“Shanghai-la-juive” by Michèle Kahn had been on my bookshelves for years. I finally took the time to read it this summer, and I wish had done it earlier.
Published originally in 1997, the novel tells the story of Walter Neumann, a young Austrian Jew who reached Shanghai in 1938. Arriving without a penny like many other in Shanghai at that time, he finds his way through the city during this hard time and the following years of WW2. He climbs the back streets of Hongkou districts, the Wiener Café in the French Concession, to the Luxury of Grosvenor House, falling back again to the Hongkou Ghetto. Torn between his chinese girlfriend and his Russian jew fiancée, his crosses the path of many interesting characters. This gives the reader of view of various backgrounds and layers of society.
As made clear by the title, the novel is focused on the Jewish community in Shanghai. It tells the story of the approximately 20.000 Jews that escaped persecution in Central Europe and took refuge in Shanghai. Most of them were from Germany and Austria, but also from Poland and Lithuania. As many were housed in Hongkou (Hongkew then) district, this part of the city soon saw many shops opened by the newcomers and became known as little Vienna. A big part of the book is taking place there.
The book also shows the relationship between the different Jewish communities including those that were in Shanghai before the massive influx of refugees. Characters mostly come from Central Europe and China. Very little is said about other western communities that were running Shanghai apart from historical background. As Shanghai was very well divided along social and national lines, various nationalities or social strata did not mix much, just like in the book.
Tragic events in Europe are in the mind of most people, with some desperately waiting for news of relatives back in Europe that they never received. Like for the rest of the World, the real extend of the holocaust only came clear at the end of the WW2, but it is constantly in the background. The story of the Shanghai Jewish refugees was not well known in the 1990s and this book was surely a revelation for many at that time. This story has since been told in books and articles, often by actual people who lived those events, like Rena Krasno and Liliane Willens and many others. One of the notable documentary on the topic is Shanghai exodus. Israeli journalist turned tour guide Dvir Bar Gal has intensely researched the topic and toured thousands of people in the old Hong Kou district that has now sadly mostly disappeared. The only remaining part is the former Ohel Moshe synagogue, that is now the Shanghai Jewish Refugee Museum.
Michele Kahn research has clearly been very deep, as shown by the bibliography and the numerous Shanghai survivors she interviewed. I particularly like the way she introduces historical background in the story with a light and very natural touch, unlike other Old Shanghai novel that feel like a boring history lesson.
Although focused on a very specific time and community in Shanghai, I find Shanghai-la-juive a really good read, while standing on an in-depth and well documented research. The book was a success when published, having received good reviews from critics. It sold well and was republished several times. Written in 1996, it still felt very fresh nearly 30 years later. Unfortunately, it does not seem to have published in any other language than French so far.
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