ONCE MORE WITH FEELING!

REUNION SHANGHAI

APRIL 24-30, 2006

By

Evelyn Pike Rubin

On Monday, April 24, Marilyn Sheldon, Sheryl and I boarded our flight at Liberty International Airport, Newark, NJ, for the 11:10 a.m. departure to Tokyo, scheduled to arrive there approximately 13 hours later at 1:30 PM on Tuesday, April 25, local time.  The Kosher meals which we were served were substantial and excellent.  At 6:30 PM our Northwest Airlines flight departed for the 2-1/2 trip to Shanghai.

When I visited Shanghai, for the first time in 1995 (with Lenny), since my departure in 1947, I had been all choked up when I looked out the window, as the plane prepared for landing. Now, again, 67 years later, since my arrival in the city where my family and I, with so many others, had found refuge from the Nazis, my emotions took hold again, as the plane prepared for landing. I was visiting my father and my grandmother again.  They were buried in Shanghai, but their graves are now non-existent.  The kids felt my emotions, and they too were a little choked up.

The beautiful, modern airport was in Pudong (I knew it as the slum Pootung).  We quickly found our guide, who took us to the van for the 1 hour ride to the hotel on a beautiful 3-lane highway.  Everything was new.  It was 10:00 PM as we checked into the Regal International East Asia Hotel at 516 Hengshan Road in the former French Concession, not too far from where I had lived during our first 4 years in Shanghai.  We were looking forward to meeting all the other Shanghailanders at breakfast, the next morning.

It was a sumptuous, buffet breakfast – something for everyone and of course it was so nice meeting friends again and then meeting new people many of whom quickly became friends.  After all, we had a common bond.  There were approximately 120 attendees and three buses with guides were put at our disposal. The first official program took place on Wednesday, April 26, at the Center of Jewish Studies for a welcoming orientation.  Coincidentally, this Center’s address is 622-7 Huai Hai Road W, the same street on which I had lived from 1939-1943 at #1817A, when it was the Avenue Joffre.

We were welcomed by Prof. Pan Guang, who was instrumental in the establishment of this Sino-Judaic Center.  I had the pleasure of meeting him in 1995, when I was invited to give a talk at the Center.  It as at that time, that I received confirmation that the Columbia Road and Point Road cemeteries (where my father and grandmother, respectively, were buried) were no more.  Supposedly the graves were moved outside of Shanghai – no one knew where. In 1998, Prof. Pan Guang arranged for a Chinese film crew to film a documentary in my home in Jericho, Long Island which, I was told, was screened in many theaters within Shanghai.  Also present, as part of the welcoming committee, was Prof. Zhang, whom I had also briefly met, as well as various Chinese local officials and of course Rene Willdorff, the organizer of this Reunion.  Slides of various world leaders, including Yitzhak Rabin and Bibi Netanyahu, were shown visiting this Sino-Judaic Center, as well as slides of little Chinese children singing in Hebrew and being taught the language.

Our next stop was in a huge shopping mall, the location of a wonderful, Buddhist restaurant where we had a delicious vegetarian lunch.

That evening was our official welcome dinner. In celebration of Sino-Jewish friendship and to honor Shanghai for its role in Jewish history, many dignitaries had joined us, among them members of the Shanghai Hongkou (formerly Hongkew) District People’s Government, Shanghai Society for People’s Friendship Studies, Shanghai International Association for Friendly Contact, Shanghai Society for World history.  Also present were Maurice Ohana, President of the present Shanghai Jewish Community and the Chabad-Lubavitch emissary, Rabbi Shalom D. Greenberg of The Jewish Center in Shanghai.  There was a musical presentation by four ladies in beautiful cheongsams playing on traditional Chinese instruments.

The most poignant part of the evening was the photo session, with approximately 35 second generation, and a handful third generation participants, none of whom would have been around if it wasn’t for our survival in Shanghai!!

