The Integration of Jewish Refugees from Shanghai into Post-World War II San Francisco

Shanghai Jews carved out their own space within the German-speaking Jewish diaspora of over 250,000 refugees from Nazism.7 They constructed a "microdiaspora," grounded in their shared trauma of uprooting, and in experiences and memories of surviving in and emigrating from Shanghai during a...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:American Jewish history 2020, Vol.104 (1), p.87-114
Main Author: Halpern, Sara
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult children
African Americans
Antisemitism
Asian Americans
Autobiographies
Chinese languages
Cities
Diaries
Diaspora
Ghettos
Holocaust
Immigration
Jewish Americans
Jewish life & ethics
Jewish people
Nazi era
Nazi groups
Politics
Population density
Refugees
War
World War II
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Summary:Shanghai Jews carved out their own space within the German-speaking Jewish diaspora of over 250,000 refugees from Nazism.7 They constructed a "microdiaspora," grounded in their shared trauma of uprooting, and in experiences and memories of surviving in and emigrating from Shanghai during a catastrophic moment in Jewish history.8 While not a "home" in a literal sense, Shanghai served as a nexus for experiencing and remembering their Holocaust survival.9 As white Europeans, they grappled with cultural shocks; as impoverished and stateless residents, they struggled with hyperinflation, scarce goods, and uncertainty without consular protection; as Jews, they were confined in a "ghetto." The end of World War II also empowered African-Americans, Chinese-Americans, and Japanese-Americans to engage in civil rights movements, upending white San Franciscans' expectations of residential segregation.19 The city served as an antithesis to Los Angeles, an explosive social and cultural mecca for German-speaking Jewish intellectual and artist émigrés in the 1930s and for American Jews after 1945.20 By focusing on San Francisco, we add a perspective that nuances the narrative of American Jewish response to the Holocaust.21 The city had a well-integrated Jewish community of 55,000. [...]the intense regional antipathy toward Asians ironically enabled Jews to find acceptance in the city's politics, economy, and society. [...]they were confined to a "designated area" between May 1943 and August 1945 by the Japanese.
ISSN:0164-0178
1086-3141
1086-3141
DOI:10.1353/ajh.2020.0000