Vol. 24 No. 1 A Publication of the Sino-Judaic Institute March 2009

CHINESE POLICIES REGARDING SURVIVAL IN SHANGHAI RELIGION AND CHINESE JUDAISM A MEMOIR (WITH TWO POSTLUDES) by Jordan Paper by Lotte Marcus

Over the last couple of years, I have noticed editorials, letters Part I. Vienna, Austria 1938 and articles in this newsletter and Jewish publications with I was an 11 ½ year school girl when Hitler’s soldiers in tur- regard to assisting the descendants of the Chinese Jews return reted tanks rolled into Vienna to such a to Judaism. Sometimes these writings reflect a misunderstand- welcoming, even triumphant, entry that some said the army ing of the Chinese official attitude towards religion as well as had been invited by fellow Austrians. It was not surprising of Chinese Judaism itself. then, that within a short period of time, a series of anti-Semitic Rasssengesetze (racial laws) were set in place to make Austria Chinese Government and Religion judenfrei (free of Jews). The end results of such actions would Chinese government and religion have been intertwined as far be one of many steps that led to one of the twentieth century’s back as they can be traced over the past several thousand years. ugliest chapters in world history. Chinese governments began from elite clans gaining supremacy over others leading to dynastic kingdoms and then empires My family – my mother, father and I – were immediately which continued into the 20th century. These ruling clans as- affected. My father was fired from the Oesterreichischen sumed a familial paternalistic-maternalistic relationship with Kreditanstalt as the bank was “aryanized”. Businesses became the people they ruled, and their clan-oriented rituals became expropriated by Aryan employees of former Jewish owners. the primary state rituals. Over two thousand years ago, these And the formerly young Austrian unemployed, now in Ger- rituals filtered down to the population as a whole, and religion man uniforms, were encouraged to ransack, rob, and force centered on family became the normative religion of China. Jews, whose only crime was to be there on the street, to hand Save for the imperial clan-state rituals, this government atti- over goods and cash. No Jewish person was safe. There were tude and this religion continues to today. no defenders, only attackers. Intimidation was the name of the game; imprisonment and murder its method. A second major relationship between state and religion begins with the collapse of the first successful Chinese empire eigh- Considering the threat – to my parents; six adult siblings; and teen hundred years ago. The imperial rule decayed leading to to 187,000 of Vienna’s Jewry – the Jewish community reacted increasing social and economic chaos, and the populace lost as best as they could. My father, like most others, went into faith in the established ideology. Consequently, a religio-po- action -- he left no stone unturned to get out. He wrote letters litical movement, perhaps stimulated by a vague awareness of to the United States. He looked for relatives in Israel (then the Buddhism then entering China, spread throughout China. Palestine). He applied for jobs in banks abroad. He did any- The effort to put down this civil insurrection further weakened thing and everything to find an avenue of escape even though the government, and the generalissimo that put down the re- my family, like thousands of others, considered themselves bellion eventually named his son as the first emperor of a new natives, considered themselves as Austrians, as “included”. dynastic regime. The remnants of the religious movement shorn My father had been a Lieutenant in World War I, had fought of its political dimension became the seed for the Daoist reli- in the Austrian Army on the Russian front; his father before gions. him had immigrated from the East, from Sudetendeutschland. But now we became full-time applicants. We became ex- Since that time, when dynastic regimes began to fail, they were cluded. But to do so we had to become excluded “correctly”. often opposed by Buddhist inspired religio-political movements. As the last dynasty failed in the mid-19th century, a new move- In order to leave, all our private information had to be gath- ment arose, an indigenous mode of Christianity, the Taiping ered. My father was marched from office to office. First, to (which took its name from the text of the first such movement secure our birth certificates, our proof of residence, our proof mentioned above). It would have replaced the failing govern- of taxes paid, our police record (or lack thereof), proof of ment had not Western powers, wanting a weak Chinese gov- affiliations with religious or political organizations, proof of ernment and taking umbrage at the idea of a Chinese Christian money loans paid or unpaid, proof of land purchased or sold messiah – the founder understood to be via possession the – all so that someone up there could finally say that, accord-

(continued on page 6) (continued on page 6)8) 2 Points East

TABLE OF CONTENTS FROM THE EDITOR Points East Anson Laytner, Publisher As you can tell from a glance at our cover ! Featured Article: page, we are kicking off the Chinese New Points East is published by the Sino-Judaic Year and our 24th volume a revised Chi- Institute, a tax-exempt, non-profit organization. Chinese Policies ...... 1 nese name for SJI, the addition of a He- The opinions and views expressed by the Survival in Shanghai ...... 1 brew name, and a wonderful new logo contributors and editor are their own and do for the Sino-Judaic Institute. Our original not necessarily express the viewpoints and positions of the Sino-Judaic Institute. From The Editor ...... 2 name ended with “xue-yuan” which trans- lates as institute but, perhaps reflecting To the Editor...... 3 the original intent of the founders, is used Letters to the Editor and articles for Points East more often for “college” or “academy,” may be sent to: i.e., some sort of teaching institution. The Articles: new characters “yan-jiu-yuan” are used Preferred Form: Kaifeng Jews Today ...... 3 primarily for any kind of “research insti- e-mail:[email protected] WUPJ Looks to the East ...... 4 tute.” or to: Rabbi Anson Laytner 1823 East Prospect St. Study of Intermarriage ...... 5 Our logo combines the ding and the magen Seattle, WA 98112-3307 Youtai: What is in a Name ...... 16 Daveed, two symbols well-identified with each of our core communities. Accord- Naim Dangoor Fund ...... 18 ing to Den Leventhal, the board member Points East is published three times a year, in March, July Two Reports on Int’l Seminar ...... 19 who came up with the original idea, “The and November. ding has some vague religious undertones Historic Jewish Haven ...... 20 Deadlines for submitting in that it was associated with the “offi- material to be included in these Moise House: Building cial” Confucian court rituals of China’s issues are January 15th, imperial-bureaucratic governmental sys- May 15th and September 15th. in Beijing ...... 21 tem - dating back to even before Hot Economy Keeping Jews Confucius. It was used primarily for burn- FINANCIAL REPORT AVAILABLE in India ...... 21 ing incense. Thus, one could say this design has a loose, even amorphous, as- SJI members interested in receiving a Book Nook ...... 17 sociation with traditional Chinese ances- copy of the annual financial report should tor worship, with Confucian philosophy, send a self-addressed envelope to: Steve with ancient dynastic governmental sym- Hochstadt, Treasurer of the Sino-Judaic bology, and, later, with various Buddhist Institute, Illinois College, 1101 W Col- lege Ave., Jacksonville IL 62650. and Daoist temples that adopted this sym- bol of moral power. Today, even the CCP SJI MEMBERSHIP The Sino-Judaic Institute has these pots prominently placed about Rabbi Anson Laytner Zhong Nan Hai and other such formal 1823 East Prospect St. Country Total authority sites. Thus, the ding, as a sym- Seattle WA 98112-3307 bol, has been a continuo in Chinese cul- • United States 200 ture from its most ancient times to the North American Managing Board China 21 present.” Anson Laytner, President; Arnie Belzer, Vice-president; Steve Hochstadt, Treasurer. Israel 13 The magen Daveed, or shield of David, Wendy Abraham, Shelly Ehrlich, Joel Canada 10 Epstein, Bev Friend, Seth Garz, Mary-Anne on the other hand, is an ancient global England 7 Graham, Len Hew, Ron Kaye, Dana but relatively new Jewish symbol. Its use Leventhal, Den Leventhal, Ondi Australia 4 as a Jewish symbol dates primarily from Lingenfelter, Lily Yuan Ninburg, Art Rosen, th Japan 2 the 17 century by European Jews. In the Vera Schwarz, Tibi Weisz, Albert Yee. Muslim world, and in Kabbalist and al- International Board France 1 chemist circles, it had magical or mysti- Mark Cohen, Irene Eber, Avrum Ehrlich, Germany 2 cal powers. (Perhaps that’s why it was Judy Green, Teddy Kaufman, Michael Li, Indonesia 1 also a medieval European symbol for beer- Maisie Meyer, Mark Michaelson, Sonja brewers.) In the 19th century, however, it Muehlberger, Gustavo Perednik, Yitzhak South Africa 1 was adopted by European Jews as the sym- Shichor, Elyse Silverberg, David Zweig. Switzerland 1 bol par excellence to distinguish their in- Advisory Board Jan Berris, Fu Youde, Jonathan Goldstein, Taiwan 1 stitutions and objects in the same way that Jerry Gotel, Pan Guang, Tess Johnston, the cross or crucifix represent Christian- Rena Krasno, Donald Leslie, Andrew Plaks, ity. Its universal acceptance spread with Shi Lei, Josh Stampfer, Marvin Tokayer, TOTAL: its adoption by the Zionist movement and, Shalom Wald, Xiao Xian, Xu Xin, 264 ironically and sadly, by the Nazis, and Zhang Qianhong. lastly by the State of Israel. Past Presidents (continued on page 3) Al Dien, Leo Gabow Points East 3 Ideally, we would have chosen to use Kaifeng Jews Today nity is comfortable, their treatment by the seven-branched menorah as the quint- their fellow-citizens is not always so. essential Jewish symbol—its use goes [IWCHINATOUR.com is a local travel Kaifeng is home to a dynamic Muslim back to the ancient Temples, it is seen website invested and established by community, which is very cohesive, hav- on the Arch of Titus, and today it is the China Travel Service Co., Ltd (CTS). It ing survived 50 years of isolation and symbol of Israel—but aesthetically it offers professional and international class officially-sanctioned hostility (largely, didn’t work with the ding. services to its clients thanks to the high presumably, because of the relationship technologies incorporated in the platform between the Hui, Uyghur, and Kazakh Our thanks to graphic artist, Clarie Yam, infrastructure and integrated tourism re- ethnicities and the Chinese government). for devoting much more time than she sources in Beijing. In that period, Kaifeng Jewish descen- was paid on this project. You can see IWCHINATOUR.com is also run by CTS. dants were protected and helped by Mus- her work at www.clarieyam.com. This material comes from its website. AL] lims, to the point that they became largely Anson Laytner indistinguishable from the Muslim com- Due to the poor conditions for research munity. That changed with the opening on religions (as a result of the political up of China, when Kaifeng’s Muslims atmosphere), research on the Kaifeng Jews reëstablished links with Muslims else- TO THE EDITOR and Judaism in China came to a stand- where. The community received assis- still until the beginning of the 1980s, tance from Muslim nations, and adopted I read an online article that stated that when political and economic reforms much of the prevailing anti-Israeli, anti- recent DNA testing of the ancestors of were implemented. The establishment of Jewish attitude. The Kaifeng mosque the Kaifeng Jews shows they are “distant diplomatic relations between China and propagates “Conquered Jerusalem” anti- relatives of Armenian, Iranian and Iraqi Israel in 1992 accelerated the research Israeli propaganda, and local Muslim Jews.” Unfortunately, it did not give a work in this field on both nations. Re- population has developed an increasingly source. I have looked all over the internet search on the Jews in China gained new hostile attitude toward Jews. Since few and in my books on the Jews and noth- attention around the world through the outside Jews ever visit Kaifeng, this hos- ing else mentions this. Do you or some- reappraisal of the experiences of around tility is channeled toward the descendants one else in your organization know of 25,000 Jewish refugees in Shanghai dur- of the Kaifeng Jewish community. There where I might be ale to find this info. I ing the Nazi period. are rumors of pogroms, information about am currently working on a time sensitive which is reportedly censored by the Chi- project and I would very much like to In recent years, research into the history nese government. Because of this situa- address this material. I hope you can and culture of the Kaifeng Jews has been tion, many descendants of the Kaifeng help. I look forward to hearing from you. conducted not only in China, but in other Jewish community prefer to pass as eth- Thanks. countries as well. Increasing academic nic Han. Jim R. McClanahan, interest in related subjects will continue [email protected] in the foreseeable future. The last census revealed about 400 offi- cial Jews in Kaifeng, but that number Do you know where I can locate infor- It has been stated that in appearance, the may be suspect. It is difficult to estimate mation about the family background of Kaifeng Jews were indistinguishable from the number of Jews in any country, but Michael Kadoorie of Hong Kong? I have their non-Jewish neighbors. in China it is nearly impossible. Num- the list, of course, of his famous parent bers may change simply because of a and grandparent: what I am looking for The current situation of Kaifeng Jewish change in official attitudes. For example, are the family connections, perhaps Descendants is complex. Within the the number of ethnic Manchus during the through the maternal line, throughout framework of contemporary rabbinical last Manchu emperor was estimated at 2 Southeast Asia. All the obvious mate- Judaism, only matrilineal transmission of million; after the fall of the Manchu rial glosses over anything but the list of Jewishness is recognized (a Jew is a con- Empire, Manchus—fearing persecution— famous men and the ties to Bombay and vert or someone whose mother is a Jew), virtually disappeared and only 500,000 London. Any help you may give, or while Chinese Jews recognized only patri- were counted in the succeeding census. sources I might access, will be greatly lineal descent. They are not, therefore, When official policies regarding minori- appreciated. recognized as Jews by other communi- ties were changed, affording them pro- Ruth Cernea, [email protected] ties and are consequently ineligible for tective rights, the number of ethnic automatic Israeli citizenship under the Manchus jumped to 5 million. There are Law of Return. The Israeli embassy in potentially hundreds of thousands in Beijing will therefore presumably reject Kaifeng and its environs that may claim Introduce a friend to SJI Chinese Jewish descendants requesting Jewish ethnicity. Thus far, most overseas by giving a free copy of to make aliyah. Most descendants of Jewish communities have been indiffer- Kaifeng’s Jewish community are vaguely ent toward the putative descendants of Points East. aware of their ancestry, but having no the Kaifeng Jews. Recently, however, a direct sources of information, the vast family of Kaifeng Jewish descendants has majority is unaware of what that actu- formally converted to Judaism and have Simply send an email to ally means. become Israeli citizens. Whether or not [email protected] more Kaifeng Jewish descendants will While the official attitude toward the follow in this family’s path remains a and a sample will be sent. descendants of Kaifeng’s Jewish commu- matter of speculation. 