The following morning, Thursday, April 27, the buses took us on a city tour (present population 17 million, up from about 9 million when we lived there).  We couldn’t believe the new buildings, ultra modern skyscrapers, freeways, overpasses, and a subway, as well as cars, cars, buses and bicycles everywhere – traffic jams.  Quite different again from the city we grew up in. Then we experienced traffic jams mostly with rickshaws and bicycles.  We ended up in bus No.3 with Mico, our beautiful, charming and most knowledgeable guide...

It was very particularly exciting for me, to visit the Ohel Rachel synagogue on N. Shanxi Road, (formerly Seymour Road), on the grounds of the former Shanghai Jewish School, where I had received my education from 1939-1947 and where I learned English, French and subsequently Japanese, which was added to the curriculum in 1943. As part of our religious studies, we would visit that synagogue quite often.  Those of us, who had attended this school, were crying as we entered the synagogue, which has now been refurbished as a museum, commemorating the Holocaust and the wartime refugee community in Shanghai. 

TV crews and newspaper reporters dogged us everywhere.  I was interviewed by numerous reporters, including two who had come from Germany representing the popular magazine “Die Welt.”  This was the first time, that I gave an interview in German.  One of the reporters had worked with Prof. .Erhard Roy Wiehn, the publisher of the German edition of my book at the University of Konstanz. 

Most reluctantly the Chinese authorities permitted us to pay a short visit to my forme school, now a government building.  It was again very emotional moment for me to enter the building, albeit not through the front door, but through one of the side doors and then only on the ground floor.  The walls and floor were ujnchanged.  I went around the corner, hoping to get in by the front door which had boasted broad steps and a beautiful entrance way, only to find that this front entrance was gone and bicycles were stored against the wall.  It was a very poignant visit, remembering a time long gone, part of my childhood and early teen years.

Following this moving visit, we were taken on a drive through Podung, now a modern, suburban community on the other side of the Huangpu River, (formerly Whangpoo), with luxurious hotels, and the most marvelous architectural designed skyscrapers, landscaped gardens, manicured lawns and broad avenues.

Our next stop was the highlight and most exciting part of our trip – Hongkou, (Hongkew, the former ghetto).  We were welcomed by local government officials at a reception at the Ocean Hotel.  It was a delight to see Mr. Wang again, who I met on my last visit to Shanghai, and who is in charge of all the refugee memorabilia at the former Ohel Moshe synagogue – the synagogue that we frequented during the ghetto era.

For the edification of the press, who were present in great numbers, the speeches were first in Chinese and then translated into English for us.  We were warmly welcomed by all the officials who expressed a desire for us to meet our former neighbors.  They were most anxious for us to visit Huoshan Park, on Huoshan Road (formerly Wayside Road, where one of the larger “Heime” – dormitories - and the refugee hospital had been located).  A large plaque in English, Chinese and Hebrew commemorating the refugees, who had lived in Shanghai during World War II, is located at the entrance to the park.  Again we were enthusiastically welcomed by other officials and also residents of the area who had remembered us.  As a matter of fact, an elderly lady attached herself to me, chattering most excitedly and the translator told me that she was sure she had remembered me.  (It is quite possible, for she looked a lot like the lady I had met in 1995 in my lane.) This is the first time that I heard that the ghetto area, or designated area as it was called at the time, actually had a name – Tilanqiao.  We were asked to sign a large white, plastic sheet to be submitted to UNESCO in the form of a petition, to designate a section of this former ghetto area, as a historic landmark, a World Heritage site.

After these ceremonies, I wanted to show my kids my former ghetto home.  I had been inside it in 1995 and was told at the time, that the whole area was being demolished to make way for new housing.  I was hoping it was still there for them to see.  Accompanying us, was Martin Wallner,  a young Austrian, of the Austrian Holocaust Memorial Service, sent by his government to do research on the life of the Shanghai refugees. He was working with Prof. Pan Guang and had been attending all the ceremonies as part of his research. 

