JEWISH TOUR-Hongkou Ghetto

Hongkou Ghetto (Little Vienna):  Serving a largely orthodox congregation of German and Austrian Jews, the area surrounding the Ohel Moshe Synagogue became commonly known as Little Vienna. Although life in China differed significantly from the home countries of many of Shanghai's Jewish residents, life in the ghetto tried to recreate the cultural and social aspects familiar to the community residing there. Following the Japanese invasion of China in 1937, Japanese forces interned Jews originating from Allied countries residing in Shanghai in 1941. Living conditions for Jews from Germany, Austria, and Poland became more difficult within the Hongkou Ghetto, while Jewish residents from neutral countries including Russia and Iraq were left to lead their lives uninterrupted in China.

By the time the war concluded in 1945, more than 24,000 Jews had found sanctuary in Shanghai. Following the end of the war and the emergence of the Peoples Republic of China in 1949, Shanghai's Jewish community drastically diminished, with many of its residents relocating to the United States, Israel, Australia, and Hong Kong. While the area known as the Hongkou Ghetto within Shanghai's Hongkou District no longer houses a significantly large Jewish community, it has managed to preserve much of its historic character.