4 Points East Kaifeng Jewish descendants are be- approximately 800 individuals affiliated [In the fall of 2008, I arranged to be in friended by local Christians and protected with the three congregations, though Bangkok for the High Holidays, to lead by them. Christians are a growing power numbers expand greatly around the High services and to put into motion our plans in China, and show interest and kind- Holidays. to establish a Progressive community ness toward Jews. Remains from the syna- there.] gogue and the Jewish Street are collected Our Current Progressive and built into new Christian churches. Communities Kehilat Beijing traces its roots back to My essential partner in that effort was 1980 with the first Pesach seder organized Narissara March, who together with her The World Union for by the Jews in the city. The community husband, Michael, and their two chil- Progressive Judaism Looks actually came together in 1995 and serves dren, has lived in Bangkok for several the religious needs of the variety of pro- years. (Prior to Bangkok, the March fam- to the East gressive Jews (Reform, Conservative, ily lived many years in Hong Kong and by Rabbi Joel Oseran Reconstructionist, secular). It does not was an active member in the UJC.) excerpted from World Union For Progres- have a full-time rabbi, but arranges to Narissara worked tirelessly to find a suit- sive Judaism, Issue #346 – 29 January have visiting rabbis for the High Holi- able location for the services, to publi- 2009 days and special occasions. cize them in local papers and on Internet sites, and to help spread the word far and Progressive Judaism in the Far East Hong Kong’s United Jewish Congrega- One of the “new frontiers” for Progres- tion (UJC), was established in 1988 and wide. The UJC in Hong Kong generously sive Judaism, and one of the most fasci- it, too, became the one progressive Jew- contributed 40 High Holiday machzorim nating of challenges for us as a World ish home in the city for Reform, Con- (High Holy Day prayerbooks) to help the Union, is Asia and the Far East, particu- servative, Reconstructionist and secular community get started, and NFTY in Is- larly China. After recently spending sev- Jews. The UJC formally affiliates with rael lent us a Sefer Torah. eral months in the region, I want to share the World Union and regularly sends rep- with you some of the recent develop- resentatives to regional and international It was a joyous occasion indeed to con- ments there, and some ideas for the fu- conventions of our Progressive move- duct the first ever High Holiday services ture. ment. It has a full-time rabbi, Rabbi Stan in Bangkok under the banner of the Zamek, a cantorial soloist, and an edu- Asia and the Far East are geographically World Union. Nearly 30 people at- cational director. part of the Union of Progressive Judaism tended; families, singles and some visi- (UPJ) region of the World Union, with tors to Bangkok who had heard there The United Hebrew Congregation in its regional office located in Melbourne, would be a Reform service in town. In- Singapore, also affiliated with the World Australia. The UPJ includes Australia, terestingly, most of the “locals” had never Union, was officially established in 1995 New Zealand, India, China (which in- met one another before, even though they and serves as the one progressive congre- cludes Hong Kong) and Singapore. The had lived in Bangkok a long time. gation for the Jews in the community. UPJ is a dynamic and superbly organized For the past 16 years, Rabbi Lenny Thal region, with a long history of top lay and (formerly senior vice president of the At our community dinner after the first professional leaders who work in close Union for Reform Judaism) has served as night’s Rosh Hashanah service (Thai cui- cooperation with our Jerusalem headquar- the UHC’s rabbi for the High Holidays. sine trumped gefilte fish and chopped ters. Our efforts to develop Progressive Rabbi Thal, since retirement, will now Judaism in the region reflect a true part- liver), we conducted an informal group make extended annual visits to Singapore nership. meeting to discuss what we wanted to in the fall and spring… do in the future to build the community, The Jewish community in China and and how to organize our efforts. It was Emerging Progressive Communi- clear that everyone wanted to keep the Singapore today consists primarily of ex- ties: Bangkok and Shanghai group going and establish a Progressive patriots from North America, Europe, Is- While the existing congregations in China Jewish community in Bangkok. A few rael, Australia and a very few from South and in Singapore have matured and sta- America and South Africa. Most work for bilized over the past two decades, there people volunteered to take on specific leading international companies with are two “newcomers” to the area that fig- roles to help “make it happen,” such as professional interests in the region, while ure into our World Union planning for building a Web site for communication some are entrepreneurs engaged in per- 2009: Bangkok and Shanghai. Many and information purposes; others offered sonal and/or family businesses. While expats living in those communities have to help organize upcoming holiday cel- most expats are on a limited contract of asked us about Progressive Judaism and ebrations. I am pleased to report that the between two and five years, some have how they might go about establishing a group recently met to celebrate Hanukah, found the Far East irresistible and have congregation. And while the two cities settled there permanently or semi-perma- which included not only latkes but a fun- are quite different in terms of their cul- filled art project where the children each nently. Most of the veteran leaders who ture, social settings and demographics, made personal Hanukah menorahs. helped to establish the Beijing, Hong they nevertheless both have significant Kong and Singapore congregations are expat populations and economic devel- Our Future in Shanghai long-term residents who have been in the opment potential – and they want to The desire for establishing a Progressive region for decades. In total, there are “make it happen.”… Points East 5 community is strong in Shanghai as well, The local communities are not without but it will require a different strategy. their own means, and recognize their re- Study of Intermarriage Shanghai is clearly China’s economic sponsibility to take on the lion’s share of Between Asian & Jewish juggernaut, with a population of over 17 leadership and financial commitments to million, and is fast becoming the nation’s ensure successful growth. The World Americans indisputable commercial and banking Union looks forward to welcoming many center. Over the years, we have been in of their dynamic constituents into the www.BecholLashon.org / contact with a number of Jewish profes- ranks of its international leadership. www.InEveryTongue.org is seeking sionals and business executives to dis- participants for a study to be con- The role of the World Union will be to cuss when and how the World Union ducted in 2008-2009 by Helen Kim, help coordinate and orchestrate the com- would help establish a Progressive com- PhD and Noah Leavitt. The research ing together of local human and material munity in the city. will be published in a book that resources; to energize and assure Jews in will examine the racial, ethnic, and the region that it is possible to create pro- While Rabbi Lenny Thal was serving the gressive Jewish communities to meet the religious identities of Asian-Jewish UHC in Singapore as visiting rabbi for needs of their families; and, as articulated couples and families. the High Holidays, he joined Steve in our Mission Statement, to “strengthen Denenberg, the UPJ’s executive director, Jewish life in Israel and throughout the While much attention has focused for several days in Shanghai, traveling world by supporting and advancing a Pro- on interfaith marriages between there after Sukkot and before the UPJ gressive approach to Jewish tradition.” annual conference which was scheduled American Jews and their non-Jew- to take place in Melbourne, Australia in ish spouses, we know very little The pursuit of our Mission in Asia and early November. Rabbi Thal organized about marriages of racially and eth- the Far East will have important conse- an intense few days of work, including nically diverse couples where there Shabbat evening services, study sessions, quences for Progressive Judaism in the is at least one Jewish partner. Noth- planning meetings and even a musical 21st century. While this part of the world ing has been written about Asian- is not home to a huge number of Jews, it concert by the well known Jewish singer, Jewish families. Robyn Helzner, whose visit to Shanghai will become ever more dominant in world economic, political and human affairs... coincided. We are looking for a wide range of participants, including those who Dozens of people took part in the vari- Many may wonder how the World Union have children, and those who do not, ous events, convincing us that we are on can establish itself in a region where those who are more religiously in- the right track regarding the need to es- Chabad is already so strongly entrenched. volved, and those who are less in- tablish a Progressive community in While I was in Bangkok leading Progres- volved, and individuals from Chi- Shanghai, yet we recognized several dis- sive High Holiday services, Chabad was nese, Japanese, Korean, and other tinct challenges. The city is a sprawling conducting services in three different lo- metropolitan area of over 700 square ki- cations in the city. In fact, according to Asian backgrounds. We are also seek- lometers, without a single Jewish “neigh- Israel radio, Chabad in Bangkok organized ing participants who have converted borhood” where we can focus our efforts. the largest Rosh Hashanah holiday din- to Judaism, and those who have not. Moreover, as in many communities in ner in the world, with 4,000 (mostly Is- Asia, expats are constantly in flux, re- raeli back-packers) enjoying kosher food The research covers a wide range of sulting both in demanding travel sched- around the tables. subjects including childhood and ules and actual relocations to other cit- adolescent experiences, family dy- ies and countries. We will need to iden- But we faced a similar situation many namics, religious and cultural prac- tify a core nucleus of community lead- years ago with respect to the former So- tices, professional involvements, ers who will partner with us to establish viet Union, where Chabad was already civic and community commitments. a long-term functioning congregation. well organized and spread out. Our be- All information is completely con- Nevertheless, these are not unique chal- lief now, as it was then, is that we have fidential and anonymous. lenges to Shanghai and we firmly believe an obligation to offer religious choice to that there is indeed a real commitment all members of our Jewish family, wher- To be part of the survey, go to: on the part of a number of Jews in the ever they live. By sharing the blessings http://www.surveymonkey.com/ city to “make it happen.” and values of a modern, egalitarian, plu- s.aspx?sm=aMTolisna69KQY ralistic Judaism that so many of us en- rge5EFFw_3d_3dF Looking Ahead joy, we practice and ensure our commit- or for more information call: Fortunately, despite the financial con- ment to Jewish life and the future of the 415.386.2604 straints confronting all congregations and Jewish People. organizations, we know that developing Please forward to anybody who may these new centers of Progressive Jewish Rabbi Oseran is Vice President, Interna- be interested in this study. life in the Far East is eminently doable! tional Development, for the WUPJ. 6 Points East Chinese Policies misleading in this regard. involuntary serfdom. In 1956, the CIA (continued from page 1) fomented a revolt, which as expected Concerning the Roman Catholic Church, failed but brought the Chinese army into younger brother of Jesus – joined forces the Chinese government will not allow Tibet, thus creating a military emergency with the Chinese army. This combined an institution within China controlled by in the west to balance the U.S. armed army, led by a British general, succeeded a foreign power. Hence, they will not Taiwan in the east, then threatening to in putting down the rebellion but devas- permit a church controlled by the Vatican. invade China. A second revolt led to the tated central China. As for the underground fundamentalist formation in India of a Tibetan govern- Protestant churches, the government sus- ment in exile supported by the U.S. which Christian missionaries had been banned pects institutions that refuse to register has since been used for anti-Chinese pro- from China over a century earlier when of sedition. This perception is reified paganda. the Pope issued an edict affecting the given these churches are surreptitiously religious practices of Chinese converts supported by American churches. There During the Cultural Revolution, Tibetan that countered the viewpoint of the Chi- are Protestant, Orthodox and an indepen- monasteries were severely trashed by Ti- nese emperor. Incensed that a foreign dent Catholic churches registered with betan youths, as local youths everywhere power would dare to regulate an internal the government in China. in China were urged to destroy everything Chinese matter, the emperor kicked out considered non-modern, including reli- all the missionaries. Christian mission- Chinese Muslim communities have an gious buildings and artefacts. Neither aries only came back following the trea- even longer history than Chinese Juda- Tibet nor religion was selected out. Ev- ties forced on the Chinese after the two ism. Chinese Muslims were well inte- erything old was considered evil. The Opium Wars, the last giving missionar- grated into Chinese culture, and many most recent Western complaint regard- ies and Chinese converts extraordinary became high officials and military lead- ing religious freedom in Tibet is that powers over ordinary Chinese and local ers. The situation with Uighur Muslims, monks who burned alive Han Chinese governments, leading to popular hatred their country attached to China as part in Lhasa were arrested for murder. This of Christianity. Many Christian converts of the Manchu Empire, is quite differ- is a very new interpretation of religious and missionaries were killed by the ent. They have always resisted being part freedom and of Buddhist practices. The th people in the late 19 century “Boxer of China and are now supported by for- present Chinese government will not ac- Rebellion.” When China was again uni- eign Islamacist movements. China un- cept as the political ruler of an autono- fied under a strong government after the derstands this situation as one of a mili- mous Chinese region a person chosen by Chinese Communist Party won the civil tant separatist movement and terrorism assumed transmigration from a dead per- war, most Christian missionaries were rather than a matter of religion. son to an infant nor allow the socio-eco- again kicked out of China. The mission- nomic structure to revert to serfdom. aries were perceived as the frontline The situation with Tibet again is not a troops of Western imperialism. matter of religion. Tibet has always been The final major instance of claimed reli- closely linked to China in various ways, gious persecution is the Falun Gong, al- It is to be noted that rarely in the well- especially with regard to the spoken