It was strange to walk again on the old Ward Road – now Chang Yang Road, and remembering the many times, during a four year period, that I had walked along this road.  It looked the same – the lanes, the shops, the prison, the prison hospital, in front of which I had waved to the British and American prisoners of war. It brought back so many memories.  My lane number was 498 and my house was #8 in the middle of an alley.  When we came to Dalian Road, (formerly Dalny Road), I did not recognize it as such. This road, which I remembered as a narrow road, like all the side roads in Hongkew, was now a wide boulevard, with traffic signals, and a subway entrance.  As we crossed over, my hope of finding my house diminished.  Sure enough as we approached my lane (which now didn’t have a #), there were workmen in hard hats in the process of demolishing all the buildings.  Martin, fortuitously, spoke some Chinese and confirmed that this was indeed #498.  However, the workman pointed to the yellow tape across it and told us we couldn’t enter.  A gentleman passed by and heard the conversation and told us we could probably enter the lane through a side entrance from around the corner, to which he kindly guided us. 

Sure enough we found #8, the house my mother and I had lived in from 1943-1947 with three other families.  The buildings across from it, were already torn down.  The door was locked – no one lived there any more and there were signs on the door - one didn’t have to know the language to know that these signs stated “No Entry – Dangerous – Keep Out.”  We took photos and as soon as we departed, the workmen continued their job of demolition.  We were really there in the nick of time - ten minutes later, there would have been nothing left.  On our way back to the bus, we met others also looking for their former home.  That evening I was interviewed by a Chinese film making crew for another documentary.  .

The next morning, Friday, April 28, we left for Suzhou (formerly Soochow).  It was interesting to see the construction of numerous huge apartment houses along the way.  Of course this city is quite different from Shanghai – instead of it being a metropolis, it is scenic with beautiful gardens, tranquil canals and small bridges for crossovers.  As part of this sightseeing trip we visited a 400 year old magnificent garden, beautifully landscaped with all kinds of sculptures and plantings.  At one time, the attached building, a mini-palace, was the living quarters of a privileged family. 

Our next stop was a silk factory, where we were treated to a most interesting lecture on the silk making process and then actually watched the workers extracting the silk threads from the cocoons.  We then proceeded to the showroom and displays of magnificent silk garments for purchase.  And because many of us did purchase, it was not easy to get everyone back on the bus for the next tour – a boat ride on the river and canals of Suzhou.  Time had run short for those of us, about thirty five people, who had planned to attend Shabbat services and dinner at Chabad, and we decided to split up and forgo the boat ride and have one of the buses take us directly to the shul.

The Jewish Center, under the auspices of Rabbi Sholom D. Greenberg, is located at 1720 Hongqiao Road in a beautiful house, within a gated compound, in an upscale residential area. Sheldon had already moved to the magnificent, luxurious Hongqiao State Guest Hotel, at 1591 Hongqiao Road, a few minutes’ walking distance from the shul.  Chabad has special rate arrangements with that hotel, so that Shabbat observers could comfortably stay there during their visit.  They also delivered Kosher meals to the hotel for us.

We arrived at the shul before candlelighting, where we were warmly welcomed by the Rabbi and his beautiful wife Dina, who put out candles for us to light before Shabbat.  Of course services, in a large room downstairs, were conducted with a mechitza down the center of the room.  However, there were enough openings in the screen for us to observe and participate in the davening next to us.  It was a Sephardic service, yet not much different from the Conservative service I am accustomed to.  When they came to the Kabbalat Shabbat, the men starting singing and dancing around the bima.  It was for us a wonderful, joyous celebration of welcoming the Shabbat.

After services, we were treated to a wonderful Shabbat dinner, Kiddush and the singing of Sholom Aleichem.  Rabbi Greenberg then gave a little speech, welcoming our group, and telling us how delighted he was that we were celebrating Shabbat with them. He asked for one of us to tell the assembly of approximately 120, our reason for being in Shanghai.  The group chose me as their spokesperson and I proceeded to give them a synopsis of our background as well as the reunion ceremonies.  Everyone present was so pleasant and genuinely welcoming making all of us feel it was surely one of the highlights of our trip – Shabbat services at Shanghai Chabad.  Who would have thought of it – ever!

