Shanghai Ghetto

This is an OK production of a fascinating subject.The information is good. They interview Prof. David Kranzler, the expert in the field, as well as other knowledgeable professors. These are interwoven with interviews of a handful of actual survivors. These, too, are enlightening, real and touch the heart.The timeline follows these survivors, who all escaped Germany in 1938. It relates their early memories of life in Germany, Kristallnacht, their troubles getting out, their travel to Shanghai, their attempts to making a living and establish themselves there, the effects of Japan's entry into the war in 1941 and their consequent move into the unsanitary, overcrowded poor section of the city known as Hongkew, their difficulties fending off disease, starvation and anti-Semitism (not from the Chinese so much as the Japanese and non-Jewish ethnicities like Russians), the Allied bombing in July 1945, their liberation and discovery of the horrors of the Holocaust in Germany which they, only in retrospect, learned of and learned how lucky they were to have avoided.It's a compelling story, a case of truth being stranger than fiction.However, they missed at least one major part of the story. There were more than 2,000 refugees (many of whom had been teachers and students in one of Jewry's most prestigious educational institutions, the Mirrer Yeshiva) that arrived in Shanghai in 1941 who escaped Nazi Germany and then Soviet-controlled Lithuania, who then obtained visas miraculously, traveled on the Trans-Siberian railroad before landing in Japan and then being deported, at the start of the hostilities with the US, to Shanghai. This group was not German. Their experiences before and even during the war (they reestablished their Yeshiva there) were very different. I personally was hoping to learn more about them in this documentary. But there was not even a word about it. Not even a hint.There was also other parts of the Shanghai experience that were not even hinted to: e.g. how the Nazis sent an SS organizer to get the Japanese to liquidate the Jews in Shanghai but who met resistance because the Japanese believed Nazi propoganda that International Jewry was not something to be dealt with lightly. There were some real heroes: e.g. the Japanese diplomat who risked his life to save Jews. But none of that was touched upon.All in all, though, it's a valuable documentary with much to offer. There's not a lot of photographs of Shanghai back then, and even less film footage, but that's to be expected. (You had no Fritz Hipplers, i.e. Nazi film producers on hand making a final record of a soon-to-be-exterminated people.) It skips some historical moments, like the end of the war in Europe (I would like to have known of the survivors' reactions to that), but it does cover other major historical moments of the War and Holocaust, including the survivors listening to German, Russian and American radio broadcasts to find out what was happening in the outside world.This documentary is definitely worth a viewing. I can also see it being something good for a classroom. It's just that the motivated teacher and parent, as well as the individual who wants to be well-informed, will have to fill in some of the gaps with other sources.

I won't repeat what the other reviews have already said (with far more eloquence than I could bring), except to state that I love this wonderful documentary for a number of reasons.My parents, may they rest in peace, survived Auschwitz. Each had lost their family in the war, married afterward, and raised a new family.As a foolish boy, I often wondered why they didn't just get out of Poland in the 1930s. Even as poor people, how hard could it have been to get on a train, a ship, and just flee the coming catastrophe.Then, as an adult, I learned about the SS St Louis. Jews were trying to leave, but other countries were not taking them in. SHANGHAI GHETTO helps me understand this better.And if that alone is not reason enough for Israel to survive, I don't know what is.What I like most about SG is that it tells its story, fifty years later, from the lips of those who were there. This isn't a documentary of newsreels and posturing national leaders. It's a story of individual courage and resilience. It's a reminder, as we meet some of the twenty thousand who were saved, that so very many, so very much, was lost.I've recommended many films to my three children. SHANGHAI GHETTO is the first I've bought for them, a copy for each. They still won't understand, but it's all I can do.

I had read quotes from critics who said this "drama" [my quotes] was a regrettable adaptation of historic events by amateur film-makers who had slapped together a potentially fine story, with poor editing, music, and technical support. While my wife and I did find some technical rough spots, we soon realized that we were watching a true documentary with here and there a dramatization that made the events more comprehensible. We were amazed at learning the details of a history which we had only vaguely known about. Many of our previous miscopnceptions were set straight, and by the end of the film we found ourselves profoundly moved. A must-see film for Jews (even non-practicing ones like ourselves), and recommended for all others with an interest in human history.

Shanghai is a fascinating city. It has always been. It has historically been one of the most cosmopolitan spots in the World. This film explains clearly and directly why so many Jewish families had to leave Germany during 1938 and 1939, and went directly to Shanghai, and not to other European or American cities. The story is set out in a very simple way and it is told by the actual people that lived the experience. It touches the heart and it produces vivid emotions. Shanghai Ghetto is a really beautiful documentary film. A must see.J.J.Harting

Good basic presentation. Needs more stories and reminiscence.

My parents were in Shanghai from 1941 to the end of 1946. They told me bits, but not a great deal. And I wasn't very interested anyway. Now I want to know, but it's too late, as they are both gone. This DVD helped to give me a sense of what it was like. It contained much that I could relate to, and some very moving moments. Needs to be watched several times to take it all in.

I had never heard of the Shanghai Ghetto until I ran across this documentary on Netflex. After watching it, I had to have a copy of my own and a copy for my girlfriend living in Shanghai. Such an amazing and interesting story!! It's hard to believe this is not commonly taught in school. I recommend it to everyone interesting in history.

Excellent. Knowledge.