An Unforgettable Evening

By Yeng-Fong Chiang

Human history is like the Yangtze River of China, long, winding and eternal. Chinese and Jewish people are like the favored children of the Yangtze River; they are tough, and are meant to be forever at God's will. Chinese reside in the Eastern Hemisphere and the Jewish people emerged at the far end of another ancient civilization. Though born different peoples, they shared remarkable qualities as human beings in wisdom, value, and heritage. Both the Chinese and the Jews are known to be intelligent; they have high respect to their ancestors, tradition, naturally unified and proud about their heritage. Most of all, they all have a strong belief in life and their own religion.

When these two peoples met, it was like two streams had formed naturally into the Yangtze River. I have had many Jewish friends and colleagues in the past, but it was not until I met Rena Krasno, that my understanding about the two cultures reached another level.

It was during the Jewish Film Festival last year in San Francisco that I first met Rena. I invited myself to the seminar of The Last Resort and Rena was chairing the session. I didn't feel comfortable to begin with since I was perhaps the only non-Jewish person who walked in. I met Rena and she made me feel at home in a group experience that I had not had before.

Rena explained that in order to escape from the Nazi persecution in the 1930's, many Jewish people were searching for a nesting place, but found very limited open doors due to the discriminatory policies. Shanghai at the time, the third largest city in the world after New York and Chicago, welcomed the escaping Jews with open arms and without any fears. There was no Visa, no capital required, and no pre-restrictions on creating an asylum for God's people from far away. The newly arrived Jews began to organize their own community and co-existed with the neighboring Chinese peacefully until the war was over. They all left with unforgettable memories.

There were Jews who had arrived much earlier. They eagerly provided at least one hot meal per day for the refugees. It is important to note that many Chinese during the war suffered severe hardship, and did not even eat one meal a day. Nevertheless, there were no hard feelings from the Chinese towards the neighboring Jewish refugees and friendships developed. Rena's feeling about Chinese is very real and very earnest.

In autumn 1999, the Sino-Judaic Institute and the San Francisco - Shanghai Sister City Committee hosted a premier of the film Escape to Shanghai. A world-renowned Chinese artist, Chen Yifei, directed the film. I saw Chen's oil painting exhibition at the Shanghai Museum a few years ago. Chen's artwork is widely collected by major museums and private collectors. The film premiered at the San Francisco Asian Art Museum on November 17th and was an overwhelming success.

Ironically, upon first impression, Chen resembles a successful international businessperson more than an artist. A few years ago on the streets of New York City, a lady with gray hair stopped Chen. The old lady was Jewish and she asked Chen "Are you from Shanghai?" in Shanghai dialect. Amazed, Chen asked the lady how could she possibly speak such a pure Shanghai dialect. That was the beginning of Chen's desire to film Escape to Shanghai. The old Jewish lady was one of the refugees in Shanghai during the wartime and she learned to speak the Shanghai dialect then and still practiced it when she had the chance. Chen was discovering a piece of Shanghai history that he himself as a Shanghai native had never heard before. Chen was stunned and thought about Steven Spielberg's film, Schindler's List. Schindler spared the fate of a thousand Jews and during the very same time Shanghai had saved 25,000. Few Chinese knew about this important event. As a Chinese artist from Shanghai, Chen was drawn to the Jewish people and decided to use his talents to make a contribution; he painted history with his movie camera.

Escape to Shanghai is a documentary film. It reflects the empathy of the Chinese people towards escaping Jews and the deep friendship formed ever since. Amongst the refugees, there were many talented people who are still alive today. Heinz Grunberg was featured in the film, anchoring the historical significance and his return to Shanghai after almost half a century. Grunberg now is a well-known violinist with the Vienna Symphony Orchestra. He and his family narrowly escaped the Holocaust when he was five. Grunberg learned to play the violin from Prof. Alfred Wittenberg, another Jewish refugee. After the war, Prof. Wittenberg remained in Shanghai dedicating his life to his Chinese students until his death.

Chen's documentary film was very sensitive. I was moved when I saw Grunberg, violin in hand and heavy with the weight of his past, walking with painstakingly slow steps towards his old attic where he lived some 50 years ago. Grunberg's facial expression needed no words to describe. Even now, closing my eyes, I can almost feel that he was me, a Chinese, in that part of the historic film. In the film, Grunberg performed with the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra as first violinist. In my heart, I gave him a standing ovation and sang together with the chorus when the Orchestra played the Beethoven's Symphony No. 9. It was like an epic about the history, love and friendship between the Jews and the Chinese people. It was a song of joy encouraging young people today from all over the world to hold hands in peace.

After the film, a reception was held at the Asian Art Museum. People who had a chance to meet and to share their feelings about the movie, spoke to Mr. Chen and wished him continued success. I hope that he'll make arrangements with the Holocaust Museum in Israel so more people have a chance to see the documentary.