The next day, Shabbat, April 29, I returned for Shabbat services, which were followed by a sumptuous lunch. The discussion at our table centered on our group and the Reunion.

That evening was the Reunion’s closing dinner.  Rene thanked everyone for participating in the most joyful, interesting, emotional, meaningful, and by all accounts greatest reunion ever.  He was presented with a huge “thank you” card bearing the signatures and comments of the participants, which also included donations collected from all of us to be distributed by Rene to a charity in our name.  To commemorate this Reunion, our hosts, the Center of Jewish Studies, presented us with a beautiful chop – our name in Chinese – which included the traditional red ink.

The next morning, Sunday, April 30, after some tearful goodbyes, and “we hope to see you sometime soon,” we all dispersed for post-reunion tours to various destinations.  My children had interacted with a few “second generationers” and had made new friends – hoping to get together at a future time.  Our tour continued on to Beijing and joining us were Seema (Simi) Zimmerman, who had also attended the Shanghai Jewish School, and her daughter Lisa.

Beijing:     Even though I had visited that city with Lenny in ‘95, I did not mind a return visit, particularly because my kids had never been there.  After a 1-1/2 hours’ good flight, we arrived in this capital of China, to be met by our guide, Lily, (Lvyunqing) for the ride to the Marco Polo Hotel at 6 Xuanwumen Nei Avenue. Lily informed us that she had received a call on her cell phone that Lisa owed money to the Regal Hotel in Shanghai.  Even though Lisa had left her credit card information at the desk on check-in and had also personally checked out, that wasn’t good enough.  They insisted we had to stop at a Regal Hotel in Beijing for her to sign herself out from the Shanghai Regal. 

On the way to the hotel, we made our first stop – Tiananmen Square - a piece of modern history, and a piece of ancient history, the Forbidden City.  This took us back to the time of the emperors.  We were bombarded by vendors wanting to sell us Beijing Olympic 2008 memorabilia.  This happened wherever we went.  The forthcoming Olympics are a big thing in Beijing.  They are frantically putting up new buildings and cleaning up slums for the expected tourist trade.  The Marco Polo, though not quite as luxurious as the Regal in Shanghai, was still a very nice and pleasant.

As a group of only six people, we made a decision to deviate from the planned itinerary to suit our tastes and desires.  We did not want to attend a performance of the scheduled Peking Opera that evening (it seems this is a “must” for all tours, suggested by the government).  We preferred to go to the Acrobats instead, and were willing to pay for that.  The necessary permission from Lily’s boss, at the local touring company that she worked for, to take us to the Acrobats was most reluctantly given.  (A few days later another “Reunion” group arrived, after a stop in Xian and they also did not want to attend the opera, but were told they absolutely cannot substitute anything else, so they were stuck.  They were a group of 25 people, so it became more difficult to effect a change.)

The following day, Monday, May 1, we were scheduled to visit the Great Wall.  It was then, that we realized we were here, not only on a national holiday on that day, but Lily told us that the whole first week of May was a national holiday – people off from work – children home from school, etc., augmenting the usual crowds to just more crowds.  It was also the hottest day of the whole trip.  Temperature was in the upper 80’s and the air pollution, the worst ever.

We had a quite a walk to the Badaling section of the Wall, from where the bus left us off, passing a Starbucks on the way – somehow that didn’t fit in.  As we walked through the archway, leading to the first level of the Wall, the crowds were so dense, we had to hold on to each other while, at the same time, cars were driving through in the opposite direction.  Unbelievable.  When we got to the first level, inasmuch as Simi and I had been up on the Wall on our previous visit, we decided not to go further and stop in a small café.  So Lisa and my children continued on, with Sheldon going all the way to the top of that section.

That afternoon we visited a cloisonné factory.  It was interesting to watch them manufacture the pieces with intricately placed wires, then painted and finished in a kiln so very beautifully.

