New Database For Shanghai Holocaust Refugees?

In an effort to keep the testimonies of the past from fading in the present, it looks as if a new database in Shanghai, China has been constructed which will help collect the stories of Jews who migrated there in order to escape the Holocaust.

(Haaretz.com) Shanghai's Jewish community celebrated the launch Friday of a database that will document the stories of the thousands of refugees who found a safe haven in China's commercial capital during World War II.

So far the database lists the names of about 600 of the 30,000 Jews who fled to Shanghai in the 1930s and 1940s to escape Nazi death camps and other horrors of the Holocaust.

The database will give a record of the community, where its residents came from, their stories and struggles, where they have since moved and even how they might now be reached, said Israeli Consul General Uri Gutman. The database, supported by the Israeli and Chinese governments, is housed in a museum in the city's former Ohel Moshe Synagogue.

China was one of the few nations opening the doors to fleeing Jews during the Holocaust, which is probably the reason why both nations enjoy very warm relations with each other today.

As a whole, the Chinese have had a fascination with Israelis, and it is good to see that both countries want to highlight and preserve these stories for future generations.

Note: More information about this database can be found over here.

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