Jewish museum exhibits to be part of UN celebrations in NY

Author Evelyn Pike Rubin points to the identity card she was given when she lived in Shanghai as a Jewish refugee during the opening ceremony of the "Jewish Refugees and Shanghai" in Washington last month. — CNS

A Shanghai museum exhibition recounting the history of Jewish refugees who found a haven in the city during World War II will be part of next year's New York observances of the 70th anniversary of the United Nations.

For Jerry Lindenstraus, one of those refugees, the history is a living memory. The 85-year-old, now living in New York, arrived with his family in Shanghai in 1939 after fleeing Nazi Germany. He was 10 years old. The family remained here for eight years.

"I will never forget my years in Shanghai and I have always been grateful to Shanghai and to the Chinese people," Lindenstraus said at ceremonies opening the exhibition, entitled "Jewish Refugees and Shanghai," in Washington on June 23.

The exhibition, mounted by the Shanghai Jewish Refugee Museum, was staged for a week, winning high praise and attracting large numbers of visitors.

It recreates the 1930s and 40s, when about 18,000 Jews who fled Nazi persecution entered the city. It tells the stories of the hardships they faced and the friendships they forged with local residents.

One piece of the exhibition draws details published in the book "The Shanghai I Knew," an autobiography written by Ellis Jacob, who was born in Shanghai in 1931 and remained here until 1949. The book explains how Jews who escaped Nazi persecution found themselves embroiled in the Japanese occupation of Shanghai until the city was liberated by the People's Liberation Army.

Jews were herded into a ghetto, where diseases were rampant and it was difficult to earn a living, Jacob said in the book. Since the ghetto was close to many military targets, stray bombs sometimes hit homes, killing internees. They were forced to watch Japanese newsreels, and the children forced to learn Japanese in school, according to the book.