The San Diego Chinese Historical Museum and Congregation Beth Am as sponsor are happy to announce a special Zoom program with an executive from the Shanghai Jewish Refugee Museum as part of the SDCHM’s regular monthly program of the Cheng Chinese American Experience and Beyond. 

During World War II, China served as a crucial sanctuary for approximately 20,000 Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi persecution. In 1938, the United States initiated the Evian Conference to deal with the Jewish refugee problem. On note, virtually none of the countries (including the United States) offered to take in any substantial number of refugees. China was not even invited to that conference.

We will be hearing from the executive director of the museum coming to us from Shanghai as well as local people who have been there or have had relatives there. We’ll also be hearing the story of a man who was a graphic artist and made a series of moving paintings of his time in Shanghai.