lan- though in Chinese language writings, the documented history of China has the guage and culture, as evidenced by tradi- movement does not claim to be a reli- government persecuted religion per se, tional clothing, architecture, eating uten- gion. The founder became a qigong mas- but it has suppressed religious institutions sils, etc. At one time the kingdom of Ti- ter in China, qigong being a form of men- that rivalled the government for power. bet conquered much of China. Contem- tal and physical exercise, self-control and For example, the government suppressed porary maps of “Free Tibet” often reflect projected power with a very long history. Buddhism several times, the last in the that conquest, showing borders enclos- When he moved to the U.S., it was th 9 century. Buddhist monasteries, which ing most of China. More recently, Tibet claimed in some Chinese texts that the paid no land taxes, and monks and nuns had been controlled by monasteries founder was God; Chinese adherents who also paid no taxes, had become so whose abbots (lamas) vied for hegemony were taught that he controlled their life vast and numerous that the tax burden under the nominal authority of the last and death; and according to their website, on non-monastic land and ordinary per- Chinese (Manchu) dynasty. Most of the he received his teachings from outer- sons became impossibly onerous. The population were serfs working the mo- space aliens. government was in imminent danger of nastic estates. fiscal collapse. It then cracked down on Once in the U.S., he suddenly had con- the institutions, limiting the number and England, fearing the expanding Russian siderable funds and exceptional commu- land-holdings of monasteries and the empire would encompass Tibet, sought nication facilities. When the institution number of monks and nuns. It did not to attach it to the Indian part of its em- was able to surround a government build- ban Buddhism and had no concern about pire, creating in the Western mind the ing with 10,000 persons on very short the beliefs and practices of individual lay understanding that Tibetan culture was notice and demand recognition by the Buddhists; it was not persecution. closely related to India rather than China. Chinese government – implying accep- England named the abbot of the monas- tance of himself as the true ruler of China Today, the U.S. and other Western coun- tery in Lhasa, the Dalai Lama, the ruler – the government considered the move- tries attempting to weaken rapidly ad- of Tibet, although the Chinese govern- ment a serious danger and banned it. The vancing China have criticized China for ment recognized the Panchen Lama as most startling of these communication persecuting religion, thus violating hu- the superior lama. In 1950, with the re- abilities was when the institution took man rights. The few cases brought for- unification of China, China reasserted temporary control of all Chinese televi- ward over and over again are deliberately control over Tibet, and began the end of sion transmission, a feat that can only Points East 7 be accomplished by the NSA. Since then recognition of two Chief Rabbis, whose To the contrary, after the Jesuits lost the the most bizarre stories of Chinese per- decisions can affect all Jews in Israel (and century-long Rites Controversy – the Je- secution of Falun Gong members, as well recently all Orthodox Jews in North suits allowed Chinese converts to con- as of a vast number of adherents, has America). Hitherto, Judaism never had tinue to take part in family and state rituals been the basis of assumed religious per- the equivalent of the Pope. Hence, if a – Christianity was comparatively unsuc- secution in the West. To the contrary, it renewed Chinese Judaism is subject to cessful in China. From the mid-19th cen- is understood by all those Chinese with decisions made in Israel rather than by tury, missionaries assumed that Chinese whom I have discussed this matter, both the synagogue congregation itself that converts could not remain Chinese in in China and in Canada, that the institu- would be a serious concern. culture or take part in family and state tion is a creation of the CIA. rituals; thus, converts were perceived as More problematic is which Judaism will dangerous to the social order. In summary, perceptions of religious per- be promoted for these descendants. The secution in China are not understood that Jewish basis of Chinese Judaism was Those Jews who have studied Chinese way by the Chinese government and what is now called Oriental or Mizrahi Judaism in depth tend to understand it people. Rather, these cases are perceived Judaism. It is the Judaism practiced in as one of the most successful modes of as foreign powers seeking control over Persia which during the various Iranian Judaism in Jewish history. It lasted for aspects of China if not the destruction of empires included Baghdad and its envi- nearly a millennium, as long as Ashkenazi the government itself or as separatist rons. This form of Judaism is far older Judaism; the synagogue in Kaifeng, re- movements. The government, save for the than the Ashkenazi and Sephardic tradi- built several times, functioned as long period preceding and during the Cultural tions. as the oldest synagogues in Europe. From Revolution, has had no concern regard- at least the 17th century, that synagogue ing individual religious beliefs but is The Jewish merchants who travelled to was one of the largest in the world. Chi- concerned about institutions, all of which the Chinese port cities and then along nese Jews had become high government have to be registered and not subject to the inland waterways to Kaifeng in the officials, and were respected by many of foreign control. 10th or 11th century probably left from the upper class (based on education in Basra, and some may have later come China) for both their Chinese and Jew- Rather than persecute religion, Chinese from Yemen. They spoke and wrote ish learning. The latter was found appeal- governments have traditionally supported Judeo-Persian. The most famous theolo- ing by many Chinese literati. virtually all aspects of religion in China gian when they left was Saadia Gaon. To as a means of garnering their good will. this Mizrahi basis over the centuries they Yet Chinese Judaism is nowadays often For example, the synagogue in at least added rituals to respect their deceased posited, especially by those of Ashkenazi Kaifeng was built with government sup- and the Patriarchs that accorded with Jew- background, as being a failed Judaism – port. Chinese governments routinely gave ish practices but also accorded with nor- a failure due to assimilation and a les- titles to deities that became popular. This mative Chinese religion in having rituals son for Jews today of the dangers of as- practice continues to today. When mar- directed towards the dead of the family similation. But Ashkenazi, as well as tial law ended in Taiwan and new reli- and clan (the Patriarchs perhaps under- Sephardic, Judaism is no less assimilated. gious movements became licit, the gov- stood as the founders of the Jews as a Chinese Jews came to speak Chinese and ernment encouraged a hitherto never in- macro-clan). Thus, they fully practiced the mark of Ashkenazi Judaism is Yid- stitutionalized aspect of Chinese religion, Mizrahi Judaism and partially Chinese dish, a German (Plattdeutsch) dialect. mediums, to organize themselves into a religion: they were indeed Chinese Jews. Ashkenazim came to wear the clothing registered institution. This enhanced the and adopted the diet of Poland and the status of mediums, and it gave the gov- This type of development is inherent to Ukraine, as the Chinese Jews wore Chi- ernment limited oversight of a major as- the spread of Judaism, a religion based nese garb and ate (kosher) Chinese cui- pect of Chinese religion. on the oral and written Torah, as distinct sine. Genetically, the Ashkenazim are from Israelite religion, which was temple- primarily European with some Turkic and Chinese Judaism and Western centered focusing on sacrificial rituals. Semitic elements, while the Chinese Assistance As Judaism spread throughout the Helle- Jews are similarly Chinese and Semitic. An often expressed concern is that the nistic and Roman ports long before the It is difficult to understand the logic of assumed Chinese persecution of religion “Diaspora,” unlike later Christianity, it this denigration of Chinese Judaism. would not allow assistance to those de- was not perceived to be a threat to the scendants of the Chinese Jews who wish social order; that is, Judaism did not deny Chinese Judaism collapsed 150 years ago to return to Judaism, or it would put the normative family and state rituals. due to a combination of external factors, them in danger. As delineated above, this not to any inherent flaws in Chinese Ju- Judaism, as in China, was perceived by is not a meaningful concern, unless that daism. First, in the 16th century, to non-Jews to be compatible with their own assistance is perceived as promoting a counter piracy, the government pulled way of life; thus, Judaism not only pros- Judaism within China subject to foreign back communities from the coast and control. Thus, the Israeli government is pered but attracted many non-Jews to its ended Chinese as well as foreign mari- quite correct in maintaining a hands-off rituals and teachings. Similarly in the time trade (and the caravan route was no position on this matter. present-day U.S., the vast majority of Jews longer open). The major ports had syna- are now perceived by the general popu- gogues, which allowed the Jews in in- The political situation in Israel has pro- lace to have values and lives similar to land Kaifeng to remain in contact with vided the ultra-Orthodox precedence on their own; consequently, many Jews can Persian Judaism. Ending maritime trade matters of religion and led to the official be found in prestigious positions. cut the Chinese Jews off from Judaism 8 Points East elsewhere. Secondly, in the first half of could be made to translate the Jesuit re- of the Chinese Jews put themselves for- the 19 th century, the Yellow River cording and descriptions of 17th and 18th ward for minority status. The suggestion (“China’s Sorrow”) massively flooded and century Chinese Judaism and the Kaifeng must be from those with short memo- destroyed the city, including the syna- synagogue, in spite of some misunder- ries. Throughout the history of Jews liv- gogue (the third time in eight centuries). standings which should be noted, into ing among Christians, Jews had, until Members of the Jewish community went modern Chinese, so that their tradition Napoleon, special minority status, fre- to the newly opened port of Shanghai to is accessible. Third, one or more rabbis quently including the requirement to seek help from European Jewish mer- needs to be trained from among willing wear distinctive clothing so they could chants to rebuild their synagogue and descendants, and the “ordination” should be readily identified for persecution. reconnect with Judaism, their last rabbi not be one that renders them subject to When they did not in the mid-20th cen- having died. Money was collected but authorities external to China. For a re- tury, they had to sew a yellow star on subsequently diverted to help Jews in turn, if desired, needs to come from their garments in Nazi controlled Europe. Russia suffering from pogroms. Finally, within not from the outside or it is not a Is the suggestion really being made that the above mentioned Taiping Movement return to Chinese Judaism but a conver- Chinese Jews separate themselves from and the resultant civil war left Kaifeng sion to a European Judaism. As most the general population? again destroyed with its population scat- Christian missionaries looked down on tered. Thus, the Chinese synagogue com- the Chinese and despised Chinese cul- For many centuries, the Chinese Jews did munity came to a functional end, al- ture, assuming that to become Christian very well as Chinese. This is because though memory of the tradition contin- meant to adopt the ethnos of the mis- China is the only civilization in which ues among their descendants. sionary, so teaching a northeastern Euro- Jews suffered no discrimination or per- pean mode of Judaism to Chinese Jews secution; they were accepted as ethnically This is being brought up because the ten- is equally demeaning to their own Jew- Chinese with some minor differences. dency for educating the descendants of ish past. Who can predict the future for those in the Chinese Jews who are interested in the midst, not the fringes, of China who Judaism is to teach Ashkenazi culture as Chinese Minorities and Chinese are officially and identifiably different? essential to being Jewish, to turn Chi- Judaism Moreover, if the Chinese Jews were con- nese into north-eastern Europeans. Such Minorities are officially recognized in vinced they must replace their Chinese an attitude is not only ethnocentric and China as a people who are not Han (eth- ethnicity with a foreign ethnicity to be imperialistic but would render the lives nically Chinese) but are citizens of China. Jewish, they then would be perceived as of those who return problematic. If the Minorities have their own language, tra- foreigners, not a minority. Given that Judaism practiced and lifestyle lived was ditional clothing, customs, religion and China in its long history has had occa- incompatible with Chinese culture, it a locale, usually on the margins of China, sional bouts of xenophobia, to be distin- would place those Chinese into an un- in which they have been present for many guished as a foreign community at some tenable situation. Chinese culture is ho- centuries. The distinction is based on time in the future could be dangerous. mogeneous, albeit with regional differ- ethnicity not religion. ences, yet highly tolerant of differences Jordan Paper is Professor Emeritus, Hu- so long as the behaviour of individuals There is one anomaly, Chinese Muslims, manities (East Asian & Religious Studies and families accords with Chinese cul- who are known as Hui. Until, 1949, this Programs) at York University in Toronto, ture; religious ideology in itself is not a term referred to those central Asian Mus- Canada, Fellow at the Centre for Studies traditional concern. lims (other than the Uyghur) living in in Religion & Society and an Adjunct Pro- northwestern China, but afterwards the fessor, Indigenous Governance Program For the first century or more of Judaism term became confused and those in cen- & Pacific and Asian Studies at the Uni- in China, it was a religion of foreigners, tral and southern China, distantly of Arab versity of Victoria in British Columbia, and foreigners are not expected to act as and other origins, were included. The Canada. He may be reached at Chinese. In the port cities, for about latter were probably included among the [email protected] twelve hundred years, foreign merchants, Hui out of confusion during the rushed usually Arabs and Jews, lived in extra- creation of the People’s Republic of territorial enclaves and were to regulate China. Most Hui are culturally Chinese Survival in Shanghai and police themselves. More recently, save that they practice Islam, with its (continued from page 1) Europeans and Americans in Shanghai dietary practices, etc. ing to the German government, you were lived in similar enclaves with extraterri- legal to leave (not that you had been toriality. Those that wished to assimilate Minorities have a privileged position in forced to leave) with a passport issued to Chinese culture were fully welcome China, often receiving free medical care by the German Reich. “By order of…” to do so and thereafter perceived as Chi- and education, and are not subject to the on a