Tags: Shanghai

On the Other Side of the World

1939, Germany, as Hitler's army gains momentum, only one port remains open to thousands of fleeing Jewish refugees: Shanghai, China. Inspired by the memoirs of many, and told through the eyes of a fiercely resilient young woman. On The Other Side of the World tells the dramatic, incredible, and rarely told true story of a young girl, her family, and a community who sought shelter and survival in a country and culture unlike their own. A story of hope, love, survival and adventure.

The Best Worst Place

Between 1937 and 1947, twenty thousand European Jews were refused entry to the United States, Canada, Mexico, South America, South Africa, Central America and Australia. Only Shanghai, the colorful and corrupt international city teeming with displaced persons from around the world, accepted them without visas. Although originally allowed anywhere in the city, they were eventually forced into a square mile ghetto, which they shared with 100,000 of the poorest Chinese. The Best Worst Place, follows Eva Broder, an adolescent girl who grows to maturity in one of the most crowded, crime-ridden ghettos.

The Singer of Shanghai, Radio Play

The graduate students in the Valparaiso University Arts and Entertainment Administration program have written and produced a new radio play titled “The Singer of Shanghai.” Shanghai, China, was a beacon of hope for Jewish refugees escaping the horrors of Hitler’s regime. This city became a new home on foreign land for all in search of refuge to begin anew. Shanghai was the only city in the world whose doors remained open that did not require any documentation for those in search of a new home. The city was a melting pot of varying national backgrounds of Jewish immigrants; Sephardic Jews, Russian Jews, Austrian, German and Polish Jews to name a few. Restarting their lives in unknown territory revealed their tenacity, courage and comradery. This production features a self written student script under the direction of Historian Kevin Ostoyich and Director Kari-Anne Innes. The production tells the story of the Abraham family and their brave journey to Shanghai, China during World War II. Join us in early May to hear the empowering story of Ida Abraham and her perseverance to get her family out of Hitler ruled Germany to Shanghai where they would be safe from the Nazis.