Shanghai Jewish Refugees Museum hosts gathering for Holocaust survivors

Holocaust survivors and their descendants, academics, historians and members of the museum community gathered at the Shanghai Jewish Refugees Museum on May 17 to discuss how they could better share this instance in history with young people around the world.

This was the second meeting of the international advisory board of the Shanghai Jewish Refugees Museum since the museum opened in 2007.

Shanghai was home to more than 20,000 Jewish refugees during World War II.

"As many former Jewish refugees have passed away through the years, we are now looking for the descendants of holocaust survivors to continue to share the stories of their families in Shanghai with the world," said Chen Jian, director of the Shanghai Jewish Refugees Museum.

Paul Martin, founding director of the Florida Holocaust Museum, described the stories of the generosity of the people of Shanghai as "a beacon of light in the darkness of the Holocaust", and that his institution has shared these stories with more than 400,000 students in 2022.

"Your story is a part of our permanent exhibit and we look forward to working with you to tell it to a wider audience through the people-to-people exchange we are proposing to you through Director Chen and his staff," said Martin.

During the gathering, a memorandum of cooperation was signed between the Shanghai Jewish Refugees Museum and the Florida Holocaust Museum.

In his video address, Dani Dayan, chairman of the Yad Vashem in Israel, spoke about strengthening cooperation with the Shanghai Jewish Refugees Museum in terms of organizing exhibitions, educational efforts and other endeavors.

"This lesson in history can help us ensure that we do not repeat the mistakes of the past," Andrzej Kacorzyk, deputy director of the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum, said in a video speech.

Sonja Muehlberger nee Krips, one of the 400 refugee children born in Shanghai, shared with the audience her memories of sitting at the back on her father's bicycle as he worked as an egg-dealer for a Chinese businessman.

"I still remember my first hometown, and like my parents I have always tried to find people who shared the same fate. I kept in contact with many, especially those who went back to Germany after WWII," said nee Krips, who has been building a database which now contains 19,730 names of mostly European refugees who once resided in Shanghai.

Kenny Sheftel, the grandson of Austrian refugee Claire Sheftel, suggested the establishment of a Shanghai Jewish Refugees Association to keep the community ongoing.

"My grandma's history here shaped my future and it will continue to shape the histories of all the other descendants to follow," he said. "It would be a life mission for me and many of us to be connected with those who share similar stories."