document, stamped and signed by nese and not foreign. Extraterritoriality is one-child policy. Hence, various groups, this or that head of an office, a Gauleiter, no longer an option in the present con- such as some Chinese Christians, are try- a soldier, a newly appointed official, was text and would be irrelevant to Chinese. ing to become recognized as a minority. law. Given the privileges and government ex- What then should be done? First, the pense for these, the list of 55 official My father learned to scope out which descendants of the Chinese Jews could minorities is not likely to be expanded. Beamter might speed up or slow down be introduced to their traditional mode this process; who might make you wait of Judaism: Mizrahi. Second, an effort It has been suggested that the descendants longer or ask you to come back with one Points East 9 more bit of information, because in the coat with upturned collar, the dark green Part II A: Shanghai, 1939-1942 recesses of his new position –he, newly- fedora hat, the briefcase, all of which my “Look, “ my appalled mother said, as new installed in this position of pseudo- mother approved of: “They make you look impressions gave way to newer ones, power, might secretly enjoy the spec- smart.” It was important to make a good “This is hard to believe: they are letting tacle of the Long Line before him. Of- impression on the Herr Konsul in case you young boys pull these rickshaws? And ten my father made me come with him, should even get in to see him. there are no laws against that?” pushed me forward amidst desks and benches, so that “das suesse, kleine So it was by sheer accident that my fa- “What kind of cooking oil are they using Maederl” (the sweet little girl) would ther, on the way to somewhere else, saw here, ja das hab’ich noch niemals soften the heart of the bureaucrat and yet another Long Line in front of yet an- gekannt, (I’ve never seen anything like we might beat it out of there faster than other Consulate, on 3 Beethoven Platz, it) on the street”, or “Is it some machine the applicant behind us, who had noth- Bezirk, with at least 45 persons waiting, oil, das macht mich ganz krank, weisst ing to sweeten his application with. when one of them recognized my father du das schon? “ (That makes me really Nevertheless, we applicants were objects and hailed him: “Come on, get in line. sick, do you know that?) of indifferent mercy. Between us and This is the day. (Ja, heute geben sie doch. the people behind the desk lay The Great Visas nach Shanghai, kommen Sie doch, “Yesterday, I saw someone defecating Divide. koennen Sie es gleich in Ihrem Pass-schrift right on the street. He saw me too and haben.” (Yeah, today, they are giving out looked right through me—what cheek!” To secure the passport was only the be- Visas to Shanghai. Come on, you’ll just ginning of the story. The larger ques- have it stamped into your passport….) My When the over-sized moving van pulled tion - where to go once you had your father just fell into yet one more Long Line up in front of our cobbled, narrow street, papers - was feverishly discussed, 24/7, which, he would tell us over and over on Avenue Du Roi Albert in the French in the privacy of our home with friends, again to his surprise, was actually mov- Concession of Shanghai, and brought our relatives, neighbors, and it became more ing and really, “It didn’t take all that belongings on a storage van from Vienna, urgent when our original home was req- long”. He was pleased too, because just then by rail to Geneva, Italy, and by boat uisitioned by a young, blond, military on that day he happened to have our Ger- via the Suez Canal to Shanghai, she officer who, profusely apologized to us man Reisepasse (passports) on him. “I couldn’t believe her eyes. Had she really as he was writing down each item he had all the right documents. I just turned stowed away all that furniture herself? was appropriating from us. After all, he them in. The clerk disappeared and, after My father right away declared we’d have was merely “following orders”. a while, my name was called and there to get rid of everything: simplify. Life they were, everything in order: three pass- would be different from now on. Period. All foreign Consulates, all Embassies, in ports, signed and stamped.” We’d live without any ballast. Kapisch? Vienna were inundated with applicants. (You get it?) And my mother complied. They were no longer places that might “Yes,” my mother said, “and you didn’t His word was law. He had become our help vacationers or businessmen to travel have to speak Chinese?” “The Clerk was leader, our Moses. abroad, but places that were the source German and spoke English.” “Did you of magical power – to provide entry not get to speak to the Consul? – Did he speak Picture my mother, as she is stared down to a country but to life itself. More Long English?” “I just moved from one desk to by Chinese furniture dealers, who them- Lines. They snaked for blocks. Some the next.” “And you didn’t even have to selves are barely eking out a living, bar- folks hired substitutes to wait in one pay?” We stared down at Chinese char- gaining with her, item by item. Her liv- consulate while they checked out an- acters we neither could read nor under- ing room chandelier under which she had other, or merely hired them to hold their stand. presided over family meals; the kitchen place in line, as rumors flew. When chair on which she had set laboriously would the English Consulate pass out A few weeks later, after Krystallnacht, on squeezing tomatoes for fresh juice (“so new applications? Would the French? November 9, 1938, and after a body bag full of vitamins!”), while she chatted What about Australia? Or would we find brought the remains of my father’s happily away and I happily allowed her a relative in Sweden whose name and brother, Alfred, from Dachau (the first to minister to me – all parts & particles address we would find at the Swedish labor camp we ever heard of), and after I of her quickly receding past from which Consulate? Or the American Consulate? had been told at my skating rink that I she withdrew without a single complaint What was the name of the Pole who could not dance in the next ice show be- – drew deep into herself – so deep that I fought with my father in World War I cause of the new racial laws, my father would much later remember two Muttis and whom he later met on his honey- actually bought our steamship tickets for – like two masks over the same face – the Conte Biancamano, one of the Italian moon in Italy (ein ganz fescher Kerl – a one a youthful, laughing one (from be- steamship company’s luxury liners that really smart fellow). Would the Inter- fore the war) and the other always close took six weeks to go to Shanghai. My national Jewish Congress persist to in- relief was enormous. I would no longer to tears that never fully emptied (from crease the quotas for European countries? have to wait up in bed, scanning the win- the time of arrival in Shanghai to long What about work permits in England, dow for my father’s returning shadow, or after the war). Holland, Italy—and would they take listen for his footsteps as he turned the children? My father, like all the other key to open the large oak door into our They called Shanghai “the International applicants, carefully dressed for the oc- flat, on the fourth floor of Schulerstrasse City”. Would you call a city with one casion as if that was a prerequisite to 20, as he had safely crested another day hundred thousand foreigners and four to finding a new life: the light green trench in the Long Line and avoided disaster. six million Chinese “international?” I 10 Points East doubt it was international from the point songs and Italian tangos in foreign bars, tuna, which I sold to Jewish grocery stores of view of the native water carriers, the part of an accordion quartet; I became in our part of town. laundrymen, the street corner cooks. I an English secretary to the nicest German didn’t know it then, but we came into a import/exporter (who not once asked The lack of hygiene and the dramas that city divided into three distinct parts: the about our European presence in Shang- were played out on the street were my French Concession, the International hai.) For a while I was the only “white” mother’s nightmare. I walked past them, Settlement and the Chinese Municipal- face in a sea of Chinese salespeople in a past the human villages of rickety sam- ity of Greater Shanghai; though the Japa- department store that played Chinese love pans (boathouses), right across from the nese were inching their way back, land- songs for its customers. The department skyscraper western banks on the Whang ing some council seats. Each munici- store bosses used me for what I was – a Po River only half a block away, inhab- pality celebrated its own holidays; each bridge to the remaining British subjects ited by families whose laundry, excre- had its own schools, its own tax collec- in Shanghai. We were the only ones who ment, and cooking stoves on hot days tors, courts, police and security guards – still provided pre-war tea biscuits that gave a stench of oil, coal and smog. I administered by the Shanghai Municipal came in large tin cans – but at the end of walked past Chinese water/brick/wood Council. Shanghai was not governed by the day I scraped sugar bits from the bot- carriers/laborers/slaves who balanced China. By 1940, the influx of Jews be- tom of the tin and brought home crystal straw baskets on bamboo poles, who came so great – eighteen to twenty to sugar wrapped in paper. It made me glad dance-walked their cargoes in an inex- thousand refugees had come within one to see my mother smile, as she’d say: haustibly fast rhythm to a singsong breath year and a half – which the Council “Na, was hast du heute nach Hause that never faltered. I saw beggars who agreed to demand two hundred British gebracht?” (So what did you bring home scratched their ulcerative leg sores with pound per person as a landing tax from today?) newspaper pages with the left hand while refugees to be able to debark in Shang- holding out hands for alms with the right hai. In other words, one and half years I thrived. Whereas the adult world had hand. I had never seen emaciated moth- after our arrival, we could not have made lost their set of traditional historic and ers nursing their babies on the street; or it: we would have lacked the landing cultural instructions, I learned that the water carriers balancing hot water for sale money! Ours had been good timing! rule in Shanghai’s divided territories was in wooden pails slopping over and burn- Shanghai, the Open City, closed quickly that there was no rule and hence every ing barefoot children; or ornamental rick- once the waves of refugee arrivals kept man (or child) forged for him/herself! I shaws carrying elegant ladies weaving in coming. The fear was that the refugees apprenticed as an ardent survivalist. I cut and around fat pigs brought to market by would strain the city’s resources. After “deals”. If a policeman stopped me, it farmers from the countryside; or hungry all, our homegrown refugee committees wasn’t to enforce the law, it was a pre- horses collapsing on the street; or a cir- had no official power, no status, so we text to ask for “kumshaw” (a bribe) or cus artist who had trained a snake to rise once more were excluded! Like the city’s when I traded a European woodcarving and rise to the accompaniment of his Chinese poor, we were without political for cash, my parents smiled and no ques- thin, high pitched voice singing an atonal advocates – even as the Italian Shipping tions were asked. Or, later, when our melody. As the snake rose, his eyes stayed Company, Lloyd Triestino, continued to Ward Road Hospital was lacking medi- on the snake; he ignored the copper coins sell steamship tickets (and garner hand- cations, I didn’t hesitate to set out on that fell from passersby into his tin cup, some profits) to bring more refugees to my bicycle and ride from one individual the singsong never stopped, the song Shanghai. With the municipalities’ pow- pharmacy to another and secure what we never rewound. ers’ divided, nobody was in charge. Both needed. With pidgin Chinese, I wrangled the native Chinese and, we, the uninvited “deals” and no merchant I ever dealt with Today, traveling to another country, I’m guests, had no voice. I don’t think I could saw my Caucasian face, my female gen- a sojourner, I’m curious. I’m untram- even conceive – nor was it discussed – der, my youth, as a handicap. I closed a meled. But as child, as a guest, who has how close to political anarchy we were! deal with a formal bow, wearing my girl- not been invited to sit at the table, you ish knee socks and scuffed shoes. For don’t see and you don’t ask to be seen. I Nothing like this was talked about at our pocket money, I used my long black hair (and many of my compatriots) totally increasingly sparse dinner table. My fa- as capital. I sold it as it regrew two or missed the painted communal histories ther and I became a team of workhorses. three times before Pearl Harbor. It seemed and legends presented on the street by He applied to and was rejected as a clerk Chinese made hairnets out of human hair all the anonymous beggar/poets. While in foreign banks. He and a friend worked not out of thread. While I showed the my parents were shocked, I accepted all on a low welding patent, which he barber how much I wanted to have cut situations as given, poverty as the Great wanted to bring to Chinese shops to off my hair – against a price that depended Stalker. I never inquired how these so- lower cost. He ended up a philatelist, a on the weight of my excess hair – an cial situations had come to be or how stamp dealer – his once youthful apprentice trimmed and trimmed – while they might be improved. collector’s avocation became his trade in another quickly swept up my hair so I a time of increasing inflation. He sold was never quite sure whether the weight Even so, the human melee was not hos- foreign stamps to Russian immigrants, to was totally accurate. I sold it even as I tile. Once I was lost and disoriented try- American businessmen, to wealthy Chi- was busy preventing that I wouldn’t end ing to find my way to a store, a ways nese. As for me, Girl Friday, from ages up totally shorn and bald! I smuggled into from where we lived, and an Indian Sikh 12 to14, I sorted, cleaned and pasted the Japanese part of town, sneaking un- policeman – white-turbaned, stamps into albums; I taught English to der barbed wire at spots where no guards mustachioed, green uniform, leather belt Chinese, to Japanese; I played Viennese were posted to buy up imported Japanese for his pistol – gently guided me back in Points East 11 his native Indian English, though he and low”. Sometimes when I walked in the by British Ashkenazi and Sephardi (Brit- I were culturally, ethnically, from differ- morning to the Shanghai Jewish School ish subject) Jews, was indeed “interna- ent planets. in the International Settlement, Chinese tional”. Everyone was from somewhere children would follow me, yelling else: In Form IV, V and VI, an Irish I didn’t know it then but the Japanese “nakojin, nakojin” (white man, white teacher, Ms. O’Dwyer, taught us the were inching forward again, having just man) and then scurry away. For a long Magna Carta; a Russian immigrant, Mr. bombed Shanghai in a war they lost in time, I couldn’t tell one little boy’s Chi- Kahane, the landmass of modern Russia; 1937, two years prior. That drama, as nese face from another. I simply couldn’t and Ms. Hekking, the wife of a Dutch well as the waxing and waning civil war find the expressive feature in the eye un- businessman, taught “spelling and gram- between warlords that occupied the larger der the Mongolian fold or