Shanghai Jewish Refugees Museum to complete expansion this year

A museum dedicated to Jewish refugees in Shanghai is expected to complete its expansion work and open to the public by the end of the year.

The total area of the Shanghai Jewish Refugees Museum will be expanded from 900 square meters to 4,000 square meters, said Chen Jian, curator of the museum, adding that total exhibits are expected to increase from 150 to more than 1,000.

After the expansion, it will be able to display more historical materials to better present the history of Jewish refugees in Shanghai during World War II.

During the period, tens of thousands of Jewish refugees moved to Shanghai to escape Nazi atrocities. They mostly settled in an area along the northern part of the Suzhou River.

On Tuesday, a wedding dress used by Betty Grebenschikoff, a Jewish refugee who now lives in the United States, during her wartime sojourn in Shanghai, returned to the museum after cleaning and maintenance. She donated the attire to the museum in 2013. When the museum reopens, the dress will be among the items on display.

The museum, based on the former site of Ohel Moshe Synagogue, was first opened to the public in 2007 and started its expansion project in 2018.