Exodus to Shanghai: Stories of Escape from the Third Reich (Palgrave Studies in Oral History)

Of the 400,000 German-speaking Jews that escaped the Third Reich, about 16,000 ended up in Shanghai, China. This groundbreaking volume gathers 20 years of interviews with over 100 former Shanghai refugees. It offers a moving collective portrait of courage, culture shock, persistence, and enduring hope in the face of unimaginable hardships.

Of the 400,000 German-speaking Jews that escaped the Third Reich as refugees, approximately 16,000 ended up in Shanghai, China, as part of one of the more remote enclaves within the Jewish diaspora. The stories of the Shanghai Jews contain extremes of the suffering and endurance that defined the refugee experience. Nobody wanted to go to China, and because Shanghai was the last choice of refugees, those who went there had nowhere else left to go. They had endured every stage of escalating Nazi persecution, including the mass arrests during Kristallnacht, the real beginning of the Holocaust. This groundbreaking oral history volume is based on 20 years of interviews with over 100 former Shanghai refugees. It offers a moving and at times astonishing collective portrait of courage, culture shock, persistence, and enduring hope in the face of unimaginable hardships.

Cover 1 Half-Title 2 Title 6 Copyright 7 Dedication 8 Contents 9 List of Images 11 Acknowledgments 13 Series Editors’ Foreword 15 Introduction 17 CHAPTER 1 In the Third Reich 28 CHAPTER 2 Leaving Home 71 CHAPTER 3 Culture Shock and Community Creation in Shanghai 89 CHAPTER 4 In the Designated Area 140 CHAPTER 5 The End of the War 178 CHAPTER 6 After the War 189 CHAPTER 7 Auf Wiedersehen, Shanghai! But Where Do We Go? 199 CHAPTER 8 Another New Life 213 CHAPTER 9 My Life as a Refugee 233 Conclusion 246 Notes 258 Bibliography 266 The Narrators 271 Index 276 Front Matter....Pages i-xvi Introduction....Pages 1-11 In the Third Reich....Pages 13-55 Leaving Home....Pages 57-74 Culture Shock and Community Creation in Shanghai....Pages 75-125 In the Designated Area....Pages 127-164 The End of the War....Pages 165-175 After the War....Pages 177-186 Auf Wiedersehen, Shanghai! But Where Do We Go?....Pages 187-200 Another New Life....Pages 201-220 My Life as a Refugee....Pages 221-233 Conclusion....Pages 235-246 Back Matter....Pages 247-272