Survival in Shanghai: Finding Strength in Identity and Transportation

This response paper was written in response to the question of identity and transportation to Shanghai, China.

Survival in Shanghai: Finding Strength in Identity and Transportation

As I have learned more of the history surrounding the Jewish Shanghai refugees, I have become inspired by the immense strength and bravery that so many of the refugees have shown throughout their journey. They have done things that I couldn’t imagine doing and I am older than some of the people in these stories. Some of the things individuals went through included traveling alone at a young age, facing pressure from the government to get divorced, hiding their identity, being stripped of their identity with different laws that were passed, and being forced to uproot their family and leave everything they knew to seek safety in another country because their own country shut the doors on them.

Perhaps one of the saving graces for Jewish refugees was the immigration quota in respect of how individuals were identified ethnically. Because of certain quotas, the Nuremberg laws and immigration policies some individuals had an easier time getting permission to go to certain other countries. One of the families who sought refuge in Shanghai was the Sternberg family. The enactment of the 1935 Nuremberg law separated Jewish individuals into full or half Jewish.  The Sternberg’s father was considered a full Jew, but Gary and his sister were identified as a half Jew and their mother Auguste Sternberg was a Polish raised protestant woman. Being able to identify as something other than Jewish proved to be a tool of luck when it came to getting out of Germany and seeking safety in other countries. For the Sternberg’s the biggest challenge for them was the pressures on Auguste to divorcee her husband simply because he was a Jew and she identified as a Christian, but she never gave into the pressure but her children along with her were able to rely on identifying as Polish as a way to get out of Germany to Shanghai (Ostoyich, Mothers). I can’t imagine how they felt because they were able to use the other identities as a safe haven. I can imagine they would feel an immense amount of guilt and feelings that they wish others were able to have the same ability to fall back on.

Another family who was able to use the different identification classifications to have a slightly easier time leaving Germany was Harry Katz’ family because of where their parents had been born. The Katz’ father Julius was born in Posen which had been owned by Germany at the time of his birth and their mother Frieda was born in Berdychiv, Russia. Due to their parents birth locations the Katz’ family had an easier time than most families who were seeking external refuge because they were able to fall under different quotas for different countries. After Julius’ passing the Katz family was able to fall on Frieda’s Russian heritage and be identified as such.

One unique thing with the Katz family is that they ultimately split up before they were reconnected in Shanghai. Harry’s eldest brother Hans went to Palestine, the next eldest son Horst was sent to England by Kindertransport, while Harry, his mother, father and sister were seeking refuge in Shanghai. In the story of the Katz journey the story that stood out to me the most was the way Horst got out of Germany. At the young age of thirteen he was originally sent by his family to England on a Kindertransport he never actually arrived in England because he found his own way across Europe to Shanghai.

In an interview with Robert Peritz, Katz exclaims that he considers himself a really lucky survivor because so many other individuals weren’t as lucky and that he skated through it rather easily and feels a lot of guilt because of it “Probably because of that I had a guilt complex. I couldn’t enjoy life once we got to the United States for a while. And my wife deserves a lot of credit because she insisted that we enjoy things. And once I faced it and understood it, then I was able to deal with it.” (Ostoyich, A Survivor’s Luck, https://www.aicgs.org/) While the Katz family had to split up they were able to reconnect in Shanghai.

In “A Survivor’s Luck: Reflections on Berlin and Shanghai” by Kevin Ostoyich he explains the journey that the Katz family went through to get out of Germany. The Katz family like other families uses the Trans-Siberian Railway to get across Europe until they were able to reach a port that would take them to Shanghai. Another way children were able to seek refuge in other countries was via the Kindertransport. According to History.com, the Kindertransport would provide a refuge passage for children 17 and younger but the catch is that their families wouldn’t be able to travel with them and they had to leave the host countries once the war finished. “They were part of the Kindertransport, or children’s transport, a rescue effort that brought Jewish children to England in the lead-up to the Holocaust” (History.com). Orphans, children whose parents were sent to concentration camps, and homeless children were generally given the first access to this transport service.

Starting in 1938 and lasting through 1940 the Kindertransport transported about 10,000 children to England. The idea for such transport began after Kristallnacht’s occurrence but what most parents and children didn’t expect is that it would most likely be the last time they ever saw each other. In addition to services like the Kindertransport there  The children who were sent away on the Kindertransport had different outcomes after the conclusion of the war, some stayed in Britain and joined the British military fighting against German Nazis while others were able to reconnect with their families. Those who were able to reconnect with their families though didn’t always have the happiest reunions. Often times the return to their families was complicated, and brought up different barriers such as language barriers, familial assimilation, and various traumas the children had to deal with. (History.com). Even in the way that people think about events from the Holocaust now there are still issues with how to deal with the history of what happens after and how the event should be remembered.

Similarly, in Czechoslovakia there was a similar experience with saving children. Nicholas Winton followed the events in Czechoslovakia and saw that similar events were happening leaving children displaced. For 50 years no one knew about the amazing things Winton had done for these children. In 2014 there was a 60 Minutes report done one Winton’s actions, when asked why he did what he did he responded by saying he just wanted to get the children to safety. Winton revealed in the 60 minutes interview that hie worked with the motto “If something’s not impossible there must be a way of doing it”, this motto helped him save 669 children during a two- week vacation to Prague. Later in 1988 Winton was invited by BBC to participate in one of their programs and he was asked to close his eyes and the audience members who were impacted by Winton’s work were asked to stand. Every individual in the room stood. Winton was knighted in 2003 for his dedication to helping the children of Czechoslovakia. Through things like the Kindertransport and Winton’s actions a large number of children were able to be saved.

In Dr. Kevin Osoyich’s article “A Survivor’s Luck”, he profiles Shanghai survivor Harry Katz and tells about what the Katz family endured in their journey to Shanghai. One of the things that Ostoyich writes that Harry Katz remembers most about the entirety of his experience as a refugee in Shanghai isn’t what happened during his time in Shanghai but what happened after. After the Katz family left Shanghai and traveled to the United States things had a positive outlook in the future for the family and they ended up in Chicago, Illinois. “We got out of Germany very late and just made it. And so then we got to Shanghai, and ten years later we got out of Shanghai just barely, just made it. And to now come to a place like the United States where you felt safe and secure. That meant a lot. All of a sudden this fear about having to leave again, was no longer there. So that felt good” (Katz in A Survivors Luck). Once Harry got to the United States he joined the Army in 1952 and served in active duty for two years as a part of obtaining citizenship in the United States and while Harry was serving in Japan at Camp Hakata and that has proven to become one of the things in Harry’s life that he is most proud of.

Throughout the stories I have heard about Shanghai and what I’ve learned about the history I’ve noticed a repeated theme of luck, identity and saving children. Because of things like the Nuremberg laws, the Kindertransport and the work of individuals of Sir Nicholas Winton some of the refugees were able to endure the hardships and survive the difficulties their identity and heritage created for them. The characteristic that sticks out to me the most throughout learning more details about the Holocaust and the role Shanghai played for Jewish Refugees is Courage. Courage and bravery are two of the things that ultimately allowed for these individuals to find luck in the cards they were given. The efforts of services like the Kindertransport and individuals such as Sir Nicholas Winton allow for the history to live on and be passed down through one generation to the next generation.