KIN MIN EVENING NEWSPAPER - APRIL 28, 2006 Topic - My Old Neighbors in My Tearing Eyes

 

Great! Great! Mr. Matzdorff with white hair and English tongue spoke some Shanghainese. During World War II, he with his parents and grandmother escaped from Nazi power and came to Ti Lan Qiao of the Hongkou district and he became one of the 20 thousand Jewish refugees living in Shanghai. Specially, he married his wife here. Mr. Matzdorff put his English aside and started to talk about his nice marriage in Shanghai in Shanghainese. As a member of the Rickshaw Reunion group 2006, yesterday was his fifth visit to his second hometown. More than 100 Jewish Rickshaw reunion guests with global fame fly back to Ti Lan Qiao and gather together. Young man becomes old man and young lady grew white hair. The old street keeps in memory and the Broadway music is around their ears. 45 refugees and their children and their children’s children get together with their Shanghai neighbors and talked about their unchanged relations through 60 years.

Mrs. Goldman with her son had never been to Shanghai but this time she realized her husband’s dream. In 1939, Mr. Goldman’s parents and grandparents came to Shanghai from Germany. In the coffee shop located in little vienna nearby Tong Shan Road, little Goldman got his school education in the Shanghai Jewish School. Mrs. Goldman brought out some yellowed old pictures from her pocket on which Mr. Goldman and his brother were smiling. Besides the pictures was her husband’s passport when he left Shanghai in 1958. Her son, Sam Goldman, told the press that his father died in 1994. The days of his father in Shanghai is the precious memory of the entire family. His mother took totally 11 years to collect all kinds of papers and photos of his life in Shanghai 60 years ago. With the melody of the movie Schindler’s list and viewing the marker in Huo Shan Park, all the people signed their names of a paper to protect the world, for peace, and to maintain human harmony. Also to leave their tears as well.

Translated by Michael Xu - Regal International Hotel Manager