The next day, Tuesday, May 2, we visited the Summer Palace, with its magnificent garden and lake, at the foot of the Xishan Mountains, built in 1750 during Emperor Quianlong’s reign.  We then continued on to the Ming Tombs walking down a long garden path with animal sculptures on each side.  After that we visited a pearl showroom, where the most magnificent pearls were displayed.   We all made some wonderful purchases.  From there Lily took us to the most beautiful, antique furniture showroom, containing fabulous pearl imbedded screens, among other gorgeous items.  We were fascinated watching a workman fashioning a sculpture out of a tree trunk.

Wednesday, May 3, was supposed to be a “day of leisure,” however, we wanted to see the Pandas and take a Pedicab ride through the Hutong, so we asked Lily to spend the day with us as our “private” guide.  (They now call pedicabs “rickshaws.”  I only knew rickshaws that were pulled by rickshaw coolies.) The Hutongs, narrow lanes and alleys, have been preserved as historical sites and some of the homes, which look very shabby from the outside, sell for about $1,000,000, we were told.  Halfway through the tour, Sheryl didn’t feel well and went to sleep in the van.  Because of time constraints, (Simi and Lisa were continuing on to Hong Kong that afternoon), we decided not to have lunch in the home we were going to visit,  However, when we arrived there, the lady had already prepared an elaborate, delicious, vegetarian lunch. We felt we just couldn’t walk out on her, so we stayed to eat.  This house, which also looked shabby on the outside, in a narrow lane, had a pretty living room, containing a flat screen TV and was nicely furnished.  This was a most interesting experience.  When we got back to the hotel, we said goodbye to Lisa and Simi.  We were sorry to see them go.  We had a good time with them.

Sheldon wanted to prescribe an antibiotic for Sheryl, who by now had a temperature and was feeling quite ill when we got back to the hotel.  However, he thought that a prescription written by him, would not be accepted by the local pharmacy. He contacted a colleague, a Chinese physician, who happened to be the president of FuXing Hospital in Beijing and asked him to call in a prescription to a nearby pharmacy.  As it turned out, in China no physician’s prescription for antibiotics and most other medications is required.  Dr. Xi told Lily what to ask for in the pharmacy. Then he stopped by the hotel to visit Sheryl, before taking  Sheldon out for a drink.

That evening we wanted to do some more shopping – by now we were experts in “handling” with the vendors - and Lily (again on her own time) took us to an indoor flea market where we purchased some more gifts to take home. 

(Lily had asked us what kind of a reunion “Shanghai Reunion” was, because that was still the name of the extended tour.  I showed her a copy of the Chinese newspaper which had our story in it, and also happened to have my photograph on one of the pictures. We tried to explain to her what “Jewish” was and realized that she didn’t know anything about Israel.  One of the stores we visited had an atlas and we showed her Israel’s location.  The following day, Lily informed us that she spoke to a friend who told her she knows about Jews and that “Jews are very smart, they are doctors and lawyers and know how to make a lot of money.”  She gave us her e-mail and mailing address, because I wanted to send her my book, which I immediately mailed to her on my return home.  Her e-mail to me, when she started reading, indicated that she knew nothing about Hitler, anti-Semitism or the Holocaust.  Perhaps I educated at least one Chinese person on the subject!)

The following morning, Thursday, May 4, was to be our last day in Beijing and in China.  Our plane was leaving at 3:45 PM.  We decided to go out on our own.  Sheryl felt much better and joined us.  We took a taxi to Tiananmen Square in order to view Mao’s tomb.  Little did we realize that about 2 million people (no exaggeration) had the same idea.  Instead, we went to see the meeting/banquet halls of the various provinces – very imposing - and then went to a museum across the street.

Lily picked us up at the hotel at 1:30 PM to take us to the airport.  We left Beijing in a happy mood.  It was a most memorable trip – especially the Shanghai Reunion part – again, thank you, Rene.  I was so happy that at least three of my kids had accompanied me to visit and experience the place where their mother and grandmother survived the war and where their grandfather and great-grandmother lay buried. 

Thirteen tired hours later, still Thursday, May 4, 5:45 PM EDT, we arrived at Liberty International Airport.  It took us about one week to get over the jet lag.