Exil Shanghai (1997) Reviews

Running close to five hours long, this documentary offers an overview into the experiences of European Jews who lived in Shanghai during WW II. All six of the survivors interviewed live in Northern California and represent a broad cross-section of economic status and European culture. The film is divided into five parts (one of the interviews is with a married couple). The subjects were born in Russia, Germany and Austria and explain their reasons for coming to the once wonderful Shanghai. When the Japanese took over the city during the war, all Jewish people were forced to live in a special ghetto, that while unpleasant, was nowhere near as awful as the Eastern European camps. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi