugees i.e. Jews had to live in the designated area in Hongkew. In this designated area the Jews were forced to live with other Jews and the poorest Chinese people in a small, dirty, dingy area that was monitored 24/7 and they needed permission to go outside of the designated area.
After the war ended in 1945 Jewish refugees were yet again faced with this question of whether they wanted to return to Germany, remain in Shanghai or migrate to another location and uproot their lives. Some Germans chose to make the journey back to Germany, others chose to remain in Shanghai and those who remained in Shanghai were going to be forced to adopt the Chinese culture and ways of living with the growing influence of communism in China or they made the decision to migrate to another country. A large number of the refugees migrated to the United States because they were able to be allowed into the country this time as migration policies in the United States became more welcoming.