EUROPEAN JEWISH ARTIST SOCIETY
By
Ralph Harpuder

This report may be considered an addition to a previous article “Tribute to the Artists,” which already appeared on the Rickshaw Website several months ago. Actors, vocalists, and comedians that have raised the morale in the Shanghai Ghetto, are mentioned again in this discussion, however, here the roles of all performers as a whole rather than a star are being emphasized

We already learned about the wealth in stage directors, producers, singers, and dancers that entertained and delighted us in our small community and throughout greater Shanghai. It was only after the Proclamation of 1943 that all the popular performances were restricted to the “Designated Area.” Among the artists were also composers like Siegfried Sonnenschein whose opera, “Tell me, do you love me,” was first played in Hongkew and Harry Hauptmann who was renowned in Berlin as a song writer.

At first, however, there was only a loose gathering of singers without an ensemble which became known as the “Artist Club.” One of its earlier performances is shown on a program in figure one. Later, after the artists won the admiration by friends of Jewish culture, the Artist Club was broadened into the European Jewish Artist Society (EJAS) under the able direction of Ossi Lewin* who served as the chairman of EJAS Executive Committee. EJAS combined the various artists into an artistic working unit which then ruled for a time the cultural life of the Emigration. A few of the large number of events sponsored by EJAS are shown in figure two. Two complete programs, one “Ein Besserer Herr” (1941), directed by the talented and popular Walter Friedmann, and a second, “Laughing EJAS“, a merry review, are illustrated in figure three and figure four respectively.

Another program, “Kuenstler fuer Kuenstler,” a benefit program benefiting solely the artists of EJAS, is shown in figure five. A special announcement commemorating EJAS One-Year Anniversary can be seen in figure six. It tells about its many accomplishments within a short period of time in a shattered world, and also expresses gratitude to the audience at large.

EJAS also provided an identity card with a reserved seat to all members and friends of Jewish Culture, shown in figure seven.

One may ask how yours truly, leaving Shanghai at the age of twelve, recalls 56 years later the names Raja Zomina** and Lily Flohr***, shown in figure eight and figure nine respectively. This rather rhetorical question does have an answer:

Living in a very small one room flat (apartment) on Kwenming Road, my parents and their visiting friends often talked about the performing arts while having a cup of “Aufgewaermten” Kaffee (twice brewed coffee) and cracking some unshelled peanuts. It was indeed a more pleasant subject to discuss then the daily grind in the ghetto. Thus, names of actors, singers, and dancers, yours truly so often heard mention became as the years progressed, etched in my memory.

References:
Almanac-Shanghai, 1946/47
Kranzler, 1946, Japanese, Nazis and Jews
Ralph Harpuder ‘s archives
* Also the editor of the Jewish Chronicle.
** Photographed at the 1980 Reunion in San Francisco.
* ** Photograph appeared on a program of a play at the Lyceum Theater in Shanghai.