Grade 4s field trip was to the Hongkou, also known as the Jewish Ghetto, was an area of approximately one square mile in the Hongkou District of Japanese-occupied Shanghai between 1937-1941. During this time, more than 18, 000 European Jews seek refuge from Nazi Germany. Visas were not required and the government did not limited the number of people entering the Country.

Our class first visited the Ghetto Allies. The Japanese forces that occupied Shanghai at the time allowed the Jews arriving from Europe to live in this area. They were restricted and expected to stay in this one square mile area. Nearly 18, 000 Jewish refugees live in this small, over crowded area in Hongkou. Each housing complex housed up to 18 families with no running water, no electricity and one shared bathroom.

Some of the doors had a star of David blended into the window work.

I couldn’t resist taking photos of the mops…it is so China!

Next, our class crossed the street to the small park, Houshan Park formerly called Wayside Park. The Park was built in 1917 and is 3, 700 sq meters (less than an acre). The Jews people were allowed to use this one small park. With 18, 000 people in this small area, I would guess the park was full of people on a daily basis.

Next, we visited the museum. The museum consists of a synagogue and two exhibit halls. One hall had a short film with photos. The other hall had photos and description of various families. One of the most interesting facts I noticed was that most of the refugees were wealthy, educated people. They arrived in Shanghai on luxury liners being served by stewards to find themselves struggling in a foreign country to find work and provided food for their families.

It was a very interested field trip and I would like to go back and take more time to explore the photos and displays.