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June 20, 2008
A Walk Into History
“They found my grandmother’s grave stone in the Huangpu River. It had been in one of the four Jewish cemeteries in Shanghai.”
So began the afternoon tour of Jewish Shanghai with Lily Klebanoff Blake, born in China during World War II, who joined our Edelman’s Global Leadership to talk about her city before its huge modernization program. (disclosure: Ms. Klebanoff Blake is the mother of Justin Blake, who manages the Corporate and Public Affairs unit for Edelman in NY City)
Our first stop on this emotional journey through time was the Ohel Rachel Synagogue, a large Sephardic structure constructed in the early 1900s. It is now used as a history center by the Shanghai Municipal Government, with black and white photos as period pieces on the walls, the synagogue immediately brought back memories. “I remember being a small child running up and down the center aisle during services, while my uncle, the rabbi, glared at my parents, as if to say get this kid under control,” she said. There is currently an on-going debate about the future use of the synagogue, with the new generation of 3,500 Shanghai Jews wanting to restore it to religious status, while the City would prefer a more elaborate Jewish historical center.
Ms. Klebanoff Blake then took us to the former French Club, now part of the Okura Hotel in the city, a former hub of nocturnal activity for the wealthy. “There were all sorts of people here every night,” she said as she guided us into the ornate Art-Deco ballroom, “including notorious gangsters such as Big Eared Tu.” You can really imagine the swing band dressed in white tie under the gigantic chandelier, with the bay windows open onto the dramatic gardens.
Her guide, an Israeli named Dvir Bar-gal, informed us that there were three waves of Jewish immigration to Shanghai. First were the Iraqi Jews, the Kadoury and Sassoon families, who were traders, real estate magnates and hotel owners (personal sidebar -- my first night as a married man was in the Peace Hotel, ducking the mosquitoes as there were no screens for that hot May evening). They were so wealthy that they built mansions that encompassed four acres (one is now the Children’s Museum of Shanghai). The second group emigrated from Russia (for example the Klebanoff clan came initially to Harbin, a port city, and then to Shanghai) in the textile and retail sectors (note: Ms. Klebanoff Blake’s uncle owned Siberian Fur Store which even survived the Cultural Revolution!). The third group, the only one I had ever known, came during World War II from Europe.
Mr. Bar-gal continued,” The Chinese consul general in Vienna, Austria, issued approximately 10,000 passes to Jewish families seeking to escape the Nazis. In fact, he is the Chinese version of Oskar Schindler (from the movie Schindler’s List).” The Jews made their way from Vienna by train to Genoa, Italy, sailed through the Suez Canal, south of India to Shanghai, which was an open city under the provisions of the settlement of the Opium Wars with Britain in the 1840s. They came with little or no money, obligated to live in the International Legation in a special ghetto created by the Japanese occupiers who had taken control of the city in 1939. The density of the ghetto was stunning. It had 1,600 people in a single block. We visited an apartment that was in recent years occupied by Mr. Wang, custodian of the Ohel Moshe synagogue, for Ashkenazi Jews who came in the 30s, which had a tiny bathroom used by 16 people which was basically an open hole in the ground as a toilet.
A little known fact was revealed by Ms. Klebanoff Blake during our tour; the Germans sent a high-ranking officer to lobby the Japanese High Command in China to liquidate the Jewish ghetto by taking the residents onto ships, then sinking them with all aboard off of the Chinese coast. The wealthier members of the community brought gold bars and cash to the Japanese officers, who decided not to proceed with the ship concept. A few months before the War ended, in true irony, 41 of the ghetto residents were killed by stray American bombs, seeking to sink Japanese ships in the harbor.
Most of the Jews moved after the Revolution of 1949, either to Israel or to the West, especially the US. With the construction boom in Shanghai, little is left of the historic district. Mr. Bar-gal is seeking contributions to purchase land so that “the head stones we have saved from the River or from use as cutting boards in homes can have a final resting place, in a new Jewish cemetery.” His web site is www.ShanghaiJewishMemorial.com, which has a terrific search by family name function. One can also contact him about making a donation to the Ohel Rachel Synagogue, badly in need of plaster and paint, at www.shanghai-jews.com.
I found Ms. Kleanoff Blake’s story so compelling that I wanted to share it with all of you. Here is a photo of Ms. Klebanoff Blake, her son Justin Blake and me in front of the Ohel Rachel Synagogue.
Posted by Edelman at June 20, 2008 5:02 PM
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Comments
Thank you for recalling us of the Jewish group living in Shanghai, but for this passage,we forget them and will do so all the time.
I think from now on I will keep paying attention to the condition of ghetto.
(I am a sophomore studying in University of International Relations, Beijing. This is a College having lots of graduates who finally set foot in the PR field, such as Edelman, Ruder Finn, Ogilvy, etc. Of course, I also plan to do so, and Edelman is my favorite).
Two years later, I will study abroad, maybe in the U.S. Then I will go back to pursue the chance in Edelman, not for the fine salary and the 1st place reputation but the company's culture. Wish me to succeed!
Reading your blog has become a part of my daily life, so keep it up.
Regards.
Posted by: Hastings at June 21, 2008 5:30 AM
Thank you for posting this and sharing the work of Dvir Bar-gal. Shortly after starting at Edelman, my husband and I took Dvir's tour in Shanghai and were blown away by the history. Your blog posting enabled us to again share the experience with our family, friends & co-workers.
Posted by: Robin Edwards at June 24, 2008 3:20 PM