in the face: so mar”. Within six months I spoke En- Chinese landmass, was not in my con- I never could tell whether this was the glish. I read voraciously in English – ro- sciousness. same or a different group of children chas- mances “Gone With the Wind”; adven- ing us, especially when they were wear- tures “The Scarlet Pimpernel” and Dumas’ Fast forward: in 2004, my oncologist, Dr. ing their blue cotton-gown uniforms. Did “The Three Musketeers”. I wanted to for- Dwight Chen, an American-born Chi- we look the same to them? Did the get German. nese, in Los Gatos, who successfully per- music of our language strike them as harsh forms a hysterectomy on me for endome- as their tonal language sounded to us? I There was a Synagogue right on the trial cancer a few days later, tells me that could not profit from life’s gut lessons. school grounds but I only attended be- his parents had been in Shanghai while I And my parents were too busy with their cause I had a crush on Tommy, a tousled, was there. They were refugees from tasks, and my new girlfriends would have poetic-looking, choir boy, son of Russian Nanking1 but so powerful are the blind- laughed at me out of embarrassment for immigrants. He winked at me in class! ers we refugees had protectively devel- not having the answer either. Everything And I waited for eye contact when he oped that it wasn’t until he pointed this conspired so that we refugees, and they, sang in the choir. For him I might have out to me, sixty years later, that I recog- our non-host Chinese, led parallel lives. become religious but he disappeared; and nized the parallel stories of his parents’ to call somebody on the telephone and escape from murder and ours. We were Except for my mother: sometime before inquire what happened would have been so placed in Shanghai, with survival on Pearl Harbor, drawn by a window in a “gauche”, forward, in bad taste. A refu- our minds, that we ignored the political Chinese children’s clothes shop, a Chi- gee kid calling a Russian kid on the tele- and economic oppression that affected nese mannequin dressed in an American phone? Unheard of! the thousands of Chinese, who were now Indian outfit topped by black-and-white flooding into the city. Much as we had feathers, annoyed her. She knew better! The impulse of the Shanghai Jewish done too. Where were they? How did Didn’t she know that I had read many of School was to keep Jewish children in they survive? Karl May’s imaginary Old American West the Far East oriented to a future home- novels with such imaginary figures as the land – to end the Diaspora, which in our We learned to ignore the inequality right friendship between Winnetou, a noble case had just begun! Our choleric head- in front of our eyes .We adapted to the Red Indian Chief, and old Shatterhand, master was Mendel Brown, an ex-pat dominant culture, not the Chinese, but an American pioneer of German descent; British subject, who later would die in a the White British culture which, through and had she not remembered that I, in Japanese internment camp. He taught the business sector, its citizens, its lan- the halcyon playtime of the days that “Judaism” exactly in the same way as it guage, was the most evident. I learned were now gone, had made my own out- had been in Vienna. He used the same “in praxis” finally what “colonial” meant: fit in Vienna not with blue Chinese cot- sacred texts, only now he taught a little it meant the ability to use the resources ton but with cotton khaki pants and older population. The stories, whether of another country for the benefit of your shirts. So she decided to bring this by- they were the victory of the Maccabees own so that British businessmen from now redone outfit to the Chinese owner or the Exodus, became history not reli- Hong Kong, from Manila, from Bombay, to show him what a “real American” In- gion. History as facts. No one linked embraced the managerial life – under an dian outfit might look like. Since she was our own Exodus to Shanghai with the arrangement with the Shanghai munici- Caucasian, the owner appeared to honor story of the flight from Egypt. No one palities. The British worked as manag- my mother’s expertise. With Pidgin En- explained to us why it was that the Chi- ers, as middlemen, with the Chinese as glish and with much finger pointing, “I nese were the only ones that labored in their laborers. They relaxed with their own makee - you buyee”, she convinced the the kitchen and why it was that no Chi- “kind” in private clubs – an oasis from owner to hire her. From then on, this nese students sat in our classroom. And the world, from which both Jewish refu- Austrian Jewish refugee lady became the why it was that the second language we gee and the Chinese were publicly ex- expert for the Chinese clientele of Karl learned was French – not Chinese! cluded. At the British Race Course, horse May’s imaginary (but to the Chinese and dog races punctuated the monotony “real”) American Indian suits. Hundreds The Shanghai Jewish School had its fa- of the high-class life and a sign was of them. mous benefactors – the Sassoons, the posted: “Chinese and dogs not allowed Abrams, the Kadoories- who allowed “– though amahs, children’s nannies, “White” folks became “international” money for children’s camps, schools and were accepted. The Chinese, on the only when they were around each other, job openings. As charity cases, we refu- street, on the other hand, called all of us and so it was that the teaching staff at gee children never caused trouble in – Russians, British, Europeans – white, the Shanghai Jewish School where I at- school. We learned to be grateful and while we, the refugees, called them “yel- tended for 2½ years, a school founded quiet. 12 Points East Occasionally, very rarely, we questioned the opening of the war in the Pacific, curfew. One moonlit, calm night, on one “the way things were” amongst ourselves when the Japanese rode up the Yang Tze of the empty streets, we’re seated on an but with never an idea about whether River in a small gun boat and, in Gilbert empty military truck, feet dangling away there was anyone (no ultimate agency) & Sullivan fashion, marched smartly onto from the road. Herbert is spinning out that could, would, or should do anything. the one British warship, HMS Petrel, and our future, a time when the war will be I noticed one day that a rickshaw coolie, the USS Wake, both stationed in Shang- over...when we hear a noise. A Japa- in trying to get business from us away hai Harbor, and took the boats (and nese soldier with a bayonet in hand is from other vendors, had pointed to his Shanghai) without a fight. Within hours, leaping up on the truck from the street tight calves – like a horse trader who the Japanese placed all the foreign em- side. Our backs were turned away from might show off his horse’s leg muscles. bassies under Japanese guards and desig- him, while in the front, soldier no. 2, “Chop-Chop (quick, quick)”, he said, nated foreign nationals to wear armbands the driver, starts up the engine. Soldier touting his running skills. When my to identify themselves. The Japanese army no. 1 yells, holds his bayonet out; sol- school buddy said that this was a prac- sought to run the city. They replaced the dier 2 stops the truck. Now both con- tice that should be outlawed (that it was Sikh (Indian) turbaned policemen - they front us. I understand in an instant: we’re a social problem) and to do so people just disappeared from the streets. They not refugees. We’re not Jews. We’re the should simply refuse to ride rickshaws, I set up control of banks by posting ado- enemy aliens. Herbert says “jump and responded that this wouldn’t solve the lescent, 19-year old soldiers in front of run,” which I do on one side; Herbert problem, the man had to feed his chil- them under the supervision by the mili- jumps and runs on the other. We both dren, and if people didn’t ride them, he’d tary and the navy. The Imperial Japanese came home safely, but since we didn’t starve (that it was a personal problem). Army occupied a civilian city –Shanghai have any telephones, we didn’t know But that was as far as such discussions was burning! until the next day what happened to each would go. other. To this day I do not know why Now, once more, we were under a (Japa- we weren’t killed, maimed or wounded. In the meantime, nostalgia and industri- nese) military culture. - From the frying Sometimes, in dreams, I am still running. ousness combined so that little Viennas pan into the fire? Soon, the latest op- and little Berlins sprung up in Shanghai pressor newcomers were testing their The official head of the Ghetto was Kano – food being a great leveler of cultures! muscles: In Feb. 1943, they turned on Ghoya, a civil servant. He loved West- At the Barcelona, in the French conces- us. Unlike the British who became “en- ern culture and was considered a kindly sion, they served Wiener Schnitzerl emy aliens”, we were pronounced as of man until he was appointed to adminis- (breaded veal cutlets); at the Frankel’s Nov. 1942 “stateless” –i.e. no one was ter Hongkew and the issuance of passes Wiener Konditorei (bakeries), they served legally responsible for us. Our German whereby we Jews were allowed in and Kafee mit Schlagobers (coffee with passports, once again, were useless out (excluded and included) of our des- whippped cream); at the Fiaker, a small though one of my friends’ parents upon ignated area (for stateless folks) only for orchestra played Viennese Waltzes; and arrival in Shanghai had presented them the purpose of employment. Roserl Albers Gerstel made the homesick then to the German Consulate “just in audience cry when she sang in Yiddish case thee would be a change in regime!” So look at me now, as I apply for the “Ja, Ein Yiddishes Maederl…” Our refu- So in February 1943, by yet another Japa- permission to go and teach outside the gee men insisted on wearing their stiff nese proclamation, “for military reasons” area – permission that, at the arbitrary Homburg hats in a sea of soft tasseled the Japanese ordered us into a designated, behest of his office, could be renewed Chinese silk caps. My father actually six-mile circumference area, a ghetto: for four weeks, six weeks, and three thought I should learn the millinery trade Hongkew. From now on, we couldn’t months. The Long Line now is in the because the Chinese might learn to buy leave without permission from the man ghetto. People have been waiting since them from us! The adults were marking who was appointed to run us. To this early morning. It is hot. The line moves time until the war was over to take up day I have not been able to figure out slowly. I already know from the folks their “real lives” again. We children im- what the Imperial Japanese Army gained ahead of me that Mr. Ghoya was in a provised and grew in spite of ourselves… from this coup except to exert arbitrary bad mood. I’m fearful because my pass power for its own sake. (A characteris- has a small tear in it. The queue brings Part II B: SHANGHAI: Pearl tic, it appears, when I look at the evi- me to the large door of the office. Harbor and After dence that is not consigned to any par- Ghoya’s office is on the second floor and By the early 1940’s, out of 20,000 or so ticular nationality and has to be fought people are lined up all the way. There is refugees, nearly 2,000 were living in the over and over again!) silence – once in a while interrupted by Alcock, Ward, Wayside, Chaoufoong and a gunshot sling of words – then silence Pingliang camps; while another 6,300 Here are two vignettes from that time: again. Someone is getting a reprimand. folk who lived outside the camps re- My boyfriend’s name is Herbert. He’s 18 ceived free meals daily. The cost was and I’m 14. He has a paper business: he’s Finally I’m inside the office. Ghoya is a borne by the American Jewish Joint Dis- my supplier for comic books to make slight man. He is sitting in a swivel chair. tribution Committee. Unlike those folks, toilet paper for our refugee population. I He has a cigar lit. His feet are up on the my little family was marginally self-sup- look to him for business savvy. We dis- table. He drinks a sip of water as he porting – hand-to-mouth – but we fed cuss sizes of papers, weights of paper, motions me forward. I don’t greet him. I ourselves. densities. We walk the five miles of the hand him my pass. Suddenly he leaps Ghetto at night after he stands under our up from his chair as if a wasp has stung These conditions ended on the day of apartment window whistling six bars him. I can’t move. He speaks a grunt Pearl Harbor, December 8th 1941, and from Schubert’s 9th symphony. There’s a English – as if he forced words out in Points East 13 puffs or as if he poured Japanese sounds from the Shanghai Department Store I man towns. It would be a question of into English words: worked in because we had none. My girl- time as to when surrender would come. friends and I once cut a hoarded, large But my father’s knowledge that the war “You want to go to the English Settle- Hungarian chocolate bar belonging to an was won was struck down by our knowl- ment? No more English Settlement…It’s unknown person in half and devoured it edge that the battle for his life was lost. all Japanese now!” He looks me up and all by ourselves. It never occurred to me So the three of us lived between seesaw- down as if making a profound decision. that there was something wrong. It felt ing moods of ardent hope and deep, hard- like freedom when actually we were etched grief. Me, stammering: “ Sir, I teach Chinese cowed. We had no rights so we seized children…English…” upon whatever we could. (This We buried my father in a plot outside of “practicum” of survival is still with me. Shanghai that had been purchased by the “You what? You lie. You…I see you…you This dawned on me recently with respect Juedische Gemeinde – 300 graves that go sleep with foreigners…this pass.” he to a situation that almost kept me from eventually became 1,200. The plot sat is whipping it with his hands now “is a coming to the United States. By 1944/ between two Chinese rice paddies – un- lie…” 45, I had contracted amoebic dysentery. tended, with a small marker. We low- The latter carries a larvae, found in hu- ered the coffin into the foreign ground. I “No, Sir.” man feces, which, when detected, would knew my father wasn’t in that coffin. have made it impossible for me to come “This pass, you bring me…this corner, to the United States. Entrance denied. In spring of 1945, the Pacific theater of here, is bent…you bring back a bent pass, Luckily, I (and my feces) sneaked by; the war became active, reached even into I beat you…” Then a pause. He walks larvae were hidden. Fifty years later, din- Hongkew, our ghetto community. Island- over and brings a small pot of glue. Fix it ing out on this anecdote, it occurred to hopping American bombers made recon- now.” me that I could have put my mother’s naissance flights over Japanese holdings feces in the place of mine. Who would over the Pacific. We had long suspected I take my finger into the white glue and have known the difference? But in retell- that the Japanese had chosen Hongkew under his gaze I glue two tiny pieces of ing an old anecdote, my survival mecha- for our segregated area because they had cardboard paper together. He seems to nism kicked in with a solution! their military installations on its outskirts. have tired of his own performance with Did they use us as cover against the the last admonition: In Dec. 1944, my father, at age 47, has a Americans? Were the Americans aware first urinary bleed while he is waiting for of our existence? In effect, because of this “You don’t take care of your pass? Next his ghetto pass confronting the same way constellation, we knew we might well time I beat you…and then, in