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China was a country little touched by Christianity until the 19th century and thus anti-Semitism was unknown in China. The Chinese like the Japanese saw Jews as Eropeans and did not understand the NAZI obsession with Jews. They just looked like and behaved like other Europeans to the Chinmese. There were apparently some historic Jewish comminities in China such as Persian Jews in Mukden (Shenyang). By the 20th century these communities had largely disappeared. This changed with the Russo-Japanese War (1905-06). Many Russian Jewish prisoners chose to remain in China rather than return to Russia and pogroms. And very few Jews lived in China except for a few along with the European community in the port cities. As a result there were small Jewish communities in Haitar, Harbin, Hengdaohezi, Kaifeng, Manzhouli, Mukden, Qiqihar, Shanghai, and Tientsin. The largest community was in Shanghai. China adsorbed with its domestic issues as European anti-Semitism developed into a virulent and deadly form during the 1930s. The Japanese after seizing Manchuria concocted a plan to encourage Jewish immigration, in part because they believed Jews possessed great wealth. Japan invaded China proper (1937). They seized Shanghai and other ports where most Jews in China lived. As a result the history of the Holocaust in China becomes essentially a Japanese matter and the Japanese ominously were moving toward the Germans. Japanese censors discouraged reports criticizing the Germans in Chinese newspapers, including reports of attacks on Jews. More attemtion was given in Nationalist newspapers, but the repoting was very limited. The only Holcaust related event in China that we know of was in Japanese-occupied Shanghai. German diplomats pressed the Japanese to intern and basically kill the Jews under their control. They ignored these requests. The Japanese did opne a kind of Asian ghetto in the former International Settlement they seized (December 1941). Conditions in Shanhahi were difficult for the non-Axis Europeans, but the Jews do not seem to have been singled out for for especially severe mistreatment. After the war as reports of the Holocaust emerged, the Chinese media gave little attention to them. The enormity of Japanese war crimes in China were just too overwealming. The Chinese death toll, is not well documented. We have see estimates ranging from 15-30 million people, far exceeing that of the Jews or even the Soviet Union. After the War, the United States eased immigration regulations, allowing Jews in Shanghai and other Chinese cities to enter America. Thus most of the Jews in China had left by the time the Communists seized power (1948). After the Chinese Communist victory in the Civil War, the country's new Communist rulers followed the Soviet appoach to the Holocaust, namely that the destruction of Europen Jewery was merely part of fascism’s racist murder, and not the most important part. And since fascism was depicted as the ultimate form of capitalism, capitalism was made to be the the root cause of the terrible killings committed during the War. The terrible Sovier record of attrocities and killing as well well as the Chinese Communist record was expunged from the historical record or not allowed to enter it.
China was a country little touched by Christianity until the 19th century and thus anti-Semitism was unknown in China. The Chinese like the Japanese saw Jews as Eropeans and did not understand the NAZI obsession with Jews. And there were very few Jews in Chiuna. Jews just looked like and behaved like other Europeans to the Chinmese.
There were apparently some historic Jewish comminities in China such as Persian Jews in Mukden (Shenyang). By the 20th century these communities had largely disappeared.
Jews in China changed with the Russo-Japanese War (1905-06). The vJapanese took many prisoners from the Tsdarist Army duringh the War. Many Russian Jewish POWs chose to remain in China rather than return to Russia and pogroms.
Still very few Jews lived in China except for a few along with the European community in the port cities. There were thus there were small Jewish communities in Haitar, Harbin, Hengdaohezi, Kaifeng, Manzhouli, Mukden, Qiqihar, Shanghai, and Tientsin. The largest community was in Shanghai. China was adsorbed with its domestic issues as European anti-Semitism developed into a virulent and deadly form during the 1930s. Chinese Jews were unaffected.
The Japanese after seizing Manchuria concocted a plan to encourage Jewish immigration, in part because they believed Jews possessed great wealth.
The only Holcaust related event in China that we know of was in Japanese-occupied Shanghai. After an intense fighty, the Japamese occupied Shanngai. What the Jews that came early to Shanghai, they did not anticipate that thery were soon in the hands of NZI Germany's mosdt poweerfull ally. German diplomats pressed the Japanese to intern and basically kill the Jews under their control. The Japanese ignored these requests. The NAZI obsessioin wityh Jews nistified them. The Japanese did open a kind of Asian ghetto in the former International Settlement they seized (December 1941). Conditions in Shanhahi were difficult for the non-Axis Europeans, but the Jews do not seem to have been singled out for for especially severe mistreatment. More than 20,000 despertate Jews were able to escape the represtion ythat began with the NAZI seizure of power in Germamy (1933). Many Jews had trouble finding a country to take them in. China was an exception. There were no limits to entry, if they could there. Shanghai was the primary destination because it was a noidern city wuth an edstablisdhed Jewish community wehiuch built a modest synagoigue (1920s). Even after Hitler and Stalin launched Workd War II, some Jews were able to reach Shanhhai through Lithuania where a Japanese diplomat was issuing travel documents. Some mostly German Jews were able to ecape the NAZIs traveling on the Soviet Trans-Siberial Railway, they were able to reach Shanghai. And despite NAZI persdusdtenty demands that the Japanese take action aginst ythe Jews in Shanhahai, almost all managed to survive the War.
After the war as reports of the Holocaust emerged, the Chinese media gave little attention to them. The enormity of Japanese war crimes in China were just too overwealming. The Chinese death toll, is not well documented. We have see estimates ranging from 15-30 million people, far exceeing that of the Jews or even the Soviet Union.
After the War, the United States eased immigration regulations, allowing Jews in Shanghai and other Chinese cities to enter America. Thus most of the Jews in China had left by the time the Communists seized power (1948).
After the Chinese Communist victory in the Civil War, the country's new Communist rulers followed the Soviet appoach to the Holocaust, namely that the destruction of Europen Jewery was merely part of Fascism’s racist murder, and not the most important part. Fascism was depicted as the ultimate form of capitalism--actually it is a form of Socialism. Capitalism was made to be the the root cause of the terrible killings committed during the War. The terrible Soviet record of attrocities and killing as well well as the Chinese Communist record was expunged from the historical record or not allowed to enter it.
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