Tomorrow night at 10 o'clock, the documentary by writer Bella", "The Song of survivors - Jews in Shanghai", will premiere on Oriental TV. Through this documentary, people will follow the story of Bella's discovery of Jews in Shanghai and look back at the picture of a trans-ethnic life. You can also see how the Jews who have been rescued, reborn, and left with eternal memories of youth in Shanghai are worried about this city that is like home, and leave this love and thought in their blood forever.
Pictured: Bella
Uncover the dusty history
For more than 20 years, The Shanghai-born Canadian writer Bella has spent more than 20 years interviewing Jews around the world who took refuge and were born in Shanghai during World War II. A large number of first-hand historical materials have been collected. The documentary focuses on the past of Mike Madwar's family in Shanghai during World War II. Mike's parents lived in Shanghai for 24 years, and his mother, Dora, remembered Shanghai, a city that carried memories of her youth and unforgettable love, until the last moment of her life.
In the documentary, Bella returns to the streets of Shanghai where she and Mike roamed over and over again. "Mike was 7 years old when he left Shanghai, it was difficult to accurately describe the address of his home, and we searched for it on the small road in old Jing'an, but there was no result." Until one night, Bella had a flash of inspiration, re-searching for mike's father's information when he was working in Shanghai, using the two old addresses in his resume as clues, and accidentally found mike's family's former residence in Avenues' apartment.
Photo: Documentary "The Song of survivors - Jews in Shanghai" (hereinafter the same)
The young man who bought the house with a few gold bars was named Xu Wenxian, and he and his wife got married and had children here, and they were all people who loved culture, respected history, and loved old objects. And these fine traditions have also been preserved by the children. After more than half a century, not only has the layout and furnishings not changed much, but even the old record player, the old piano and the glass cups and utensils have been well preserved.
Night roses on the banks of the Pu River
On that occasion, Bella couldn't help but sit down in front of the old piano, thinking that it was the piano that Dora used to play when she was young, she gently opened the lid and pressed the keys, and a Jewish folk song "Night Rose" flowed out naturally. Bella said: "The first time I heard Dora hum this ballad, she has rewritten the lyrics for it, and she has written a deep attachment to the Huangpu River. "Dora not only spent her youth and met love in Shanghai in her youth, but also successfully ran a theatrical clothing store, selling all kinds of exquisite costumes and dresses, and Zhou Xuan, a generation of singers, was her old customer.
To Bella's regret, she was ultimately unable to fulfill Dora's request to bring the "Night Rose" on the banks of the Pu River back to Shanghai. The last time I went to see Dora, when she left, she pestered Bella like a child and said, "Bella, put me in your suitcase, I want to go back to Shanghai." Mike told Bella that her mother, Dora, was still worried about returning to Shanghai when she was dying, and her family had to coax her to comfort her: "Here we are, we have returned to Shanghai, you see, isn't that the Huangpu River?" ”
Last month, the original large-scale bronze sculpture "The Survivor's Song", donated by Bella and designed and produced by Russian sculptor Lu Qizhang, was unveiled at the Jewish Refugee Memorial Hall in Shanghai. The 5-ton sculpture, romantically expressive, depicts the eternal moment of 1948 when Mike Madway stood on deck with his parents and waved goodbye to Shanghai. (Xinmin Evening News reporter Zhu Yuan)