a changed I did our new Long Line. He’s diagnosed be bombed by either Japanese anti air- tone of voice, “Next. Please. Next.” with kidney cancer. He’s operated in our craft flak or by American bombing raids. Ward Road Jewish hospital, by one of I learned first hand that day-to-day war- On Saturday nights, when the Jewish or- the many surplus refugee doctors. My fare is full of unintended mistakes and, chestra played, another Ghoya appeared. mother gets the news that his cancer has hypothetically, we might be killed by our Dressed in black suit and tie, he’d come already metastasized. During the three very own American liberators! to the theater with a guard of several sol- months that he had left to live he never diers. One would go to the orchestra pit showed me the worries he had about the Nightly we’d wait to see if there would and ask that the performance be inter- fate of his sister and brother-in-law who be another raid. First came the sound of rupted. The orchestra was asked to stand. had fled to Hungary, or about his brother’s high-pitched sirens. This immediately Ghoya made an appearance as if he was family’s fate in Czechoslovakia, nor his caused an adrenaline rush throughout my an emperor. Everyone rose. When he took father and uncle who had remained un- body, an intestinal twist, and nausea so his seat, everyone was allowed to sit: the der the care of a servant in Vienna. That’s profound with a simultaneous dash to performance went on. He called him- how my family was. My mother attended our house’s one bathroom (for seven other self “King of the Jews.” to his every physical and emotional need occupants) on Kungping Road No. 355. so well and with so much devotion and After the siren I waited for the first dron- In 1944 and 1945 things went from hard with so much energy that I still hear my ing hum of “planes” overhead. To my to worse but I sought an out for every- father’s low tone of voice as he whispers burning intestines it made no difference thing. With the same boyfriend, I to me, “Your mother is an angel!” I, whether they were Americans or Japa- smuggled contraband goods in and out true to form, bring him maps of Europe, nese. Nor would it make a difference to of the ghetto. We put cans of tuna, of which we spread out on the hospital bed. the dead which nationality’s bombers Japanese jams, into the pockets of our My father, an ex soldier in WWI, likes killed them. A 60-second silence was jackets or we covered them up on the battle strategies. In fact, it was both his like an eternity. Then came a sharp-toned back of our bicycles as if they were books. war wounds and his decorations that had whistle – a long, flying arch of metal – When the Pao Chia, the refugee sentry, earlier made him doubt that the Nazis that ended in a rattling, window-shaking was hired to guard us, we’d walk the would turn on war veterans like himself. explosion. Most of the time it came from entire length of the ghetto to look for But now, with the help of a short wave Japanese anti-aircraft guns that sent air- where we could get out in case our passes radio, we marked red flags on the towns craft shells, smoke and shrapnel through weren’t valid. Survival justified the that were falling into Allied hands. We our open-air ghetto. No American plane means. Our transgressions were minor: knew in March 1945 that Paris had been was ever shot down to my knowledge. I put less paper than I had said in the liberated in August 1944 and that the When not in the bathroom, I hid under bundle of toilet paper I sold. I stole sugar Americans were plowing through Ger- desks and tables. Sometimes it took hours 14 Points East for the stomach to calm down. as if they were reading Braille. an emergent Chinese-style communism that toppled Chinese warlords, that con- I volunteered at the Ward Road Jewish Within a few more weeks, American Air fiscated land - a holocaust of its own was Hospital where I also worked as a secre- Force fliers and personnel came to use born. Human evil, alas, is not the exclu- tary and where my father had just died a Shanghai as a way station to deploy sol- sive property of Nazis; but those subjected few months previously. I saw my first diers home to the United States. The to it, as a class of Chinese soon would naked, burned and dead Chinese body mood was celebratory. The Army opened be, would submit to other rigorous meth- lying on an abandoned stretcher. All I 29 Post Exchanges – in fact, American ods (forced labor, forced communaliza- could do was find a white sheet to cover grocery stores all over the city – in ware- tion of land, incarceration, centralized it. houses, offices, and clubs. They brought power) that would create its unique, un- a Wunderhorn of supplies: cans of Spam, forgettable and unforgivable tragedy. On August 6, 1945 –I’m now 18 years boxes of Hershey kisses, Wrigley’s chew- old – we learn that a new kind of bomb ing gum, beer cans, drinks, cigarettes. We Part III. Postlude I: Carmel, Cali- had destroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki. were bug-eyed at the casualness of both fornia 1987 (“What’s a mushroom cloud?” we asked small and large equipment – airplanes, It was not until 49 years after Hitler ourselves.) Emperor Hirohito had sur- jeeps, cars, spare parts, sleeping bags, marched into Austria, and 40 years after rendered. The mighty American army water cans, Kleenex. Who had ever seen the war ended – by now I’ve become an won. We danced in the streets. Exuber- tissue paper folded within each other? American citizen, with an American ex antly, we were unaware that the decision Or chewing gum wrapped twice - first in World WAR II Jewish soldier- husband, to drop the bomb had opened up aluminum, then wrapped again in with three healthy children ages 32, 29 Pandora’s box in the form of the atomic painted and then in printed-paper! and 26 years old, three years after my era with its own set of agonizing choices: mother’s death at age 83 – that I choose for we, the great Western nation, the This bonanza of equipment provided to confront and talk to my adult chil- “civilized” army, caused the greatest employment for a lot of refugees includ- dren, not just about my survival, but number of casualties inflicted by any ing myself. My boss from the hospital about my breakdown – my bout with post army in any war against a CIVILIAN simply made me his secretary when he traumatic stress. It took place at a time population in order to save the continu- became the civilian overseer of the Post of peace, shortly after my marriage in ous sacrifice of more American soldiers Exchanges. The young soldiers wanted to 1952. First it was the glare of bright lights with the prolongation of the war. To stave know from us where the Chinese girls on the street that bothered me; then I off the dictatorship of Germany - to halt were. We couldn’t tell them, but we couldn’t stand sunlight; then it was the the Holocaust - we, the defenders of good spent evenings with them drinking, sing- hustle and bustle of people. I felt claus- against evil, changed the face of warfare ing, gossiping, talking. “Let me tell you, trophobic in a movie theater. I couldn’t – first by the use of the bomb and sec- in America, we…” and we’d be off and stand to wait in line for anything – the ondly, by the firebombing of civilian running. They showed us Army movies. bank, the market, a store. When I heard population centers. Air strikes on Lon- We did sing-alongs to “Give me Land, the guttural sound of spoken German, I don, Berlin, Dresden, and Hamburg made Lots of Land, but Don’t Fence Me In…” became nauseous. At a close friend’s din- civilians – women, children, and the eld- We followed the balls that bounded to ner party, I experienced my first panic erly –the entire population – victims of the music on the screen reveling inn ev- attack, which was followed by weeks and warfare – as Kurt Vonnegut writes in ery new, casual luxury! Who said America months of intermittent nightmares. The “Slaughterhouse 5.” was not paved with streets of gold? players in my past scenarios were there, insistent and recurrent like a drumbeat. Within a few days at the end of this ter- Shortly after that, the so-called imperturb- My mother was in bed with strange rible war, a group of young Jewish men, able Chinese turned on the Americans gentlemen; my father was looking for her. my boyfriend among them, sought out in the streets of Shanghai. Signs like “Yan- The sound of the telephone and the sound and found Kano Ghoya. “We beat the kees Go Home” sprang up all over the of air raid sirens went on and on, couldn’t heck out of him”, they said, and then let city, on walls, on placards. American shut them off, even upon waking. Let- him go. The good Old Testament eye- sailors, jubilant to be on their way home ters marked “Confidential” were brought for-an-eye, or a-tooth-for-a-tooth, injunc- to their families, their home land, ran to me by Maxerl Werner, the concierge’s tion – release from deep fear – prevailed. exuberant races against other high-on-vic- son in Vienna who came to the house It took no time for victims to become tory soldiers on the main street, stopping on Krystallnacht. He carried his gun. Or executioners. Forgiveness? Forget it! traffic – but who cared? Sweet was the he’d stand on a tank. Sometimes he fruit of victory! The sailors didn’t know looked like Ghoya, the King of the Jews. And one day, the Flying Messiah arrived they were turning 100 years of colonial- I was sewing swastikas on armbands on in the person of Air Force Major Fine; ism on its head when they put the Chi- a sewing machine that wouldn’t sew fast tall, handsome in his khakis. Stationed nese rickshaw runners into the rickshaws, enough. I couldn’t keep up. The pile next in Peking, he had heard of the plight of then raced one another while the cheer- to me always grew bigger. I had unstop- “a bunch of refugees in Shanghai”. He ing sailors on the sidewalks passed drinks, pable chattering of my teeth and of my requisitioned a plane, flew to Shanghai, laughed while the Chinese bystanders body: It lasted on and off for 2½ years. requisitioned a jeep and drove to the laughed with them: “clazy, clazy.” I I was functional during the day but the Ward Road Hospital, bearing boxes and didn’t know it then but within months night became another universe. My hus- boxes of antibiotics, (new at that time) after the Yankees had gone home, a new band was there for me. My panic didn’t tablets and injectables!! Our European- tactical theater of war was born that panic him. I see him at night as he fiddles trained doctors read the new medications would last for the next 50 years - between with the dial by our bedside radio to find Points East 15 some music to distract me with…The grown-up children when she returned our papers. shakes stopped when my oldest daugh- from a trip to our Carmel Highlands ter was born in 1955, and they became Home: “So how does it feel to come back Manli Ho, turns out to be a doe-eyed, better with the birth of each subsequent to the house that you actually were born articulate alert Chinese-American woman child… in?” I quickly realized that this was a who has driven from San Francisco for dumb question until I understood that our meeting bearing a fluffy, Chinese But I also wanted my adult children to what I really wanted to say was “how lemon cake. I pour tea as she, my hus- understand the total number of losses the come the ground didn’t shift under YOUR band and I, bend over the 65 year-old Holocaust had engendered in just one feet?” German passports, which I’ve rescued Viennese family: out of 42 adults and from an old steamer trunk. children, only 27 had managed to get out Postlude II Carmel, Calif. 2008 about 15 had perished in the camps or By now, Shanghai has become an en- “Look” she says excitedly “here’s my were shot on desperate escape attempts, trenched memory of my youth, of my past. father’s signature, on Visa No. 1681, is- fleeing down strange roads or towards As a licensed psychologist and still work- sued to Margarete, your mother (with your hostile borders on a futile last minute ing, I’m now on the receiving end of name in the passport) and Visa No.1787 lunge towards freedom.2 Berta P., the people’s memories, of their trauma, I issued to your father, on October 18, family retard had disappeared, along with have treated Vietnamese refugees, Salva- 1939. “In other words,” she went on, “it my Grandfather’s maid, Marie. Grandfa- dorian immigrants, Russian political refu- looks like my father issued at least 106 ther Lustig perished in Theresienstadt, as gees, Mexican farm workers, and, very visas on one day alone.” did my father’s brother, Richard, his wife lately, traumatized soldiers back from our Lilly, my cousin Marianne. Dachau killed war in Iraq. I’m no stranger to the ongo- “Your father? At the Chinese Embassy?” Uncle Alfred. My father’s cousins, the ing streams of forced migrations – Jews Picks, were shot at the border as they were and non-Jews – the expelled, the incar- “My father, Dr. Feng Shan Ho “………..” attempting to escape to Israel via Yugo- cerated, the visa-hounded, the “ethnically slavia. My parents’ best friends – the cleansed” the tragically unrescued and “I’m sorry:” I said, “Should I know that Gronners, prominent in Vienna – mur- neglected current crop of the world’s name?” dered, a cousin Clara, a suicide, and her politically, ethnically, economically, or sister, a survivor in London. Today, an racially mass of “undigestables” the “No, you shouldn’t and very few do. But elderly, childless, cousin in Vienna, and worlds’ latest illegitimates – who walk he was the Consul General at the Chi- I are the sole survivors of my father’s fam- on foot, who run through forests, grope nese Embassy in Vienna from 1938 to ily. But my mother’s family is part of the through mountain passes, cast off in 1940. I had not been born then. But 20th century’s Diaspora – we resettled in makeshift vessels and overloaded fishing years later, when my father died in 1996, America, in France, in Canada, in Israel. boats, who brave storms and attack dogs, I wrote his obituary in 1998 and wrote We’re a family via greeting cards, by brutal border guards and cynical booty the lines, “assisted Jews in 1939”, I found mail. Intermittently, we visit each other hungers, and who crawl through miles I hardly knew any details about this work, in between long pauses. We’ve lost the of hand-dug tunnels or rat-infested sewer except that he was chastised and demoted Village and we have regrouped as best as pipes , who are locked in airless car by his superiors for issuing so many vi- we could. trunks – in order to reach some tantaliz- sas to emigrating Jews. In fact, when he ing, idealized, desperately clung to dream died, Beijing sent a wreath but not Tai- To my young adult children, I show let- of political and economic “freedom”. wan …………” ters, photos, more documents. We trace And I know that each refugee, economic journeys on maps. They respond gener- or political, legal or illegal, is very much “I had no idea………….we thought the ously, attentively. But they can’t miss dependent on a person or an organiza- visas were just one legal loophole that what they have never had. I am a story to tion all along the way: for each person no one had uncovered….” them. I have learned to live with my or organization has the power to instill residual sense of loss of “Heim” (home). radical hope to diminish the residual “No. My father had been in Vienna just It was ripped away. While my children consequence of the refugee past. Which a few months. Because he was German- were small it showed as a minor loss. is why what happened a few years ago speaking, he had friends who were Jew- My husband and I could never fight over might be a fitting end to this memoir. ish. He knew they were afraid of being