Sydney Jewish Museum
October 2001 - August 2002
Children
Jewish Children in Shanghai

“We were just kids. We didn’t realise how hard our parents had to struggle.”
Dita Beren, Austrian refugee.

“Shanghai was a multicultural city full of excitement.”
Sam Moshinsky, Russian Jew.

“Our parents never knew we ate Chinese food from street stalls.”
Peter Nash, German refugee.

For many children Shanghai was a magic city. It was a place of adventure, a huge playground. As the war progressed and the situation deteriorated, children were affected by the changes in their environment 

Some of the Sephardi children, after a pre-war childhood of affluence and close communal life, spent years in internment camps.

Russian children were insulated from much of the war’s impact, attending the Seymour Road Jewish School or the College de France.

The Kadoorie School, just outside the ghetto, provided education for most Hongkew refugees, while others cycled with their precious passes across town to Seymour Road. Older children attended the technical high school, and some studied at the Catholic Aurora University.

Some refugee children had to work to make ends meet and were unable to further their education in Shanghai. They were often subject to disease and poor nutrition.

 
Object:
Lender:
Date:
Notes:		 Autograph book
Beran, D
1939
Paper
From Shanghai; containing autographs, messages and drawings by friends of Dita Beran
Object:
Lender:
Date:
Notes:		 Children's shoes
Marischel, S
1949
Made when she came to Australia
Object:
Lender:
Date:
Notes:		 Document (Scouts)
Gunsberger, F & R
1946
Paper
Object:
Lender:
Date:
Notes:		 French concession ID card
Sapir, P
1942
Paper
ID card of Peter Sapir, with photo
No image available
Object:
Lender:
Date:
Notes:		 Merit card
Sapir, P
1942
Paper
For Peter Sapir, from Ecole Municipal Francaise Remi, Shanghai
Object:
Lender:
Date:
Notes:		 Merit card
Sapir, P
1941
Paper
For Peter Sapir, from Ecole Municipal Francaise Remi, Shanghai
Object:
Lender:
Date:
Notes:		 Metal badge and bar
Gunsberger, F & R

Metal, fabric
For scouting service during Japanese occupation 1941 - 1945

No image available
Object:
Lender:
Notes:		 Old scouts badge
Pisk, G
Fabric
No image available
Object:
Lender:
Notes:		 Photograph
Beran, D
Paper
No image available
Object:
Lender:
Notes:		 Photograph
Beran, D
Paper
No image available
Object:
Lender:
Notes:		 School blazer
Baker, R
Textile
In same class as Solomon Bard
Object:
Lender:
Date:
Notes:		 School report
Sapir, P
1944
Paper
For Peter Sapir, St Francis Xavier's College, Shanghai
Object:
Lender:
Notes:		 Scout badge
Pisk, G
Fabric
Czechoslovak scout group in Shanghai
No image available
Object:
Lender:
Notes:		 Scout dragon badge
Pisk, G
Fabric
No image available
Object:

Lender:
Notes:

Scouts epaulette (brown triangle sleeve patch)
Pisk, G
Fabric, metal
Czechoslovak scout group in Shanghai
No image available
Object:
Lender:
Date:
Notes:		 Scouts kerchief and tie
Gunsberger, F & R
1940's
Fabric, leather
In the 13th scouts troop in his early 20s
Object:
Lender:
Notes:		 Scouts membership card
Pisk, G
Paper
Object:
Lender:
Date:
Notes:		 Silver vases in glass case
Nash, P
1948
Silver, glass, wood
Which represents friendship
Object:
Lender:
Notes:		 Toy bear
Wolanski, S
Fabric
Object:
Lender:
Date:

Watercolour on paper, Shanghai Jewish School
Weyland, M
1944

 
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