Abstract:

Produced by Karen Shopsowitz. "The incredible story of the Jewish refugee community in Shanghai during World War II is the subject of this fascinating documentary. Seeking refuge from Nazi terror, some 17,000 Jews travelled to Shanghai, one of the few places that did not require a visa. Although a few Jews already lived in China (Sephardic Jews from India had been there since the mid-1800's) the Europeans found life there strange and difficult. Juxtaposing interviews with survivors with archival photographs, this film recounts the days when Jews lived in China under Japanese rule. Although the Japanese forced the exiles into a ghetto, they did not follow Hitler's extermination plan. Shanghai indeed became a place of refuge."