which family we would spend Thanks- taken by the Gestapo and, attempting to giving with. And at family gatherings, In 2003, in Carmel, I received an unex- reassure them, he said “Just tell them there was no one ever there to say to my pected phone call from a woman, a you are going to Shanghai and I’ll be there children that one or the other might have stranger, by the name of Manli Ho. It giving you the visas.” When he con- taken after my father or his brother or his seems that a mutual friend had told her fronted the Gestapo on behalf of his uncle; there was no one to recall the way that I might be a person who still had friends, they backed away. So what be- my grandfather used to like to blow ci- her family’s German passports, the ones gan as a reassurance to his friends be- gar rings into my face. I brought no fam- that brought us out of Vienna and to came a ritual to him. ily history, no family gossip, to pass on Shanghai. to my children. If I want to describe this I was stunned: As she is speaking, I see kinesthetically – it’s as if the right side “Well” she said, “you see, I think it was my dead father again, 41 years young, of my body carries all the weight, its my father who gave you your visa…” looking so smart in his green trench coat, gravitas, while my left side is weightless. “Your father?” I said, non-plussed, and I in his darker fedora hat. He is holding Once I heard myself ask one of our invite her to come to Carmel to look at on to a briefcase with all its documents 16 Points East intact, moving forward in the Long Line, Lotte Marcus, ph.d., is currently a clinical their choice of the character “YOU” with at yet another Embassy, after a long, dis- and existential psychologist in Carmel, its graphic anti-Semitic representation was couraging day making hour after hour of CA, where she treats trauma victims intentional is evident from Medhurst’s previous (fruitless) embassy rounds, pass- (some of whom are immigrants and refu- explanation of the meaning of “YOU” ing by chance the Chinese Embassy at gees like herself) the chronically ill and in his “Chinese-English Dictionary” as a Beethoven Platz. When his acquaintance the elderly. She can be reached at “doubtful”, or “suspicious” person. In calls out to him, he moves into the line, [email protected]. any case, as Sinologists, Medhurst and until he disappears through a door. But— Gutzlaff would have been aware of the some time later –he emerges again, this 1 All documented in The Rape of Nanking by fact that the Chinese used the radical time with a new spring to his step, and Iris Chang “dog” in their transcription of the names 2 the precious lottery winning visas to Two thirds of Austrian Jewry escaped; one- of alien peoples (or even sometimes na- Shanghai stamped into our passports! third was killed (about 60,000). tive groups, such as the Hakka) as a way 3 For more on Dr. Ho see “Diplomat Rescuers Abruptly, I see in mind, a swift double to show contempt. and the Story of Feng Shan Ho’ produced by exposure: the young girl I was then, re- the Vancouver Holocaust Education Center in lieved, and so relieved to have won the partnership with Visas for Life: The Righteous In his Chinese-English Dictionary, lottery-ticket visas, now juxtaposed with Diplomats and Manli Ho. Herbert Giles provides nearly two col- the elderly woman I’ve turned into, who umns of explanations for the meanings has suddenly realized, while Manli was of the character “YOU” including: still, speaking, that there were no winning lot- Youtai: What is in a yet, notwithstanding , as though, scheme. tery ticket visas for anybody. Our visas Name? All of these imply uncertainty, devious- were, in fact, the result of an act of de- ness, a person or a thing that is virtual, liberate conscience – and courage – on A Proposal for Changing One not genuine. The Jesuit, F.S.Couvreur, in the part of a single man whom we had Chinese Character in the Word his Dictionnaire Classique de la Langue never –until now – even known the name for Jew Chinoise, includes among his explana- of. by René Goldman tions of the meaning of “YOU”: small dog; “un singe qu’on dit etre d’un naturel “You mean your father wasn’t just fol- As I sit in contemplation of “YOUTAI”, hesitant” (a monkey said to be of a hesi- lowing regular consular laws or; proto- the Chinese word for “Jew” underneath tant nature), and other such examples that cols? I mean, we knew, of course, that the title Points East (and elsewhere) I ad- convey hesitancy and doubtfulness. Shanghai, as an International City, didn’t mit to feeling a degree of annoyance. Ad- require entry visas. But, still we needed mittedly, this word has been in current In her book Chinese perceptions of the something to show before the Nazis usage for 170 years and most Chinese and ‘Jews’ and Judaism: A History of the would let us leave the city…” foreigners familiar with the Chinese lan- Youtai, Chinese scholar of Judaism Zhou “My father didn’t feel what he did was guage do no more bear in mind the mean- Xun amply documents the negative rep- all that exceptional.” Manli said. “In his ing of the first character in isolation, than resentations of the Jews contained in the mind, it was the least he could do…the speakers of English think of the word writings of Protestant missionaries in only way he felt he could make a differ- “good-bye” as being an abbreviation of China: these are enough to make one ence.” “God be with you”. Nevertheless, such shudder at the thought of how much anti- is the pejorative nature of the character Semitic venom might have been distilled For 65 years, my father and I – and oth- “YOU” that, in my opinion it gives cause in their preaching and writing in Chinese ers who left Vienna – had had no idea for submitting to China’s language au- by countless missionaries, both Protes- that Dr. Ho3 was even aware we existed, thorities a proposal for replacing the radi- tant and Catholic. It is truly a wonder, saw us from the other side of his ambas- cal “dog” in it with the radical “person” and it is greatly to their credit, that the sadorial desk. But with a few strokes of (ren). I am aware that no such character Chinese have by and large not been af- his pen that day, he retrieved us – and can be found in any dictionary, but there fected by anti-Semitism, that cancer in many others — from the “tender mercies” exist precedents for creating new Chinese the womb of Western civilization, and of the Nazis, thus resurrecting our hith- characters, not only by the Japanese, but that China has always been a hospitable erto hopeless, but now suddenly salvage- by the Chinese themselves. country to the Jews. It seems to me that, able, and even more miraculously livable by appealing to that tradition of toler- (halleluiah) Futures…So let us bow our The transcription “Youtai” for Yehuda/ ance imbedded in China’s tradition, one heads in honor of Dr. Ho and others like Yehudi (Judea and Jew) was coined by might be able to persuade the Chinese him (not, enough, alas) who risked step- Protestant missionaries Walter Medhurst to change the radical in the character ping forward when few would – or could and the notorious Karl Gutzlaff (well “YOU”. – to defy the Nazis with solitary acts of characterized by Li Changlin in his ar- human sympathy and solidarity, remind- ticle “Present-Day Chinese Attitudes To- René Goldman is a retired professor of ing us, by such brave actions, of the com- wards the Jews” in POINTS EAST, No- Chinese studies at University of British mon sisterhood and brotherhood of hu- vember 1997) in their Chinese transla- Columbia. He may be reached at manity itself. tion of the Bible published in 1837. That [email protected]. Points East 17 BOOK NOOK

Chinese and Jews Encounters stead, this process led to the maintenance Between Cultures, by Irene Eber. of Jewish identity and to the persistence In the seventh essay on translation litera- Vallentine Mitchell, London & Portland, of Jewish memory. Because of a unique ture in Modern China, Eber examines the OR, 2008. process of acculturation and transforma- questions of what Chinese writers knew reviewed by Maisie Meyer tion, which began about 200 years after about Yiddish literary history and about their arrival in Kaifeng, their identity was Yiddish authors, and how they evaluated Irene Eber’s exceptional book Chinese strengthened rather than destroyed allow- them; what kind of stories were chosen and Jews Encounters Between Cultures ing for its persistence into the twentieth for translation? Who were the translators is the result of two decades of patient century. and why were they interested in Yiddish collecting of data: documents, interviews, literature? What sort of problems did they articles, letters, published and unpub- The third essay addresses two interrelated encounter with Jewish idioms and expres- lished memoirs, newspapers, Chinese issues. Firstly, the Nazi pressure brought sions? Eber points out that although the literary magazines, and Yiddish works in to bear on the Jewish population and the Chinese neglected to consider the use of Chinese translation; anything relevant to voluntary and involuntary choice of Hebrew, they felt that the Yiddish litera- nineteenth and twentieth century Jewish Shanghai as destination by a large num- ture in the spoken language of the people communities. ber of Jews. Secondly, the means set in was akin to Chinese efforts with language motion by the Shanghai Municipal Coun- reform. This collection of essays on Jewish-Chi- cil and the Japanese in 1939 and 1940 nese encounters about a century ago is to keep the refugees out of Shanghai. The eighth essay illustrates the reverse not intended to be a coherent history. process of the Chinese encounter with Eber illustrates several moments in Chi- Eber’s fourth essay does not intend to and reception of Jewish thought - namely nese and Jewish history when both establish the relationship between the reception of Daoism, by a Jewish peoples met one another, either physi- Schereschewsky’s Old Testament and the thinker Martin Buber who combined it cally or by means of a written text. She Union text’s Old Testament. Instead she with his specific religious and philo- shows that the Jewish-Chinese encoun- examines how the translator transposed sophical agenda. Eber suggests that Buber ter was not only a one-way road. Seven the text from one cultural context into may have been the first among Jewish essays discuss the several kinds of im- another, outlines Schereschewsky’s Jew- philosophers who appropriated ideas prints Jews have left in China, the eighth ish background and how he viewed the from Daoism and integrated these into a deals with the reverse process Martin “translation enterprise.” She gives a brief specifically Jewish philosophical dis- Buber’s interest in and response to the summary of the “Term Question” and course. She considers his sustained philo- ideas of philosophical Daoism. goes on to discuss uses of transliteration sophical interests a unique phenomenon and techniques of translating, conclud- in Jewish thought and striking contrast The first part of the book deals with the ing with a discussion of the notes he to the brief and incidental literary en- arrival of Jews in China during the Tang appended to the text to clarify terms and counters, when Yiddish writers were tem- Dynasty in the 9th century and their or- obscure passages. porarily attracted to China or Chinese ganization and life in the remote and iso- themes. lated community of Kaifeng, the settle- In the fifth essay Eber focuses on a num- ment of Jews after the Opium War in ber of Psalms in the 1895 guanhua trans- The essays of this collection are outstand- the mid-nineteenth century and finally lation by Schereschewsky mainly because ing in their depth and breadth of analy- the story of the Jewish refugees from Nazi he used the Hebrew Masoretic text as his sis, in Eber’s characteristically lucid style. persecution who streamed into China in They are of importance not only to the source and it was his first attempt at cast- the twentieth century. Sinological reader but also to a wider ing the biblical text into the northern readership interested in intercultural re- spoken language. The first essay is a brief overview of the lations and contacts between peoples, history of Jewish in China. Eber shows together with the transposition of ideas that there was not a monolithic Jewish The sixth essay deals with the early re- from one cultural context to another. community, but several communities ception of the Old Testament in the nine- which were culturally different: the Jews teenth and twentieth centuries in China, Irene Eber also has published: Voices from of Kaifeng; Shanghai-including the which is part of China’s encounter with Shanghai, Jewish Exiles in Wartime China, Baghdadi, Russian and refugee commu- the West, and with Christianity. Eber Chicago-London: University of Chicago nities; Hong Kong; Harbin and Tianjin. explores several themes found in their Press, 2008. She concludes with an account of World interpretation because its reception led War II and its aftermath. to their translation. Transposition facili- Dr. Maisie Meyer has a Ph.D from the tated reception, because the translation London School of Economics. She is the In the second essay Eber argues convinc- was no longer culturally foreign, and in author of From the Rivers of Babylon to the Whangpoo: A Century of Jewish Life ingly that the Kaifeng Jews process of time appropriation when writers and in- in Shanghai and various articles on re- integration into Chinese society- their tellectuals integrated the biblical text in lated topics. She is presently completing sinification - has not led to assimilation their creative work and polemical writ- a book of biographies by former Shang- and extinction of all Kaifeng Jews. In- ings. hai residents. 18 Points East

