By Rabbi Yisroel Rubin, Albany, NY
As a young boy, I was embarrassed by the small size of my father’s Talmud. My friends’ living rooms were graced with grand impressive royal maroon/gold Talmud sets, my fathers’ siddur-sized black books had tissue-thin pages.
But the intriguing Chinese characters on the front pages revealed the secret of these unique sefarim: they were printed during World War II, in China of all places!
Researching old documents with other Shanghai “Alumni,” we are discovering the amazing Shanghai journey that has impacted Jewish life all over the world.
My father’s Yeshiva escaped Hitler’s Holocaust from Poland through Vilna and Kovna, Lithuania, crossed Siberia to Vladivostok, sailed the Sea of Japan to Kobe, and landed in Shanghai, China after Pearl Harbor. Without the Shanghai haven, many of us would not be alive, or Jewish, today.
Help share these vital memories with future generations, and highlight the overlooked and almost forgotten dynamic Lubavitch role in the Shanghai Experience.
This glimmer of hope, salvation and endurance during the terrible darkness mustinspire and shine into the hearts and minds of our sons and daughters.
Key video figures will include Montreal Chief Harav Hirshprung, Rav Blau of Mir, Shanghai’s Rav Ashkenazi, Torah Vodaas Rosh Yeshiva Ruvain Fine’s letter to the Rebbe, Dr. Avraham Seligson, and the legendary Japanese Ambassador Chiune Sugihara, Zachur Latov.
Lubavitch descendants of the original Shanghai Lubavitch Yeshiva, include Yosef Borenstein, Pinchas Blatt, Mottel Bryski, Shia Bronstein, Chaim Meir Bukiet, Gershon and Yisroel Chanowitz, Chatzkel Deren, Moshe Feder, Hirshel Fuchs, Avrohom Garfinkel, Moshe Elye Gerlitzky, Shimon Goldman, Zev Volf Greenglass, Yitzchak Hendel, Shlomo Hochler, Hirshel Kotlarsky, Leibel Kramer, Avrohom Tzvi Landa, Elye Moshe Liss, Mottel Lurie, Nochum Prager, Yosef Portowitz, Shmuel Dovid Raichik, Yosef Rodal, Yisroel Rosenberg, Moshe and Hershel Rubin, Moshe Chaim Sapochkinsky, Mendel Tennenbaum, Shmuel Stein and Yosef Weinberg.
TRAILER:
This fundraising campaign is being launched in honor of my father, Reb Moshe’s 18th Yartzeit this week. We ask all friends/family members of Shanghai survivors to help enable this production. Please share photos, documents and input by emailing: [email protected], or call 518 423 4103.
Appealing to all ages, this educational documentary will be shown in schools, mesivtas, yeshivas, and seminaries. Contributors of $36 to $360 will receive a DVD; larger contributions will be noted accordingly. Please contribute here.
As the son of a member of the Polish underground whose unit “Zoska” was acknowledged by Yad Vashem for saving 350 Jews during the 1944 Warsaw Uprising I would like to German occupied Poland, as Nazi Poland is insensitive to the families of the millions of ethnic Poles who were killed, forced into slave labor, tortured, maimed, terrorized and starved during the brutal and inhuman occupation of Poland by Germany in the name of “Deuthschland, Deutschland Uber Alles” and “Lebensraum” for Germans. It is insensitive to a nation that rejected repeated overtures by Hitler to join the German Nazis in… Read more »
The German Nazis established camps on occupied Polish soil. Poland was not Nazi, but occupied by them. Please correct the error,
A Shanghai Shlucha 🙂
I read a book on Shanghai written by a Lubavitcher, incredible project
want to buy this
i recall hearing that Reb shmuel dovid Raichik had in his possesion the deed to the yeshiva property in shanghai
we need such a version of the Shanghai, without omitting the chassidishe bochirim vd”l this is called hafutzas hameyunes chutze
This looks like its going to be a very nice film. I’ll have to show it to my students.
BSD
I met [oney/]Sugihara the grandson of Chiune Sugihara the Ambassador in Thailand several years ago, he inlighted me that his grandfathers name means unlimmitted bundles of wheat….vchooloo[ Yosef Avfinu s first dream .Meaningfull that from his efforts many jJews lives were saved.His first name oney ? means zero!!!! I encouradged him to make sure to have children in order that the family name Sugihara remains
Looks amazing.
this is an outstanding cast of righteous individuals unmatched in our generation they deserve all the respect an honor that they will be givenSteven Spielberg should give $2,000,000 on his own for this production best of luck to all of you
wow! what an amazing list of giants!
we need these people back!!
Moshiach now!!
We are sooo excited about this project! Please for starters, let all the descendants of the Shanghai refugees DONATE to this special cause! And for all others, the Friediker Rebbe was extremely close to these Bachurim and being that they were orphans, treated them as his children. Let’s see this project completed real soon and be printed in time for Moshiach which is coming any moment SOON!