Carpentry Apprentice

Jewish escaping to Shanghai were mostly elite with accomplishment, including bankers, artists and businessmen, among whom some led Zionism after World War II. They were, unfortunately, broken fugitives in that era. Fugitive life depleted almost all their savings and forced them to boil the pot by learning carpentry and sewing from Shanghai craftsmen. Thanks to their wisdom, they survived in Shanghai with a quick mastery of these skills.

Oil painting, Carpentry Apprentice (Photo Credit: CC – BY Zhang Ping, Chinese Jewish Cultural Foundation)

Carpentry Course (Photo Credit: CC – BY Lewin, Ossie ed., Almanac-Shanghai 1946-1947, Shanghai)

Busy working at sewing machines (Photo Credit: CC – BY Shanghai Collection of United Nations Archives, New York)

Special thanks to Shanghai Jewish Refugees Museum for providing the sources of literature and photo on this topic. Further contact with Chinese Jewish Cultural Foundation (CJCF) via email:postmaster@cjcf.org.cn‍.