The Jewish-Chinese Nexus: A · Judaism and its Referential Value to Dangoor Fund for Universal Monotheism Meeting of Civilizations the Cultural Reconstruction of Modern Studies. Income from the endowment edited by M. Avrum Ehrlich China, Fu Youde. will be used to enhance the Institute’s Routledge, London-New York, 2008. 328 · Rethinking the Nanjing Massacre and research and teaching of monotheism, the pages its Connection with the Holocaust, Zhang core concept of three monotheistic faiths Qianhong and Jerry Gotel. in the world. A better understanding of About the Book Part 3: Chinese Perceptions of Jews this concept will deepen the understand- The Jewish Chinese Nexus explores · A Chinese Perspective of Judaism and ing of the world by the Chinese people. through a collection of articles the nexus the Jewish People, Fu Youde. It will also advance its efforts to recruit between two of the oldest, intact, starkly · Israel and the Jewish People in Chi- and retain a distinguished director. The contrasting and most interesting civili- nese Cyber Space Since 2002, Zhang directorship position will be named The Ping. zations on earth; Jews and Chinese. This Naim Dangoor Directorship of the Insti- volume studies how they are interacting · The Influence of Jewish Literature in tute for Universal Monotheism in honor in modernity; how they view each other China, Fu Xiaowei and Wang Yi. of The Exilarch’s Foundation’s founder. and what areas of cooperation are evolv- Part 4: Jewish Studies and Literature ing between their scholars, activists and · Australian Jewry, its Relations with politicians and what talents, qualities and China and the First Steps in Jewish Stud- Philanthropist Naim Dangoor is an Iraqi- social assets are being recognized on each ies, Sol Encel and Suzanne D. Rutland. born Jew who moved to Britain in 1964 side for the purpose of cooperation and · The Developing Role of the Hebrew and made himself a successful property exchange. Bible in Modern China, Yiyi Chen. investor and developer in London. In · Modern Hebrew Literature in China, 1978, he created the Exilarch’s Founda- Featuring contributions from some of the Zhong Zhiqing. tion, which grew into a major philan- most important scholars and activists Part 5: Kaifeng Jewish Descendents thropic institution that provides support from China and from around the Jewish · The Contemporary Condition of the for education and other causes in UK and Diaspora, the essays purview China re- Jewish Descendants of Kaifeng, M. Avrum in Israel. He received the Order of the lated themes including the fascination of Ehrlich and Liang Pingan. British Empire from the British Queen in Chinese with Jews and Judaism and its · Chinese Government Policy towards 2006 for his generous contributions and potential value in Chinese national and the Descendants of the Jews of Kaifeng, far-reaching vision of today’s world. religious reconstruction; religious and Xu Xin. ethnic identity; East – West interactions. · The Judaism of the Kaifeng Jews and The Institute of Jewish Studies at Nanjing It deals with the growing Jewish com- Liberal Judaism in America, Anson University, established in 1992 to meet munity in China and its impact as well Laytner. a growing demand for Judaic studies in as the development of Jewish studies in Part 6: Phenomena of the Jewish Chi- China, is increasingly recognized as a China and the translation of Jewish texts nese Nexus leader in its field and an important re- · Adopted Chinese Children into Jew- into Chinese and their impact. source for information and guidance in ish Families, David Straub China due to its great efforts and the es- The work is a first of its kind, identifying Part 7: China-Israel Relations tablishment of worldwide ties to Jewish an emerging meeting point between these · Sino-Israel Relations at the Start of the academic circles. Its MA and Ph.D. pro- two people and arguing that despite the Second Decade: A View from Shanghai giant contrasts in their national constructs & Jerusalem, Ilan Maor. grams on Jewish studies aim at training they have nonetheless other important · Economic and Cultural Relations be- a new generation that could promote the patterns and themes in common which tween China and Israel since the Estab- study of Jewish subjects among Chinese pave the way for fruitful cooperation and lishment of Diplomatic Relations in college students. mutual respect. 1992, Jonathan Goldstein. · China’s Potential Contribution to Reflecting on the commitment of the Table of Contents Middle East Co-Operation, Liang Pingan Exilarch’s Foundation to the Institute of Part 1: Contemporary Jews in China Jewish Studies, Institute founding Direc- · Overview of the Jewish Presence in tor Xu Xin said, “This gift of an endow- Contemporary China, M. Avrum Ehrlich. ment from the Exilarch’s Foundation will · China’s Realities from the View- Naim Dangoor Fund enable us to extend the scope of the In- points of “Foreign Experts”, Matthias Established at Nanjing stitute of Jewish Studies. It will enhance Messmer. our ability to collaborate with other in- · Contemporary Development of Jew- University stitutes, and with various doctoral pro- ish Life in Asia: A Personal Memoir, grams in co-sponsoring programs and in David C. Buxbaum The Exilarch’s Foundation has made an training and encouraging students to carry Part 2: Comparative Culture and Thought initial generous grant (and Nanjing Uni- out research on Universal Monotheism · Crossing Boundaries between Confu- versity will match it with a substantial important to understanding the world cianism and Judaism, Galia Patt-Shamir amount) to establish an endowment fund civilization in general and seek to find a and Yaov Rapoport. in support of the Institute of Jewish Stud- universal project for world peace that rec- · Confucianism and Judaism: A Dia- ies at Nanjing University, China. The ognizes the significance of each human logue in Spite of Differences, Galia Patt- endowment will be named The Naim being throughout the world.” Shamir. Points East 19 Two Reports on the tions and express their view. The schol- participants were also accommodated. ars chairing the sessions made sure that Participants arrived on the Monday and International Taskforce the discussion was focussed on the topic the conference began on the Tuesday with Seminar on the agenda. The workshops offered an introduction and welcome from Pro- “Teaching the Holocaust” in different perspectives on the core topics, fessor Xiao Xian, Vice Chancellor of individual stories exemplifying the gen- Yunnan University. China eral historical developments and show- ing their impact on human beings, and The first three days were very full with a Report 1 educational tools for teaching Jewish his- mixture of keynote lectures and work- by Wolf Kaiser tory, the history of anti-Semitism and shops, the latter being conducted by edu- Holocaust history. The workshops on the cators from the represented organisations: The seminar took place at the Yunnan Holocaust given by lecturers from four London Jewish Cultural Centre UK, Yad Haigeng Conference Center. One hun- different countries were repeated so of- Vashem Israel, the Wansee House Berlin dred and five participants – including the ten that every participant had the oppor- and US Holocaust Memorial Museum lecturers – were registered. The lecturers tunity to take part in each of them. Washington. The keynote themes were came from the UK, Israel, the United reinforced in the workshops which ex- States, Germany and China. Prof. Xiao Information given during the day was amined methodology of teaching the Xian, Vice-President of the Yunnan Uni- completed by documentaries shown in Holocaust. Each student had the oppor- versity in Kunming, represented the host- the evenings. They also had a visible tunity to attend every workshop. In keep- ing academic institution. Most of the emotional impact on the participants and ing with previous recommendations, the Chinese scholars currently working in the provoked comments and questions. survivor testimony was moved to the third field of Jewish studies and Holocaust day, allowing students more time to as- history, gave lectures at the conference. An important element of the seminar was similate and discuss issues raised. The the testimony of Holocaust survivor workshops proved extremely successful; The participants were university or col- Joanna Millan who was born in Germany dialogue with participants developed over lege lecturers, teachers and graduate uni- and deported to Theresienstadt as a child. the days. The increased range of visual versity students studying history, foreign After her liberation, she was brought to material offered reflected recommenda- languages or international relations. They the UK where she lives today. Her testi- tions made the previous year. used the break between the terms for tak- mony informed about her story and the ing part in the conference. Most of them fate of her relatives; it also gave an in- The evaluations on both keynotes and on are based in South-Eastern China. Many sight into her enormous efforts to recon- workshops were excellent, with all par- had not had an opportunity before to struct her biography and collect informa- ticipants wanting more conferences. study the Holocaust in depth. tion about her family. Obviously, it was However, a change in the structure of not easy for the participants to imagine future evaluation forms is being consid- Almost all participants spoke English al- the situation of a child in a Nazi con- ered. though the level of understanding and centration camp. Comments of partici- phrasing complicated matters was differ- pants were focussed on a question par- On the final day lectures were given on ent. Consecutive interpretation was pro- ticularly relevant for the Chinese society the history of the Jewish experience in vided for all lectures of non-Chinese lec- today: How can we learn about gross China as well as lectures on the relations turers. When Chinese scholars were lec- human rights violations and commemo- between the state of Israel and the turing, whispering interpretation was rate the victims without nurturing hatred People’s Republic of China, by lecturers available for the non-Chinese partici- against the nation historically responsible from various Chinese universities. pants. During the workshops, Chinese for the crimes? colleagues or students fluent in English Final results: made sure that all students could actively During and at the end of the seminar, · Overview of the history of Judaism participate. many participants expressed their grati- · Examination as to the purpose of Ho- tude for the unique opportunity to learn locaust education in all its wider ramifi- The seminar covered a wide range of top- about Jewish history and the Holocaust. cations. ics: history, religion and culture of the They were interested in reading more · Detailed lectures and workshops on the Jews, anti-Semitism, the rise of Nazism about these topics and including them history of antisemitism reinforced in Germany and Nazi race policy and, of into their lessons. through evening film presentation. course, the Holocaust, but also the his- · Concept of racial ideology. tory of the Jews in China, Jewish and Dr Wolfgang Kaiser is Educational Di- · Development of the Holocaust from the Holocaust studies there today, as well as rector of the Wansee House, Berlin, Ger- social, political and legal exclusion, Israel and the Middle East in Chinese many through the ghettoisation process and the perspective. The participants thus had the Einsatzgruppen’s actions, to the establish- opportunity to link Holocaust history to Report 2 ment of the death camps. topics more familiar to them. The pro- by Paula Kitching · Each workshop provided a different gram combined lectures in the plenary approach to understanding and commu- including questions and answers sessions Narrative: nicating the events of the Holocaust and with workshops for smaller groups. The The Conference was held at a conference how to explore and examine specific as- participants did not hesitate to ask ques- centre on the edge of Kunming where the pects of it. 20 Points East · Participants were provided with ma- Bavarian outfits — and the menu featured “I’ll start making appeals to see what terials, approach tools and skills for ex- Wiener schnitzel… options there are,” he says. “These are ploring complex historical events re mi- important historical sites in the conser- nority history. They were given the op- Today, the building still stands. It’s eas- vation zone. If you knock them down, it portunity to hear eye witness testimony. ily identified by a distinctive fluted cir- will never recover.” · Some of the workshops emphasised cular turret. Below that, painted on its the individual Jewish experience as well wall is the Chinese character “to be de- But the professor notes that preserving as the wider experience of the Holocaust. molished.” The White Horse Inn is history is difficult — and unpopular — among a number of buildings inside the in China. List of presenters: Jewish district to be knocked down to Professor Xiao Xian, Yunnan University make way for a widened road. “Normal people all want these buildings Professor Fu Youde, Shangdong Univer- knocked down, the government wants to sity As they start work, the demolition crews knock them down, the developers want Professor Yin Gang, Chinese Academy are uncovering layers of the past, like to knock them down. It’s only us con- of Social Sciences unwitting architectural archaeologists. By servationists who want to keep them.” Dr Zhong Zhiqing, Chinese Academy of knocking down shop facades, old shop Social Sciences signs beneath are revealed, like one for For local government officials in Shang- Wuerstel Tenor, a sandwich shop, which Jerold Gotel, London Jewish Cultural hai, the case is a classic example of the had been covered for decades. Centre, UK, challenge they face in balancing the city’s Paula Kitching, London Jewish Cultural modernization with conservation of its Centre, U K They will pull down other fading shop past. But Cheng Jun from the Hongkou fronts at the heart of Little Vienna, as district urban planning and management Joanna Millan (Holocaust Survivor), Lon- well — those of Cafe Atlantic and Horn’s bureau says the demolitions are neces- don Jewish Cultural Centre UK Imbiss-stube (Horn’s Snack Bar). sary to form part of a larger road net- Lynn Williams, U.S. Holocaust Memo- work. rial Museum, Washington, USA “The existing refugee coffee shops [and] Richelle Budd-Caplin, Yad Vashem, Is- restaurants were a shining light in the “In the future, the amount of traffic will rael lives of the refugees, who did not know be far greater. And we must build roads how long their isolation and misery would for that, otherwise the traffic in the city Dr Wolfgang Kaiser, the Wansee House, last, should they survive,” says Rena center will be a catastrophe,” he says. Berlin, Germany Krasno, who has written about her expe- “When we drew up the conservation Prof Gilya Schmidt, University of Ten- riences living through World War II in zone, we decided then to widen this nessee USA Shanghai. particular road, as the impact would be relatively small.” List of Sponsors: “In these eateries, they felt they were back International Task Force for Holocaust in Europe … and for a short time elimi- Another official, Chen Jian from the Education, Remembrance and Research nated their painful fate from their minds,” Hongkou district government, empha- London Jewish Cultural Centre she says. Fondation pour la Mémoire de la Shoah sizes that many other historic buildings, Institute of Southwest Asia Studies of the dating back to the time of the Jewish Dvir Bar-Gal is an Israeli journalist who Yunnan University ghetto, still remain, including the Ohel is writing a book about Shanghai’s Jew- Moshe Synagogue, which has become the Paula Kitching is a lecturer and writer at ish past. He also leads tours around the Shanghai Jewish Refugees Museum. the London Jewish Cultural Centre. Jewish quarter. For him, the question is how important it is for a society to keep “We’ll do our best to remove and save its past. If the demolitions go ahead, he some of the most valuable artifacts, if Historic Jewish Haven In fears there will be less and less to show feasible,” he says. “But that’s not to say visitors, and he fears the little-known that we won’t demolish these build- Shanghai Faces Demolition story of Shanghai’s Jewish past will be ings.”… by Louisa Lim in danger of being completely forgotten… excerpted from National Public Radio, Join The Sino-Judaic Morning Edition, February 11, 2009 In 2005, the Chinese government de- clared 70 acres of the Jewish ghetto a Institute In the 1930s, Shanghai was the only place conservation zone. The White Horse Inn Membership in the Institute is and buildings slated for demolition are in the world to offer visa-free sanctuary open and we cordially invite you to Jews fleeing Nazism — 20,000 ended inside that zone, but aren’t designated protected buildings. up in Shanghai. In 1943, the Japanese to join in supporting our en- restricted them to a one-square-mile area, Ruan Yisan, a professor at Tongji Uni- deavor. which became known as Little Vienna… versity in Shanghai, oversaw the desig- Contact: The Sino-Judaic Institute, nation of the conservation zone three Prof. Steve Hochstadt, Dept. of A pianist and a violinist used to play years ago. Yet he had no idea about the popular music for customers at the White History, Illinois College, demolitions until alerted by NPR. After 1101 West College Ave, Horse Inn, or Das Weisse Rossl. The 1101 West College Ave, visiting the area, he vowed to take ac- Jacksonville IL 62650 waitresses wore dirndls — traditional tion.