The Jewish Archives in Harbin

The Jewish people belong to a nation with a long history. It once created a splendid culture, and the Jewish scriptures have been instrumental in two world religions – Christianity and Islam. Together with the Jewish people, Christians and Muslims are known as the ‘People of the Book’. However, for thousands of years, the Jewish people had no homeland, so they had to wander around, suffer humiliation, and were even slaughtered. This is the sad history of the nation, but there were exceptions. Jews have a long history of migrating to China. The ancient Kaifeng Jews were thoroughly assimilated throughout history. In modern history, at the end of the 19th century, many Jews from Russia and Europe came to Harbin, and tens of thousands of people formed the largest Jewish community in the Far East. From 1903 to 1963, Jews established a Jewish community in Harbin. During the Japanese occupation in World War II, many of them fled to Shanghai along with others who had fled from Europe in order to escape the genocide of the German Nazi regime and then left after the war ended. These Jews from different social backgrounds and ideologies, but with the same destiny, practiced national autonomy, became one, shared wealth and woe, and followed the traditional customs of their ancient nation to move successfully toward a better life. The Jewish Archives in Harbin illustrate that their story is a unique chapter in the history of the Jewish wandering.