How Shanghai became an inter-war haven for European Jews fleeing persecution
- While many European countries restricted access, the city did not require permits and became known as a ‘modern-day Noah’s Ark’
- The Nationalist authorities also looked into other mass resettlement schemes
While traces of a Jewish presence in China can be found as early as the Han dynasty, which ended in the third century, the Nationalist government once seriously considered schemes to take in large numbers of Jews amid the turmoil of the interwar years.
In the early 20th century, European politics was ridden with antisemitism, most obviously in Nazi Germany and the murder of 6 million in the Holocaust, but prejudice was widespread across the continent and other countries restricted entry to those trying to flee persecution at home.
In this atmosphere tens of thousands of Jews chose China, many of whom headed for Shanghai which was almost unique in not requiring visas or travel documents for Jewish refugees to enter.
The ruling powers also considered various proposals, one of which was proposed by China’s Jewish population and seriously considered by Sun Yat-sen, the founder of the Nationalist Party or Kuomintang.
Sun was a great admirer of Jews and often compared their struggles with those of China’s against Western powers.
The “plan to immigrate 100,000 Central European Jews to China”, as it was officially known, picked Tengchong, a well-developed city in the scenic southwest Yunnan province, as a resettlement area.