Shanghai Jewish Refugees Museum

The Shanghai Jewish Refugees Museum is a museum commemorating the Jewish refugees who lived in Shanghai during World War II after fleeing Europe to escape the Holocaust. It is located at the site of the former Ohel Moshe or Moishe Synagogue, in the Tilanqiao Historic Area of Hongkou district, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China. The museum features documents, photographs, films, and personal items documenting the lives of some of the more than 20,000 Jewish residents of the Restricted Sector for Stateless Refugees, better known as the Shanghai Ghetto, during the Japanese occupation of Shanghai.

The museum is situated in what was once the Jewish Quarter of Shanghai, which had had a Jewish community since the later 19th century, in Hongkou District.

The Shanghai Jewish Refugees Museum encompasses the Ohel Moshe Synagogue building, two additional exhibition halls, and a courtyard. The synagogue exhibition presents a “small collection of artifacts” depicting the lives of Jewish refugees who found shelter in Shanghai during the Holocaust. One exhibit on the second floor of the synagogue is devoted to the life of the Chief Rabbi of Shanghai, Rabbi Meir Ashkenazi. While the synagogue still contains a Torah ark, Ark cover, and reader’s platform, it does not have a Torah scroll or prayer books, precluding its use for prayer services.

The No. 2 Exhibition Hall, completed in 2007, displays more than 140 historical photographs and other artifacts including artworks, a refugee’s passport, copies of the Shanghai Jewish Chronicle, and a stone tablet engraved with the words of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin during his visit to Shanghai. A documentary film about the refugees is also shown in the hall. The No. 3 Exhibition Hall was completed in May 2008, and is used for temporary exhibits.

In September 2014, a 34-metre (112 ft) long copper memorial wall was unveiled at the site, engraved with the names of 13,732 Jewish refugees harbored in China during World War II.